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Diminution (Part IV) Here the diminutions have been removed. To simplify it further any repeated notes have not been included. This example makes clear the implication of the previous one, that these first few lines of the nursery rhyme comprises:
 This is the essence of a Schenkerian analysis - it shows how various harmonies are prolonged by a two-voice contrapuntal structure (top line plus bass line). A proper Schenkerian analysis is notated rather more elegantly than this, but the basic principles are clear even from this example. In this case, the analysis reveals something that we would probably know already - that a familiar tune lurks just beneath the surface. In a longer and more complex work they may be many more layers than the two shown here - a Schenkerian analysis helps us understand what holds the music together and perhaps how we (unconciously) make sense of it as listeners. It may seem from this example that Schenkerian analysis is about peeling back layers, reducing the music to a skeleton structure and this is indeed how it is often discussed. The Schenkerian analytical model is, however, much more interesting and subtle than this. Schenker tries to explain how complex musical pieces can be understood as decorating, prolonging, or even delaying the completion of simple progressions. |
