Here is a video in which you can hear me playing a piece of music I improvised and named The Kyanite Space. Kyanite is a dark blue crystal that can symbolise resonance, attunement, deep alignment, and true self-expression.
Kyanite is known for its anisotropy — meaning its physical properties (including hardness) are drastically different depending on which angle you approach it from. And yet these properties align within the same system. It has sharp and jagged edges, but instead of appearing broken, they are part of a highly organised crystalline structure. Kyanite crystals are formed when elements of the earth are subjected to intense, overwhelming heat and crushing pressure over time — we end up with a complex and beautiful light-reflecting system.
Sometimes the intuitive truth isn’t linear and smooth, but multi-faceted, sometimes jagged, sometimes simple, sometimes complex, and with many different properties. Kyanite symbolises attuning to these many layers within ourselves and others, like how the disparate modes of this piece shared common chords with each other, allowing them to meet in the resonance of a shared space.
I started and ended this improvisation in C Dorian sharp 4, which has jagged contours in its augmented 2nd (the melodic interval between the min 3rd degree and aug 4th degree) within a dark sounding harmonic minor structure. This splintered nature represented the sharp and angular crystals of kyanite, while the piercing light of that raised 4th along with the mysterious shadow of the harmonic minor sound was like light glinting off the facets of the dark crystal.
The D Lydian mode was more ethereal and weightless, like being immersed in an atmosphere of resonant light.
C Aeolian was more melancholy, but also more grounded and substantial, like feeling the reality of attunement.
A harmonic slide into B Lydian brought more resonance of a different colour, like stepping into another meeting space between two worlds.
Mode Table
| Mode Used | Note Names | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| C Dorian ♯4 | C, D, E♭, F♯, G, A, B♭ | G Harmonic Minor | 4th mode of G Harmonic Minor |
| D Lydian | D, E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯ | A Major | 4th mode of A Major |
| C Aeolian | C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭ | E♭ Major | 6th mode of E♭ Major |
| B Lydian | B, C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯, A♯ | F♯ Major | 4th mode of F♯ Major |
Interval Formulas
Dorian ♯4 Mode Formula:
1 – 2 – ♭3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
(Root, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Augmented 4th, Perfect 5th, Major 6th, Minor 7th)
Lydian Mode Formula:
1 – 2 – 3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – 7
(Root, Major 2nd, Major 3rd, Augmented 4th, Perfect 5th, Major 6th, Major 7th)
Aeolian Mode Formula:
1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
(Root, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th, Minor 6th, Minor 7th)
Further Reading and Listening
Learn more about modes here: Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
