5 Pentatonic Etudes
5 Pentatonic Etudes
I spent a weekend working on different ways to manipulate 5 note scales and collections.
I ended up with mixed results from Sarah. She liked somethings. Didn’t like things. (Mostly I believe this to be from a combination of non-idiosyncratic writing for piano and she was less prepared for the harmonic palette I was embracing.)
Ultimately a fun weekend exercise. Click the music to enlarge and follow along!
SKETCH I
I started with Ab, F, G, C, D as the set of 5 notes. Then I kept the top collection and moved it with planar motion. Harmonically the left hand shifts from I-V-vi-ii-iii-I, at least that’s what was sketched. There is a slight rhythmic development throughout that progresses from the right hand to the left hand.
Click to enlarge!
SKETCH II
This sketch is lighter in nature and closely aligns to the pentatonic minor scale. Sarah liked this one the most! Left hand features the collection being used as a harmonic device while the right hand has a more melodic and arpeggiated version. The left hand alternates its rhythm from section to section.
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SKETCH III
In this sketch, the goal was to use the 5 notes that do not belong to the major scale as the pentatonic scale in juxtaposition to the major scale.
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SKETCH IV
I started with 5 thirds stacked together. The bottom 4 making a fully-diminished D chord. The final third was Eb (a major third above Cb). The right and left hand of the piano are melodic in the beginning. In the middle, the left hand becomes more harmonic continuing until the end where both hands end in a harmonic exclamation!
SKETCH V
The final sketch was intended for the listener that had adventured through the more liberal uses of pentatonic in the first 4 sketches. Click to enlarge and enjoy!
Click to enlarge!