A Minor - Research on Harmony - Variations 12

The arc to C6. Variation 12 returns to a more contained span — A2 to C6 rather than the C7 extreme of previous études. Five notes: A2, C4, A4, A5, C6. The arch is simple and balanced: one C in the midrange, two A's as the middle, one C at the crest.

C6 at the peak is pale red, lighter than the deeper C's in lower octaves but not yet the silver of C7. The étude inhabits the upper-middle register rather than reaching for the extreme. Midtones and highlights share the balance nearly equally; shadow is thin.

Lent bossa nova, joyful mp, legato, four beats. The five notes are evenly spaced through the registers. Variation 12 has a measured, unpretentious quality — neither the widest span in the series nor the sparsest note count, simply a clean five-note bell arch that states the chord directly.