“Coral Reef Etude” is a Level 5 lesson piece titled “Inversion Study in C.” It is written in 6/8 time and marked “Flowing.” The piece is built around broken triads in the key of C major, using tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords. Instead of a singing melody with accompaniment, the music moves through chord shapes and inversions, making it a short study in harmony, hand coordination, and smooth arpeggio motion.

Measures 1–3 introduce the tonic C major triad. The music begins with C major in root position, then moves through first inversion and second inversion. Each measure uses the same flowing broken-triad pattern between the hands.

Measures 4–6 move to the subdominant F major triad. The same pattern continues, again showing root position, first inversion, and second inversion. This keeps the musical idea consistent while changing the harmony.

Measures 7–9 shift to the dominant G major triad. The piece continues the inversion study with the same broken-chord motion, now using the dominant chord of the key.

Measures 10 to the end return to the tonic C major sound. The final measure includes a left-hand-over motion to reach the last upper note, giving the ending a small visual and musical flourish.

Interesting fact: This piece teaches the three most important chords in C major: I, IV, and V. The score also asks the student to transpose the etude to G major, where the tonic is G, the subdominant is C, and the dominant is D.