B Major - Research on Harmony - Variation 1

The sub-bass arrives. Variation 1 reaches B0 — one of the deepest pitches available on the keyboard, a near-black at the extreme low end. Four notes only: B0, B2, D#3, B4. The étude begins in darkness and climbs to B4 (yellow-green), a three-octave journey from the extreme deep to the mid-range.

The shadow budget is dominant here — 46% of the painting's tonal weight sits in the dark lower register. B0 pulls the étude toward darkness in a way that no other study in the series does. The ascending waltz shape moves in triple time, the Animé energy carrying the line upward despite the bass weight.

Four notes, lean and direct. The étude doesn't linger in the sub-bass — it uses B0 as its starting point and moves immediately into the climb. But the darkness of B0 leaves a mark on the painting's overall register, making Variation 1 the darkest étude in the B Major series.