Schenkerian analysis is a method of musical analysis of tonal music based on the theories of Heinrich Schenker. The goal of a Schenkerian analysis is to interpret the underlying structure of a tonal work. The theory's basic tenets can be viewed as a way of defining tonality in music. A Schenkerian analysis of a passage of music shows hierarchical relationships among its pitches, and draws conclusions about the structure of the passage from this hierarchy. The analysis is demonstrated through reductions of the music, using a specialized symbolic form of musical notation that Schenker devised to demonstrate various prolongational techniques. The concept of tonal prolongation, in which certain pitches determine the goal of other, subordinate pitches, is a keystone of the pitch hierarchy that Schenkerian analysis involves itself with.
The musical reductions of Schenkerian analysis are usually arrhythmic. This reflects Schenker's belief that the deep, long–range structure of a piece of music has no particular rhythm. This long-range structure is called the Fundamental Structure (Ursatz) in Schenkerian analysis, while the more surface aspects of the music are called the foreground or surface layer. So one could rephrase the previous statement as "the background of a musical composition is arhythmic," or, better yet, "rhythm is a characteristic of the musical foreground" (See Der Freie Satz section 21 and chapter 4). Open and closed noteheads, beams, and flags, which show rhythm in ordinary musical notation, are used in Schenkerian analysis to show hierarchical relationships between the pitch–events being analyzed.
Schenkerian analysis is a subjective, not an objective, method. This means that there is no mechanical procedure for arriving at an analysis for a given piece of music; rather, the analysis reflects the musical intuitions of the analyst. Therefore, this form of analysis is more art criticism than science. The analysis represents a way of hearing a piece of music. Schenker himself was certain that a tonal masterpiece contains an inner truth–content, although few are sufficiently gifted to appreciate it. Although it is a subject of debate among music theorists whether there is a single correct hearing and analysis of a piece of tonal music, even those who hold that there is a unique correct analysis agree that the analysis can only be arrived at and evaluated subjectively by an expert listener. Therefore learning how to do Schenkerian analysis is above all else learning a way of hearing and understanding tonal music, and it requires study and practice just as learning to play an instrument does.
Read more about Schenkerian Analysis: Schenker's Goals, Schenkerian Harmony, Ursatz, Schenkerian Notation, Techniques of Prolongation, Diminution, Legacy and Responses, Further Reading
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