F Minor - Research on Harmony - Variation 11

The valley in a compressed register — F2 to Ab5, a smaller span than most études in this series. The range stays below the extremes: no Ab6 or Ab7 at the top, no F0 sub-bass at the bottom. Variation 11 works within a modest three-and-a-half-octave window, with D3 and D5 (orange accents) appearing as warm chromatic elements in the phrase.

F2, D3 (orange), F3, Ab4, D5 (orange), Ab5: two D's as orange accents bracket the phrase, one low (D3) and one high (D5), the warm color appearing at both entry points. The chord tones (F and Ab) sit between them. Thirty-nine percent shadows keep the painting weighted toward dark.

The compression is notable. In a series that often reaches to Ab7, Variation 11 stays gathered in the middle — the valley working within its own small space, the orange accents the most distinctive element in an otherwise compact study.