In
Schenkerian analysis Schenkerian analysis is a method of analyzing tonal music based on the theories of Heinrich Schenker (1868–1935). The goal is to demonstrate the organic coherence of the work by showing how it relates to an abstracted deep structure, the ''Ursatz' ...
, a structural level is a representation of a
piece of music at a different level of abstraction, with levels typically including foreground, middleground, and background. According to Schenker musical form is "an energy transformation, as a transformation of the forces that flow from background to foreground through the levels."
For example, while details such as melodic notes exist at the lowest structural levels, the foreground, in the background the
fundamental structure
In Schenkerian analysis, the fundamental structure (german: Ursatz) describes the structure of a tonal work as it occurs at the most remote (or "background") level and in the most abstract form. A basic elaboration of the tonic triad, it consis ...
is the most basic structural level of all
tonal music
Tonality is the arrangement of pitches and/or chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions and directionality. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or triadic chord with the greatest stability is cal ...
, representing the digression from and necessary return to the
tonic that motivates
musical form
In music, ''form'' refers to the structure of a musical composition or musical improvisation, performance. In his book, ''Worlds of Music'', Jeff Todd Titon suggests that a number of organizational elements may determine the formal structure of a ...
. It may be conceived of in a specific piece as the opening in the tonic and the return to the tonic with a
perfect authentic cadence
In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (1999) ...
(V-I) after the
development
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
*Photographi ...
of
sonata allegro form.
Strata is the translation given by John Rothgeb for ''Schichten'' ("Levels") as described by Oswald Jonas in his ''Introduction to the Theory of Heinrich Schenker''. This translation did not gain wide acceptance in modern Schenkerian literature and the translation of ''Schichten'' as "levels" usually has been preferred.
[The word "strata" can be found in L. D. Blasius, ''Schenker's Argument and the Claims of Music Theory'' (Cambridge, 1996), alongside "level". It appears once in M. Brown, ''Explaining Tonality'' (University of Rochester Press, 2005), p. 138, in a quotation from J. Rothgeb's translation of a text from ''The Masterwork in Musik'', vol. I; Brown otherwise prefers "level". It is not used in F. Salzer, ''Structural Hearing'' (Boni, 1952), in A. Forte and S. E. Gilbert, ''Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis'' (Norton, 1982), or in E. Aldwell, C. Schachter and A. Cadwallader, ''Harmony and Voice Leading'' (Schirmer, 2011), etc., where "level" is used exclusively.]
See also
*
Klang (music)
In music, ''klang'' (also "clang") is a term sometimes used to translate the German ''Klang'', a highly polysemic word. Technically, the term denotes any periodic sound, especially as opposed to simple periodic sounds (sine tones). In the German ...
*
Prolongation
In music theory, prolongation is the process in tonal music through which a pitch, interval, or consonant triad is considered to govern spans of music when not physically sounding. It is a central principle in the music-analytic methodology of ...
*''
Urlinie
In Schenkerian analysis, the fundamental structure (german: Ursatz) describes the structure of a tonal work as it occurs at the most remote (or "background") level and in the most abstract form. A basic elaboration of the tonic triad, it consis ...
''
Sources
{{Schenkerian analysis
Schenkerian analysis