For this improvisation I decided on the name “The Gossamer Hinge”. In Celtic folklore, the Gossamer Hinge is a translucent boundary between two worlds. The door between the real world and the world of the Fae/spirits swings on the Hinge at certain liminal times, such as twilight. In my previous improvisation The Whitethorn Limen depicted the sentinel at the gate. The Gossamer Hinge represents the experience of standing within the doorframe itself — I actually imagined the idea of a stargate as well. In this state, the Ordinary World and the Otherworld are perceived simultaneously. The name refers to a boundary so thin and translucent that the two realities begin to bleed into one another, creating a shimmering, co-existing perspective, a kind of time-shift feeling. This was represented by my use of almost constant polyrhythms (cross rhythms) throughout the piece — a duple rhythm in the left hand almost all the time, with a triplet rhythm in the right hand.
As usual, this improvisation was recorded in a single take (and unexpectedly), making use of fairly high-velocity automatic patterns to allow the different rhythmic voices to emerge without interference from the over-thinking that often plagues us piano players. It is a study in maintaining balance at the exact point where two worlds meet. The polyrhythms were specifically — 2s in the left hand against 3s in the right hand, within a triple metre (i.e. three beats in each bar).
I opened the piece in C Dorian sharp 4. To me, the Dorian sharp 4 mode has a piercing, searching quality; as well as mystery, along with that Dorian melancholy. The sharp 4 creates a Lydian light, which juxtaposed against the minor darkness, makes the shadows darker by contrast.
Then I moved to B flat Aeolian — the Aeolian mode can be dark and melancholy too, but with smoother melodic contours than the augmented 2nd of the Dorian sharp 4 mode. This felt like a kind of surrendering to or drop into the shadows of the unknown.
Then I shifted to G flat Lydian sharp 2. This feels like quite an unsettled mode to me. It has Lydian brightness, but no resolution. It doesn’t seem to come to rest.
I alternated B flat Aeolian and G flat Lydian sharp 2 briefly, before returning to and ending in C Dorian sharp 4.
Modes used– note names & parent scales
| Mode | Notes | Parent Scale | Mode Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
| C Dorian ♯4 | C – D – E♭ – F♯ – G – A – B♭ | G harmonic minor | 4th mode of harmonic minor |
| B♭ Aeolian | B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ | D♭ major | 6th mode of major |
| G♭ Lydian ♯2 | G♭ – A – B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F | B♭ harmonic minor | 6th mode of harmonic minor |
Interval Formulas
C Dorian ♯4
1 – 2 – ♭3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
B♭ Aeolian
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
G♭ Lydian ♯2
1 – ♯2 – 3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – 7
Further reading and listening
Learn more about modes in general: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
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