This video captures another freeform improvisation of mine. I named this piece of music The Weight of the Looking Glass. A looking glass can be a metaphor for how others perceive us, or how we believe they perceive us, and sometimes when these perceptions or beliefs reflect a distorted reality, this can be a heavy weight to carry. This weight was reflected in some of the darker aspects of the modes/keys. But also the idea of liberation and lightness appeared with the occasional brightening in the music, echoing the idea of seeing a true identity in the looking glass, releasing the burden of carrying the false image. Because a looking glass shows us a reversed image, it can be symbolic for a reversed perception of reality, and the feelings of surreality that can come with that. Some aspects of the modes I used conveyed that sense of strangeness, and something not being quite right.
I started in C minor, using melodic motifs and chords formed from both the harmonic and melodic minor forms. The prevailing minor key created some of the weight and darkness in the sound.
I moved to C Phrygian a few times — the Phrygian sound pulled the shadows into further darkness, and yet there was a flash of light and hope in the major quality supertonic chord (II) of the Phrygian mode.
I also visited G Dorian flat 2 (aka G Phrygian natural 6) which has darkness in its Phrygian flat 2, but paradoxical light and lift in its Dorian major 6th degree. To my ear, this contributes to its surreal strangeness.
I also very briefly wandered into G Phrygian dominant — its classic progression of the major tonic triad alongside the major supertonic chord (I to ♭ II) creates brightness, contradicting the darkness of the flattened supertonic degree, and the fact that the supertonic chord is only a semitone above the tonic chord. This adds to the surreal ambiguity, representing the contradictions of a reversed or distorted image.
Just before the final cadence, I used a Neapolitan 6th — a major chord in first inversion built on the flattened supertonic of a minor key. It was a commonly used compositional device in the Romantic era, often preceding a perfect cadence, as I did — in this case — ic-V-i.
Modes and Scales Used, Note Names, Parent Scales
| Scale or Mode | Notes | Parent Scale | Relationship |
|---|---|---|---|
| C Harmonic Minor | C D E♭ F G A♭ B♮ | C Harmonic Minor | 1st Mode |
| C Melodic Minor (Ascending) | C D E♭ F G A♮ B♮ | C Melodic Minor | 1st Mode |
| C Melodic Minor (Descending) | C B♭ A♭ G F E♭ D C | C Melodic Minor | 1st Mode (Desc) |
| C Phrygian | C D♭ E♭ F G A♭ B♭ | A♭ Major | 3rd Mode of Major |
| G Dorian ♭2 | G A♭ B♭ C D E F | F Melodic Minor | 2nd Mode of Melodic Minor |
| G Phrygian Dominant | G A♭ B♮ C D E♭ F | C Harmonic Minor | 5th Mode of Harmonic Minor |
Interval Formulas
- C Harmonic Minor: 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♮7
- C Melodic Minor (Ascending): 1 – 2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♮6 – ♮7
- C Melodic Minor (Descending): 1 – ♭7 – ♭6 – 5 – 4 – ♭3 – 2 – 1
- C Phrygian: 1 – ♭2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
- G Dorian ♭2: 1 – ♭2 – ♭3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – ♭7
- G Phrygian Dominant: 1 – ♭2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – ♭6 – ♭7
Further Reading and Listening
Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
