Etude in lydian b7 for harp duo

Hello. It's been a while since I've posted some new music. I'm experimenting with unusual modes to get more familiar with their sounds. Out of this came a very short piece for two harps written entirely in E lydian b7. This means that the only pitch classes present should be E, F#, G#, A#, B, C#, and D, and E should feel like the home note.

Whilst it brings out the unique flavor of the mode, it also severely limits the harmonic possibilities; it isn't functional harmony, and you need to constantly reinforce the tonic by other means than authentic cadences (since there is no proper leading tone), so the harmony is mostly based on "vamps" - alternating between two chords to prolong the tonic.

I came to really like the sound of this mode after toying around with it. It sounds bright like normal lydian, but with an even more mysterious tinge.

It is really exciting!

You forgot A# in your description scale, haha. That's kind of the important one. 
The piece is pretty cool, though you might want to consult a harpist on sharp fourths? I'm still trying to figure out pedals and stuff, so you probably know more than me.
The couple parts with the dissonance between 6 and 7 were cool. I don't think you have to be conservative using Lydian-Mixolydian (how I learned to call it), and when we work in odd scales for the first time, sometimes we get so fixated on preserving the sound of the scale that we sacrifice our ideas for it. In major/minor we alter tones all the time, so you could definitely expand this a little bit, introducing some new ideas. Remember that nobody is going to praise the piece just because it's in Lydian-Mixo, so you might as well have fun with it.

It sounds nice. I'd lile to see the score. The harp is tricky....

My fat fingers did the page refresh shortcut in the middle of composing my comment. So here we try again.

6 hours ago, Monarcheon said:

You forgot A# in your description scale, haha. That's kind of the important one.

But at least I got the B. That's pretty close, isn't it?

6 hours ago, Monarcheon said:

The piece is pretty cool, though you might want to consult a harpist on sharp fourths? I'm still trying to figure out pedals and stuff, so you probably know more than me.

Thanks! Oh, no no no, I don't know more about harps than you do if you're already trying to figure out pedals and stuff. My harp knowledge is on the level of Monty Python's How To Do It lesson on how to play the flute. As for the key, I probably gave more thought to my pairing of socks this morning than I did to the key of this thing, and I probably should have transposed the whole thing up to F if knew what I was doing, to get a whole lot of naturals. I'm no good at writing for real, actual instruments played by living, breathing humans.

6 hours ago, Monarcheon said:

The couple parts with the dissonance between 6 and 7 were cool. I don't think you have to be conservative using Lydian-Mixolydian (how I learned to call it), and when we work in odd scales for the first time, sometimes we get so fixated on preserving the sound of the scale that we sacrifice our ideas for it. In major/minor we alter tones all the time, so you could definitely expand this a little bit, introducing some new ideas. Remember that nobody is going to praise the piece just because it's in Lydian-Mixo, so you might as well have fun with it.

Thanks. You're totally right. This is but an unambitious little doodle that came out of some nerd'ing. I have modes popping up all the time in my music, but I rarely immerse myself completely in one sound. I think if the piece had a real length, it should definitely go beyond.

2 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

It sounds nice. I'd lile to see the score. The harp is tricky....

So would you.

However, the thing is... that I... kind of overwrote the project file, which I used for tinkering. It was an oversight. I know... I'm sorry. But I'm not feeling up for a transcription by ear now. With audio online, I guess it's now an undead piece. I tell myself that I can listen to the mp3 to extract ideas for the future.

Oops, I forgot the #4.

Oops, I wrote in a bad key.

Oops, I deleted my comment.

Oops, I deleted my piece.

I'm on a streak! I better block my bedroom door tonight.