In this video you can hear me playing a piece of music I improvised and named The Oldest Star. When improvising this music, the modes carried me through the feeling of a quietly persistent and enduring warmth, sometimes with more energy and intensity, an ancient star that has witnessed the entire story of the universe without needing to burn overwhelmingly bright to be significant, but sometimes its illumination and power becomes evident. A discovery of a star that was always there, like seeing for the first time a love that feels like it has already existed forever. 

I started this improvisation in E flat major (aka Ionian) which has brightness, warmth and stability in its major 3rd, and consonant perfect 4th and 5th degrees. Frequent add 9 chords, suspensions and 11th chords added a layer of tension, creating a sense of yearning and opening.

A modulation to the darker C Aeolian (aka natural minor) took the same set of notes, as C Aeolian is the relative minor of E♭ Major, and changed the angle of light and shadows to one of wistfulness, and ancient folk-elegy weight. 

Mode Table

Mode	Note Names	Parent Scale	Modal Relationship
E♭ Major (Ionian)	E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D	E♭ Major	1st mode of E♭ Major
C Aeolian (Natural Minor)	C – D – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭	E♭ Major	6th mode of E♭ Major

Interval Formulas

Ionian (Major) Mode Formula:

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7

Root, Major 2nd, Major 3rd, Perfect 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

Riding the Undercurrent — Improvisation in D Lydian ♯2, B Dorian & B Aeolian

Dulcamara — Improvisation in B Dorian, E Mixolydian ♭6, E Major, G♯ Aeolian & B Mixolydian ♭6

Melodies of a Shared Breath — Improvisation in E♭ Major, F Dorian & D Phrygian