G Major - Research on Harmony - Variation 6

The sparsest ascending étude. Variation 6 has four notes only: G1, G2, B5, B6. Two pitches in the bass register — deep red-orange and near-black — and two pitches at the very top — pale yellow-green and white. Nothing in between. The étude leaps across five octaves of silence to arrive at the bright upper register.

This sparseness is striking. Where other ascending études fill the middle with chord tones, Variation 6 leaves it empty. The two bass G's anchor the dark low end; the two B's glow at the top. The painting is dominated by highlights — 75% of its tonal weight sits in the pale upper range.

Animé, mp, legato, triple time. From G1 (black) the line climbs to B6 (pale white). There is no intermediate step, only the leap. The waltz meter gives the ascent its swing; the emptiness between the bass and the peak gives it space.