Foreground Analysis Label foreground harmonic units and then find any linear units that prolong these harmonic units
mark harmonic units of music with Roman numerals (i.e. I, II, III, IV, V).
mark linear units with slurs and appropriate labels:
arpeggiation (Arp.)
consonant skips (CS)
linear progressions (3-prg, 4-prg etc)
neighbour notes (N)
when you have labelled the linear units that most obviously prolong a harmonic unit, look also for the following:
further decorations (e.g. chromatic passing notes) that relate to these linear units
linear progressions where the first and last notes are consonant with the harmony of the last note but where the first note is harmonised differently (see Working method - example one)
Layer Analysis Look for linear units that connect the progressions identified in stage two and prolong larger scale harmonies.
mark a note from each linear unit from stage two with a stem
it must be a consonant note from the linear unit (i.e. not a passing note in the middle of a linear progression)
remember the highest note of a progression is often the most prominent in the top line, whilst in the bass, the root might be more important than the third of a chord
identify larger scale linear units that connect these notes and show them with beams (in the bass, beams are most often used to connect the tonic and dominant roots - see notation guide for more details)
the succession of marked notes should represent the simplest and smoothest possible line
expect to find the same basic types of linear units found in stage
when going through this process with the bass line remember to consider the harmony as well - tonic and dominant chords are more significant for the tonal structure than some other chords, particularly at the beginning and end
the progression uncovered should usually follow the basic rules of counterpoint (no parallel fifths etc.)
analyses of longer pieces will probably involve several different layers at stage three and it is probably a good idea to create a new graph from the stemmed and beamed notes, missing out some of the less structurally significant notes
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