Here is a video in which you can hear me playing an improvised piano piece which I named The Unscripted Sea. In this improvisation I was swept along by unscripted waves of feeling, and the music reflected their raw untidiness and turbulent unpredictability, as well as pensiveness. It was often a juxtaposition of slow melodic lament simultaneous with wild untethered accompaniment textures, like a lone boat atop the rolling sea waves. A magnetic pull towards the brighter sunny parent scale (relative major) of the main mode of this piece created glints of light on the dark water, but as it never succumbed to the gravity of that bright sun, it remained unresolved and ended in darkness.
I started and finished this improvisation in C Aeolian, which is mournful and introspective in its natural minor sound, with its dark minor 3rd, 6th and 7th degrees. However, a strong leaning towards the parent scale of E flat major, which also happens to be the relative major, created lift, light and hope. Despite this, the mode remained resolute in its lack of resolution towards the parent scale, and kept defiantly pulling back to the C minor tonic triad as its tonal centre.
F Dorian sharp 4 introduced an unsettled mystery in its dark harmonic minor structure and paradoxical glints of light in its augmented 4th degree.
Mode Table
| Mode | Note Names | Parent Scale | Modal Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| C Aeolian | C – D – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ | E♭ Major | 6th mode of E♭ Major |
| F Dorian ♯4 | F – G – A♭ – B – C – D – E♭ | C Harmonic Minor | 4th mode of C Harmonic Minor |
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 ♯4 Mode Formula:
1 – 2 – ♭3 – ♯4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
Root, Major 2nd, Minor 3rd, Augmented 4th, Perfect 5th, Major 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
