For this improvisation I ended up with an unusual modulation and pairing of modes: B♭ Aeolian and G♯ Mixolydian ♭6. This choice resulted from me being inspired by strange science-fiction and fantasy-fiction stories; and wanting to paint a picture of the unsettling and bewildering feeling of slipping between two realities, with one of those realities containing some kind of warmth that is just out of reach, and the alternate reality with re-written memories. So the piece was about nostalgia and melancholy, displacement, turbulence, joy that is just out of reach, forgotten worlds, and distance between realities. To convey these qualities, at times I used distant, almost-lost melodies, slightly obscured by turbulent arpeggio and broken chord texture. The result is a modern classical piece of music, with folk-lament melodies.
The improvisation opens in B♭ Aeolian, the 6th mode of D♭ major, with a brief, simple, unaccompanied pentatonic melody which is structured similarly to a folk lament; before moving into a more turbulent texture consisting of fast rolling left hand arpeggios/broken chords and a melody (still simple) in the right hand, this time in octaves.
In this introduction, the use of the B♭ minor pentatonic scale, which is a five-note subset of the Aeolian mode, gives the opening melody its stark, timeless, and folk-like character. As it is initially a solo, single-line melody, it feels solitary and vulnerable at first, representing something clear and honest, before becoming obscured by the textures that follow, and the greater complexity of the Aeolian and Mixolydian flat 6 modes.
The notes of the B♭ minor pentatonic scale are B♭ – D♭ – E♭ – F – A♭. (You can find the notes and parent scales of the B♭ Aeolian and G♯ Mixolydian ♭6 modes used below.)
After the introduction, the music moves into a more chordal texture, with a Nocturne-like accompaniment in the left hand; and triads, 4-part chords, harmonic 3rds and 6ths and melody in the right hand. This section remains in B♭ Aeolian.
Then comes the modulation to G♯ Mixolydian ♭6 (the 5th mode of C♯ melodic minor), centring and pivoting enharmonically on A♭. A♭ is the folk-like flattened 7th of the B♭ Aeolian mode, but because it has been transformed into the tonic of G♯ Mixolydian ♭6, there is a slightly unexpected and bewildered quality to the modulation. The two modes/keys are distant, and yet at the same time, paradoxically not so far apart due to the parent scales having the same tonal centre enharmonically (D♭ major and C♯ melodic minor). Even without the harmonic distortion resulting from an unusual modulation, the Mixolydian ♭6 tends to feel slightly unreal, a bit like a dream, due to its bright major 3rd against the darkened un-major-like flat 6. In this section I played fast cyclical arpeggios in the right hand slightly obscuring a distant sounding melody in the left hand.
After this the music returns to and closes in B♭ Aeolian with a slight variation of some of the earlier ideas.
Modes used
B♭ Aeolian is the 6th mode of the D♭ major scale, and G♯ Mixolydian ♭6 is the 5th mode of the C♯ melodic minor scale. Here is a table showing the note names for both modes, as well as the B♭ minor pentatonic scale.
| Mode / Scale | Parent Scale | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| B♭ Minor Pentatonic | (N/A – Subset of D♭ Major or B♭ Aeolian) | B♭ – D♭ – E♭ – F – A♭ |
| B♭ Aeolian | D♭ Major | B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ |
| G♯ Mixolydian ♭6 | C♯ Melodic Minor | G♯ – A♯ – B♯ – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ |
To learn more about modes, read my complete guide to modes of the major, harmonic minor and melodic minor scales.
You might also like Risoluto e Magico — Improvisation in E Mixolydian ♭ 6 & A Dorian ♯4
Listen to more of my improvisations.
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