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    Schenker's Concept of Melody I

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    David Ross
    Schenker's concept of melody focuses on the stability and tendency of different scale degrees. The most stable tones are those of the tonic triad, while less stable tendency tones like the leading tone and upper leading tone resolve in long-range motions. Melodic fluency is achieved through stepwise or predominantly stepwise motion of structural tones, with dissonant tones being ornamental rather than structural. Schenker analyzes how structural tones connect in melodically fluent lines through prolongation techniques like neighboring notes or linear progressions.

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    Schenker's Concept of Melody I

    Uploaded by

    David Ross
    185 views17 pages
    Schenker's concept of melody focuses on the stability and tendency of different scale degrees. The most stable tones are those of the tonic triad, while less stable tendency tones like the leading tone and upper leading tone resolve in long-range motions. Melodic fluency is achieved through stepwise or predominantly stepwise motion of structural tones, with dissonant tones being ornamental rather than structural. Schenker analyzes how structural tones connect in melodically fluent lines through prolongation techniques like neighboring notes or linear progressions.

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    Schenker Melody i

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    Schenker Melody i

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    Schenker's concept of melody focuses on the stability and tendency of different scale degrees. The most stable tones are those of the tonic triad, while less stable tendency tones like the leading tone and upper leading tone resolve in long-range motions. Melodic fluency is achieved through stepwise or predominantly stepwise motion of structural tones, with dissonant tones being ornamental rather than structural. Schenker analyzes how structural tones connect in melodically fluent lines through prolongation techniques like neighboring notes or linear progressions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    185 views17 pages

    Schenker's Concept of Melody I

    Uploaded by

    David Ross
    Schenker's concept of melody focuses on the stability and tendency of different scale degrees. The most stable tones are those of the tonic triad, while less stable tendency tones like the leading tone and upper leading tone resolve in long-range motions. Melodic fluency is achieved through stepwise or predominantly stepwise motion of structural tones, with dissonant tones being ornamental rather than structural. Schenker analyzes how structural tones connect in melodically fluent lines through prolongation techniques like neighboring notes or linear progressions.

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    Schenker viewed melody as the interplay between stability and instability of tones. Notes of the tonic triad are most stable, while tendency tones like the leading tone are less stable. Resolutions can be long-range and involve stepwise or leaping motion.

    Notes of the tonic triad are most stable, while tendency tones like the leading tone and upper leading tone are less stable. The tonic is the most stable scale degree.

    Schenker distinguishes structural tones, which connect to form melodically fluent lines in great music, from ornamental tones, which are generally incapable of further prolongation.

    Schenkers Concept

    of
    Melody I
    ^1 ^2 ^3
    ^3 ^45 ^5 ^6
    ^7
    ^8 ^8

    ^2=upper LT
    Schenkers Concept of Melody
    1. Understanding tonal melody=acquiring 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 )
    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.
    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.

    17. In great music, such connections can suggest two (or more)
    melodically fluent voices in different registers.
    (= compound melody or polyphonic melody)
    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.
    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).
    Phrase 1

    Phrase 2
    Phrase 1

    Melodically fluent structural


    ^5 prolonged ^5 prolonged
    ^5 prolonged Melody ^5-^4-^3-^2-^1
    Phrase 2 by chordal skipsby NN by filling in ^5-^3
    (linear progresson)

    ^2 prolonged
    by choral skips

    I ________________________ Parallel 6ths connect V7 I


    I to II6 (interm) smoothly

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