D Major - Research on Harmony - Variation 11

The ceiling is low. Opening at A4 — warm yellow-orange, the fifth of the chord just above the middle register — the melody descends in waltz time through F#4, D4, A3, D2, D1. The highest note is A4: only four octaves above D1, the most compact span among the descending variations in this series.

Six notes, Lent, mp, legato — a slow waltz staying close to the ground. The canvas is dominated by mid-tones: orange and seagreen through the middle range, darker orange-black in the bass. Without notes above A4, there is no silver, no near-white, no high brightness — the palette stays earthy and grounded.

The étude doesn't reach upward. It stays within the middle and lower registers, complete but unhurried, the harmony close to the ground.