Thinking and Hearing Schenker-Style:

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Thinking and Hearing Schenker-Style

• Introduction to the Ideas
• of Heinrich Schenker

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Heinrich Schenker
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• Beethoven Piano Sonata,
• Op. 2, no. 1 in f minor,
• (1st movement)

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Opening Harmonic Progression (Conventional
Theory Explanation)
V?_____________
I_______________
I
VII6 or VL
II6
V
I6
I V? I VII6 I6 II6 V
or VL
How many harmonies in this passage?
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I. Schenkers View of Harmony
Opening Progression (Schenkerian Explanation)
N
Tonic(I)
Nb harmony
P harm.
Dom(V)
Tonic
Tonic
Interm. a.k.a Divider (Divides I-V span)
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I. Schenkers View of Harmony
I
II6 V
tonic prolongation divider dom.
1 Harmonic Prolongation Progressions ? strings
of chords, but means of prolonging more
basic harmonies.
2 Chords vs. Harmonies (Beethoven passage
therefore has 7 chords, but only 3 real
harmonies)
3 Linear Embellishments Most chords not
harmonic, but have contrapuntal or melodic
functions (neigh., pass., etc.)
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I. Schenkers View of Harmony
What else would interest Schenker about the bass,
mm. 1-8?
1______ 2 3 4
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4. Schenker Theory is a melodic/contrapuntal
theory. (It sees chord as secondary
to melody).
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II. Schenkers Concept of Embellishment and
Structural Layers
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II. Schenkers Concept of Embellishment and
Structural Layers
Arpeggiation
5 Linearizing or Composing-Out Melodies
linearize chords (often in much
more subtle ways!)
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II. Schenkers Concept of Embellishment and
Structural Layers
Chordal Skip
Arpeggiation
PT
NN
6 Structure vs. Ornament Schenker
theory recognizes a distinction btw.
structural tones and ornamental tones
(diminutions).
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II. Schenkers Concept of Embellishment and
Structural Layers
Chordal Skip
PT
NN
7. Variation without a Theme Great works are
like a Variation on an unannounced theme
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II. Schenkers Concept of Structural Layers
Foreground Middleground Background
NN
?
NN
8. Structural Depth and Structural Layers great
music has structural depth behind embellished
surface lurks deep structure or
background (structural layersforeground,
middleground, background).
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The nature of the invisible theme
orbackground
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III. Schenkers Concept of Counterpoint
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III. Schenkers Concept of Counterpoint

• Viewed conventionally, does the right hand melody
  move
• only by step,
• only by leap,
• or a combination of steps and leaps?

What is the melodic function of this bE (how
does it relate to c)?
b inflects c as lower NN
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III. Schenkers Concept of Counterpoint
9 Melodic Fluency Structural lines
(middle/background) are melodically
fluentmove mostly stepwise recover leaps
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III. Schenkers Concept of Counterpoint
Find the melod- ically fluent line in the
jumpy bass starting here
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Find the melodically fluent Schenkerian line in
the upper voice
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NN
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III. Schenkers Concept of Counterpoint
Combine the 2 fluent lines. What does this remind
you of?
pt
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III. Schenkers Concept of Counterpoint
pt
10 Outer-Voice Contrapuntal Framework In great
music, the middle/background, esp. outer voices,
resembles strict species counterpoint

• Elegantly fluent lines

• Dissonance subordinate to consonance

• Follow rules of strict voice leading

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III. Schenkers Concept of Counterpoint
Corollary Beneath irregular foreground with
leaps, Dissonance, etc
is a regular background of strict counterpoint
pt
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IV. Schenkers Concept of Melody
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IV. Schenkers Concept of Melody
Assuming fluent structural lines, where does LT,
e resolve?
?
Soprano Alto
pt
3rd 6th 5th
3rd 6th 5th unfolded
unfolded unfolded
11 Compound melody or polyphonic melody
Single-line melodies w/ leaps often imply 2 or
more voices.
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V. Schenkers View of Tonality
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Conventional View of Tonal Form in minor key
sonata form
Exposition
1. First theme in _________
2. Modulation to second theme__________
3. Closing theme also in _____________
Development

• Tonally unstable, eventually retransition leads
• via __________ back to ___________

Recapitulation
1. First theme in ___________
2. Second theme in_________
3. Closing theme in__________
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Establish Tonic
Modulate to Relative Major
Modulate through a series of remote keys,
Eventually modulate via V back to tonic
End in Tonic
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V. Schenkers View of Tonality
12 Schenker rejects the idea of modulation.
(e.g., regards minor-key sonata form as one
expansive progression, I-III-V-I in the tonic key)
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V. Schenkers View of Tonality
13 The Fundamental Progression I-V-I
The trek from I-V is musics natural law.
Tonal composition the prolongation or
composing-out of the fundamental
progression.
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Let this triangle be sacred to him!
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V. Schenkers View of Tonality
14. Bassbrechung (the breaking of the bass)
The funda- mental progression I-V-I is itself a
prolongation of the tonic.

15. The ascending 5th of the Bassbrechung
creates I-V tonal space that is often filled via
dividers (II, III, IV or related harmonies)
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VI. Schenkers Concept of Motive
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VI. Schenkers Concept of Motive
What is the most important motive in mm. 1-8?
3rd-prg.
16 To Schenker, motives often middleground
melodic patterns rather than rhythmic surface
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V. Schenkers Concept of Motive
Can you find a 6th-progression elsewhere on p. 1?
Theres something very interesting about that
6th-prg.
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• Opening fills in span of a 6th, C-EE 5to 7 in
  f minor

• Mm. 16-20 fill in 6th span, E_at_ -G 5 to 7 in
  A_at_ (relative Maj)

6-prg
6-prg
6-prg.
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V. Schenkers Concept of Motive
Can you find additional appearances of the
Schenkerian motive (6th-prg. 5-7, E_at_-G) on page
1?
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Remember ME? What do you notice about my melodic
shape?
V. Schenkers Concept of Motive
Same Linear Descent of a 6th 5-7 (C-E) as
opening
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V. Schenkers Concept of Motive Remember ME,
too??
Holy S! another Linear Descent of a 6th 5-7
(C-E)
17 Great music is unified by motives below the
surface level (motivic parallelism).
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Bottom LineSchenker developed some of
the most elegant and powerful theories of tonal
music
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III. Schenkers Concept of Counterpoint
Why does Beethoven use the RH sf markings in
this passage?
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