G Major - Research on Harmony - Variations 10

The third is absent. Variation 10 contains G2, D3, D4, D5 — root and fifth only, three versions of D ascending through the midrange, no B anywhere. The étude reaches its peak at D5 (pale yellow-orange), not at a B. The arch folds back from the fifth rather than the third.

This thirdless quality gives the étude an open, modal quality — the chord stated without the pitch that determines whether it is major or minor. The D's are orange in various octaves: D3 deeper and warmer, D4 a mid-orange, D5 paling toward yellow-orange at the crest.

Lent, mp, legato, four beats. Highlights dominate at 67%, oriented upward despite the absence of the usually luminous B. A spare four-note étude that sets aside the third and explores only what G and D sound like in conversation across three octaves.