Schenkerian Analysis

Hello,

I am barely familiar with Schenkerian analysis - I know only some basic things about it from the web. I'd like to ask those who are familiar with it, should I learn it at some point, is it useful for the composer, is it a must? For now, I think it is more an analytical than compositional tool, concentrating on the linear aspects; some musicians even think it is waste of time. Here, in Bulgaria, I am not even sure whether students study it. If they do, this is probably during the last fifth year (for Master degree, four years for Bachelors) in Composition or Theory.

I am barely familiar with Schenkerian analysis - I know only some basic things about it from the web. I'd like to ask those who are familiar with it, should I learn it at some point and is it useful for the composer? For now, I think it is more an analytical than compositional tool, concentrating on the linear aspects; some musicians even think it is waste of time. Here, in Bulgaria, I am not even sure whether students study it. If they do, this is probably during the last fifth year (for Master degree, four years for Bachelors) in Composition or Theory.

For me it's mildly interesting. My wife seems to really like it, so I guess it's a matter of taste. ;) It is often used in more advanced analysis - graduate-level work, but it is sometimes taught/used in undergrad courses.

How useful it is is up to you, and you can take from it what you want - perhaps composers should pay more attention to the overall underlying structure, foreground/middleground/background aspects of their work...

Get this book if you really want to. Introduction to Schenkerian Analysis - Forte/Gilbert.

Thanks for the reply! Maybe I will learn more about it later.

Another theory (a favorite of mine) is Hindemith's compositional and analytical system, as described in The Craft of Musical Composition. Maybe because the way I understand and explain music to myself is close to Hindemith's, it was easy and interesting to follow his thoughts. I don't know whether this system is traditionally taught, but I think it is very beneficial for understanding music and for expanding one's view while being tonal at the same time. I've even read it could be used in jazz. Have you tried it, Robin (or anyone else)?

Another theory (a favorite of mine) is Hindemith's compositional and analytical system, as described in The Craft of Musical Composition. .... I've even read it could be used in jazz. Have you tried it, Robin?

I've tried to read the books. They sit on my bookshelf and make me look smart. Their content, however, was too technical and inorganic for me to get much out of them. :whistling:

I see. Maybe that's why I prefer it. So, yeah, a matter of taste and mind, and maybe I prefer more technical approaches ( also, I studied in tech school and then engineering :P ). I have Schenker's "Harmony" and the text seems to be more semi-philosophical which is little disturbing to me. :)

I think the basics are a great tool in composing. It can really help you understand what is really important if reverse engineered.

Schenkerian analysis in its entirety was designed to be able to reduce a piece of music to its simplest form, most often resulting in a series of 3 notes, or even down to a single note (though that in turn essentially made it no longer a piece of music). IMO, this kind of Schenkerian analysis is unimportant and a waste of constructive time. Though it can be rather fun sometimes when you have nothing else to do. Its like figuring out a puzzle. And I think it can provide some sort of insight into the original composers mindset; its kind of just a way of reverse engineering a song.

Thanks, pianoman, this is a good resume and nicely explained. :)

In general, all analysis is the best, imo, tool for composers who are still "learning". That is all composers! I still analyse works and try to see things and ideas behind works. I guess everybody does it.

It's exciting!

Learning techniques is one thing, but how you apply them takes... analysis. Getting some ideas to use, also takes analysis.

In very short, schenkerian analysis is as useful as any analysis! Maybe even more since it is a great way to analyse music.

My undergrad course is quite famous for its Schenkerian approach if you decide to take analysis (which I am as well as composition), and I do think it has stood me in good stead. It's actually a lot more than reducing music to its simplist form, it's really about getting into the mindset of the composer and figuring out how his/her large scale structures work at the level of small detail going back to large schematic connections. And as a composer the main thing that it has shown me is how to connect the small to the large, how to make structures work across the board. It's also called voice-leading analysis and as you should know voice-leading is an extremely important part of any composer's work in any style.

It's definitely not a necessity for a composer, and I know I'm never going to be doing it in my free time for fun, it's not that sort of thing, and to be honest it's really nothing like solving a puzzle! (there are often several different solutions for a given piece, depending on interpretation). Once you get to advanced level with voice-leading analysis it's about using the technique to show your own reading of the composer's structural voice leading.

But it's very time consuming, and it will take a long time to see the rewards even from an analytical point of view (let alone as a composer)...

Thanks for your replies. Although I am only mildly interested in it, maybe I will devote some time to it in the future.