Piano improvisation moving through A Dorian, C Lydian, E Aeolian, E Lydian, G♯ Aeolian, A minor, A Dorian ♭2, and B♭ Lydian Dominant
I decided to call this improvisation “The Whitethorn Limen”. In Celtic folklore, the Whitethorn (Hawthorn) is the sentinel of the threshold to the Otherworld, and is also known as the “Fairy Tree”. To pass through the portal is to leave the linear world and enter that Otherworld — a space where time and reality are refracted and follow different laws. So the Whitethorn / Hawthorn in Celtic lore is a mystical tree. It represents liminal space, crossing between worlds, beauty with danger, and something ordinary that isn’t quite as ordinary as it seems. The word “limen” means a threshold where something just starts to be perceptible — the liminal point. I felt this represented my piece of music because of the way the modal combination was like stepping between adjacent realities that share elements but feel strangely altered. Like a familiar landscape but with a glimpse of something barely perceptible and “other” shimmering underneath.
The Introduction: Modal Rotations
For the introduction I used modal rotations — I used chord planing within the A Dorian mode, but the bass pedal note shifted, which momentarily changed the aura to C Lydian and E Aeolian. A bit like looking at the same crystal from three different angles, and the light refracting differently through it, showing up as slightly different shades and tints of the same colours.
Crossing the Threshold
Then I moved to E Lydian, still using chord planing with a tonic pedal bass, but this time the chords were broken. The transition from A Dorian (with internal rotation around C Lydian and E Aeolian) to E Lydian was a sudden change of colour and light, a bit like crossing the threshold and finding everything looks and feels similar but different, and the normal laws of physics no longer apply. This E Lydian section acted as a preface to the enharmonically equivalent mode of G sharp Aeolian (i.e. same notes, different tonal centre).
Whilst in G sharp Aeolian I played a melody which was largely but not exclusively) based on the G sharp minor pentatonic scale.
Then I played the E Lydian broken chord planing again, then again shifted back to G sharp Aeolian — an unsettling crossing over of thresholds with changing brightness.
The Hard Reset
Then I moved to A Dorian, which was an abrupt shift of key and tonal centre. This non-diatonic leap between unrelated keys where the tonal centre moved by a semitone felt a bit like a hard reset, like a reflex to return to the standard frequency of the ordinary world after witnessing the strangeness of the Otherworld.
The Shadowed Limen
Next I moved through A minor, using both the harmonic minor and classical melodic minor. This felt like a short journey, which then reached A Dorian flat 2, also known as A Phrygian natural 6. The Dorian flat 2 mode has an unsettled, otherworldly darkness. The flat 2 adds a semitone tension that feels like a watchful shadow, subtly altering the familiar A minor frame.
Then I moved to B flat Lydian Dominant — another ethereal, unsettled and otherworldly sounding mode. It has that Lydian brightness of the sharp 4, but the flattened 7th darkens it slightly.
Next I moved back through A Dorian flat 2, A minor and A Dorian (with the modal rotation within A Dorian like earlier).
Modes used, note names, and parent scales
| Mode / Scale | Notes | Parent scale | Modal origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Dorian | A B C D E F♯ G | G major | 2nd mode of major |
| C Lydian | C D E F♯ G A B | G major | 4th mode of major |
| E Aeolian | E F♯ G A B C D | G major | 6th mode of major |
| E Lydian | E F♯ G♯ A♯ B C♯ D♯ | B major | 4th mode of major |
| G♯ Aeolian | G♯ A♯ B C♯ D♯ E F♯ | B major | 6th mode of major |
| A harmonic minor | A B C D E F G♯ | A harmonic minor | — (root scale) |
| A melodic minor (ascending) | A B C D E F♯ G♯ | A melodic minor | — (root scale) |
| A melodic minor (descending) | A G F E D C B | Classical descending form | — |
| A Dorian ♭2 | A B♭ C D E F♯ G | G melodic minor | 2nd mode of melodic minor |
| B♭ Lydian Dominant | B♭ C D E F G A♭ | F melodic minor | 4th mode of melodic minor |
Interval formulas
Dorian
1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7
Lydian
1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 7
Aeolian (natural minor)
1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7
Harmonic minor
1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 7
Melodic minor (ascending / jazz form)
1 2 ♭3 4 5 6 7
Melodic minor (descending, classical)
1 ♭7 ♭6 5 4 ♭3 2
Dorian ♭2 (Phrygian ♮6)
1 ♭2 ♭3 4 5 6 ♭7
Lydian Dominant
1 2 3 ♯4 5 6 ♭7
Further listening and reading
Complete Guide to Modes of the Major, Melodic Minor, and Harmonic Minor Scales
Fantasia in E — Improvisation in E Aeolian, B♭ Lydian, A Mixolydian ♭6 & E Dorian
Aster — Improvisation in G♯ Aeolian
Bluebell — Improvisation in F Dorian & Dorian ♯4, C Phrygian, G & C Mixolydian ♭6
