Here is a video of another freeform improvisation of mine which I called Song of Alpenglow. Alpenglow is an optical phenomenon seen just after sunset or just before dawn, where the residual or emerging sunlight casts a warm rosy glow on the mountain peaks opposite where the sun sits below the horizon. This imagery can be symbolic for the idea of transition and liminal spaces, finding hope within darkness, feeling the residual warmth and lasting impact of love, and the bittersweetness and peace of letting go.
This improvisation varies some themes found in a previous improvisation of mine — Unspoken.
In Song of Alpenglow, I started in E flat major, aka E flat Ionian. For me, there was bittersweetness and nostalgia in the warmth and soft glow of the Ionian mode; along with the yearning quality of frequent suspensions, and add9 chords on the subdominant.
A modulation to F Dorian, which shares the same parent scale as E flat Ionian, felt like a transition into a slightly darker space — like the growing shadows as the sun dips further below the horizon, as represented by the dark minor 3rd of the Dorian mode, but still with some small residual glow in the major 6th.
A shift into F harmonic minor took us further into the night, with the darkness of the minor sound countered by the raised 7th degree (leading note) — like a final, piercing ray of high-altitude sun hitting the ice-topped mountains before total darkness.
Then a return to E flat major for the final section felt like the rising warmth and glow of pre-dawn, as the sunlight emerges again for a return of the alpenglow, representing hope and potential clarity.
Modal Table Showing Modes Used, Note Names and Parent Scales
| Mode Name | Note Names | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| E♭ Major | E♭ — F — G — A♭ — B♭ — C — D | E♭ Major | 1st Mode of E♭ Major |
| F Dorian | F — G — A♭ — B♭ — C — D — E♭ | E♭ Major | 2nd Mode of E♭ Major |
| F Harmonic Minor | F — G — A♭ — B♭ — C — D♭ — E♮ | F Harmonic Minor | 1st Mode of F Harmonic Minor |
Interval Formulas List
- E♭ Major: 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7
- F Dorian: 1 — 2 — ♭3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — ♭7
- F Harmonic Minor: 1 — 2 — ♭3 — 4 — 5 — ♭6 — 7
Further Reading and Listening
Learn more about modes here: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
