Here is a video capturing another freeform improvisation of mine which I named Spectral Lines of a Star. The multiple modes of this piece were like the individual bands of colour making up a system within the light of a star, with its own signature combination.
When starlight is split into its constituent colours by a prism, its particular pattern of dark and bright lines, the spectral lines, tell scientists which elements make up the star. As light travels from the hot core, different elements in the star’s cooler outer layers absorb specific wavelengths of light, and these missing wavelengths create a unique pattern of dark lines.
The darkness is just as important as the light for telling us the true character of the star.
In a similar way, the juxtaposition of light and dark within each mode, the contrasts and gradations of colours between modes, and the combination of the identities of each mode, are what create the specific character of this piece of music.
I used the following modes, not necessarily in this exact order:
The B and F Aeolian modes are both elegiac and dark, but a brief lifting of the minor 6th degree into a major 6th transforms each mode into the still sorrowful, but more hopeful B and F Dorian.
The three Mixolydian flat 6 modes (D, F sharp and C) have a half-light, mysterious and magical effect in their hybrid major-minor sound. The major 3rd creates light, but the minor 6th and 7th create shadow.
D Lydian Augmented has a paradoxical expansive brightness co-existing with an unsettling darkness due to its unstable and disquieting augmented tonic triad, alongside its ethereal sharpened 4th.
I closed the piece with a perfect cadence in B harmonic minor. The harmonic minor sound is dark and mournful, and yet the major quality dominant triad of the perfect cadence introduces a flash of brightness. The functional resolution of a perfect cadence is due to the gravitational pull of the leading note within the dominant chord, towards the tonic. Like the strong gravitational pull of a star.
Mode Table
| Mode Used | Note Names | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| B Aeolian | B – C♯ – D – E – F♯ – G – A | D Major | 6th Mode |
| B Dorian | B – C♯ – D – E – F♯ – G♯ – A | A Major | 2nd Mode |
| D Mixolydian ♭6 | D – E – F♯ – G – A – B♭ – C | G Melodic Minor | 5th Mode |
| D Lydian Augmented | D – E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B – C♯ | B Melodic Minor | 3rd Mode |
| F♯ Mixolydian ♭6 | F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B – C♯ – D – E | B Melodic Minor | 5th Mode |
| C Mixolydian ♭6 | C – D – E – F – G – A♭ – B♭ | F Melodic Minor | 5th Mode |
| F Aeolian | F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ | A♭ Major | 6th Mode |
| F Dorian | F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D – E♭ | E♭ Major | 2nd Mode |
| B Harmonic Minor (Ending Cadence) | B – C♯ – D – E – F♯ – G – A♯ | B Harmonic Minor | 1st Mode |
Interval Formulas
Aeolian Mode Formula
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
(Root, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Minor 7th)
Dorian Mode Formula
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
(Root, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Major 6th, Minor 7th)
Mixolydian ♭6 Mode Formula
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
(Root, Major 2nd, Major 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Minor 7th)
Lydian Augmented Mode Formula
1 – 2 – 3 – ♯4 – ♯5 – 6 – 7
(Root, Major 2nd, Major 3rd, Augmented 4th, Augmented 5th, Major 6th, Major 7th)
Harmonic Minor Scale Formula
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – 7
(Root, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Major 7th)
Further Reading and Listening
Learn more about modes here: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
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