C minor - Research on Harmony - Variation 5

The arch peaks at A5, a note outside the C minor chord. A5 translates as yellow-orange — warm, bright, and very different from the blue-violet of Eb or the red-orange of G. It appears as a chromatic accent at the arch's crest, the high point of the étude falling on an uncharacteristic warmth.

Lent, piano, legato, four beats. Four notes: C2 (black root), G4 (red-orange fifth), G5 (red-orange, brighter), A5 (yellow-orange accent). The phrase rises from deep root through the fifth's warmth to A5's golden crest, then folds back. Midtones dominate at 66%.

A5 is where the palette departs from the chord's natural colors. The blue-violet of Eb is entirely absent here — no third, just root and fifth and a chromatic neighbor. The tension of A5 at the apex gives the arch a slightly warmer resolution than the chord itself would suggest, the phrase cresting in yellow-orange rather than the red-orange of G or the blue-violet of Eb.