In
Schenkerian theory, a scale-step (german: Stufe) is a
triad (based on one of the
diatonic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize Scale (music), scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, Interval (music), intervals, Chord (music), chords, Musical note, notes, musical sty ...
scale degrees
In music theory, the scale degree is the position of a particular note on a scale relative to the tonic, the first and main note of the scale from which each octave is assumed to begin. Degrees are useful for indicating the size of intervals an ...
) that is perceived as an organizing force for a passage of music (in accordance with the principle of
composing-out
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 o ...
). In
''Harmony'',
Schenker gives the following example and asserts that
A scale-step triad is designated by an uppercase Roman numeral representing the scale degree of the
root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...
, much as in traditional "harmonic analysis" (see
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
). Thus, in the above example (which is in
G major
G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor.
The G major scale is:
Notable compositi ...
), the G major triad that Schenker claims we perceive through the first two measures would be labelled "I". However, unlike traditional harmonic analyses, Schenker's theory is not concerned with the mere labelling of such chords, but rather with discerning hierarchical relationships among tones. For Schenker, the chords occurring in a passage need not be of equal import. As he explains:
Furthermore, in terms of Schenker's mature theory, the question of whether a given triad possesses scale-step status depends on the
structural level
In Schenkerian analysis, 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 tr ...
under discussion. Indeed, it follows from Schenker's concepts that, at the highest level, a tonal composition possesses only one scale step, since the entirety of the work may be understood as an elaboration of its tonic triad (i.e. scale-step I).
Notes
References
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{{Schenkerian analysis
Schenkerian analysis