Ab Major 9 - Research on Harmony

Nine notes from Ab2 to C7 — five octaves of the Ab major ninth chord, every extension present. Played Animé, mp, legato, in three — a waltz with forward motion, the phrase climbing from the near-black of Ab2 to silver at C7, where it hangs suspended. The chord fans out through the lower-middle register: Eb3, G3, Bb3, then Bb4 and C5 carry the ninth and the third upward. G5 adds the seventh high before the third dissolves at C6 and C7.

The major ninth chord holds five distinct pitch classes — Ab, C, Eb, G, Bb — and with them five color families. Blue anchors the root in darkness. Red-orange warms the seventh at G3 and G5. Blue-violet and violet carry the fifth and ninth through the middle. Red brightens the third as it rises toward silver at the top. The canvas moves from cool darkness to warm mid-tones to pale light.

The opening statement — the full chord declared with all its extensions, the waltz carrying every color from floor to ceiling. Each variation that follows will thin this richness.