Schenker

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Schenkers Concept ofMelody I
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 3 5 8
2upper LT
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Schenkers Concept of Melody
1. Understanding tonal melodyacquiring feel for
stablility/instability of tones.
2. Notes of the tonic triad are the most stable.
3. Because triad tones arise from the overtone
series, they are like a force of nature (to
Schenker, a manifestation of divine), capable
of generating more music.
4. Less stable tones, tendency tones (e.g. LT,
upper LT)
5. Resolutions can be long-range
6. Ultimate stability requires scale degree 1,
supported by the tonic in bass.
7. Melodic and Harmonic resolution can therefore
be out of synch
8. Falling melodic motion is most natural,
providing closure/completion.
9. Melodic fluency means stepwise or
predominantly stepwise motion
10. Carrots show scale degrees (1 2 3 )
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11. Schenker theory distinguishes structural
tones from ornamental tones
12. Key concept A dissonant note is never a
structurally important tone (and is generally
incapable of further prolongation).
13. In great music, structural tones connect to
form melodically fluent lines.
14. Great music is rich in motivic parallelisms,
short ideas that replicate themselves in
various forms. Square brackets show
motivic parallelisms.
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15. In minor, 6 usually functions as a N. N. to
more stable 5
16. Melodies with leaps suggest voice-leading
connections between nonadjacent tones.

• In great music, such connections can suggest two
  (or more)
• melodically fluent voices in different
  registers.
• ( compound melody or polyphonic
  melody)

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18. Surface leaps in melodies can occur without
destroying underlying melodic fluency.
registral transfer
19. To Schenker a melodic leap is often not a
mere skip, but a temporary switch to a
new voice or new register.
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20. Structural melodic tones can be prolonged by
NNs and by linear progressions into or
away from the structural note.
21. In Schenkerian graphic notation, a long
slur groups linear progressions.
22. A dotted slur often connects a tone that is
prolonged over a long period (aural
retention of the tone).
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Phrase 1
Phrase 2
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Phrase 1
Melodically fluent structural Melody
5-4-3-2-1
5 prolonged by chordal skips
5 prolonged by NN
5 prolonged by filling in 5-3 (linear
progresson)
Phrase 2
2 prolonged by choral skips
ß
I ________________________
Parallel 6ths connect V7 I

I to II6 (interm) smoothly
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