Bimodality

Bimodality is the simultaneous use of two distinct pitch collections. It is more general than bitonality since the "scales" involved need not be traditional scales; if diatonic collections are involved, their pitch centers need not be the familiar major and minor-scale tonics. One example is the opening (mm. 1–14) of Béla Bartók's "Boating" from Mikrokosmos (no. 125, vol. 5). Here, the right hand uses pitches of the pentatonic scale on E♭ and the left hand uses those of the diatonic hexachord on C, perhaps suggesting G dorian or G mixolydian.