Revista Msica Transcultural Music Review

Transcultural

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Anlisis schenkeriano y msica popular Cristbal L. Southampton

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allardo

El anlisis schenkeriano es probablemente la aproximacin ms difundida en orden al anlisis de la msica tonal occidental en una pequea mediada, en el mundo angloparlante. En las ltimas dcadas, el anlisis schenkeriano se aplicado a msicas de otras tradiciones aunque no ha sido creado para ellas, sino para el arte musical tonal occidental. Este alcance incluye la msica medie al y renacentista occidental, la msica folklrica occidental, la msica no occidental y la msica popular occidental. !in embargo, gran parte de la teor"a de !chenker expresadas en sus primeros escritos como #omposicin $ibre, publicado en %&'(, poco tiempo antes de su muerte, es cultural, estil"sticamente espec"fica) alcan*a slo algunas formas de la estructura fundamental, los principios de la o* principal, y el nfasis de tr"adas entre otras reglas lo que la hace aplicable slo a un repertorio muy espec"fico. +e hecho, !chenker solo anali*a msica instrumental germana de los siglos ,-... y ,.,, por e/emplo 0aendel, 1! y 23E 4ach, 0aydn, 5o*art, 4eetho en, !chubert, 5endelssohn, !chumann, y 4rahms. $as nicas 6y destacables7 excepciones son los compositores extran/eros #hopin y !carlatti y la msica ocal de 4ach 6corales7 y !chumann y !chubert 6lieder7 8 pesar de este hecho, !chenker asumi que su teor"a ten"a una alide* uni ersal. En tanto basada sobre la naturale*a y las series armnicas ser"a aplicable a cualquier buena msica. Es decir que !chenker cree que toda la msica arriba mencionada es buena msica. 9sualmente de/a de lado la msica no occidental, y la msica folk occidental como primiti as: considera la msica occidental anterior a %;<< slo un estadio temprano de lo que ser ms tarde la = erdadera msica>: recha*a a los compositores de su propio tiempo y desdea a mucha msica europea no germana, especialmente la pera italiana. Estas implicaciones estticas son dif"cilmente asumidas en nuestros d"as por aquellos que practican el anlisis schenkeriano. ?econocen que la teor"a de !chenker es culturalmente espec"fica y entonces, slo aplicable a un repertorio muy limitado. En los intentos de aplicacin a otras clases de msicas se ha /u*gado que se requer"a importantes adptaciones en esta teor"a. En este art"culo, examinar algunos anlisis schenkerianos significati os de la msica popular con la intencin de obtener conclusiones acerca de la aplicabilidad de esta clase de anlisis a esta msica y, en general, a otros repertorios que no son la msica culta tonal occidental.

!chenker no alcan* a aplicar su teor"a a la msica moderna, es decir a la msica popular americani*ada o influida por el /a**. !eguramente, la hubiera considerado un intento aberrante. !u teor"a solo concern"a a las =obras maestras>, y su /uicio sobre la msica popular era sumamente negati o. El /a** fue un estrechamiento de la msica popular que se conoci en nuestro tiempo. 5uchas eces olc sus opiniones en escritos sobre el tema) =el /a** posee un pequeo ritmo tan genuino como el metrnomo o una locomotora>. 6!chenker %&&@A&;) ...A;7, y =el /a** soli ianta los huesos, no la mente 6.dem) ...A;;7. 3ese al desdn de !chenker hacia todo lo que no fuera la msica culta occidental desde 4ach a 4rahms, hubo intentos de aplicacin el anlisis schenkeriano a la msica popular que incluyeron baladas populares americanas 6Borte, %&&(7 y canciones de CershDin 6Cilbert %&E@ and %&&(7, 1imi 0endrix 64roDn %&&;7, Fhe 4eatles 6E erett %&EG, %&E;, %&&H, y %&&(,y 5oore %&&;7, 2. +. $ang 64urns %&&;7 y 3aul !imon 6E erett %&&;7. Iinguno de estos anlisis llega a aplicar la teor"a de !chenker completa. En realidad, las implicaciones estticas de la teor"a de !chenker no son asumidas en ellos, sino para tratar de =demostrar>el alor esttico de la msica popular con la que tratan)JEl ob/eti o de este ensayo es exponer los significados musicales de la expresin de la genialidad de $os 4eatles en una simple y temprana cancin) =!he lo es you>, utili*ando herramientas serias de anlisis acadmico que tienen que er con los matices de la o* superior y la armon"a>. 6E erettt %&&H)%&7: y =$a msica popular de este libro tiene una reputacin internacional de ser un artefacto americano de alt"sima calidad. Io toda la msica popular escrita en el per"odo %&H@A(< es respetable en ese sentido... En realidad, estas canciones son =$ieder> americanas de un per"odo particularmente rico de la msica popular> 6Borte %&&() '7. !in embargo, la cantidad de principios schenkerianos adoptados en estos anlisis ar"a mucho entre ellos: algunos tratan de aplicar ms que otros, en tanto otros dif"cilmente podr"an ser llamados schenkerianos. $a teor"a schenkeriana busca explicar la coherencia orgnica de las =me/ores> pie*as de la denominada =prctica tonal comn>: aunque !chenker no utilice este trmino. En s"ntesis, esa coherencia est determinada a tra s de la direccin del mo imiento tonal, donde la relacin entre la armon"a de dominante y tnica es un principio bsico: sinteti*ado en la estructura fundamental. 8s", la afirmacin principal de !chenker es la subordinacin de algunos sonidos a otros como sus elaboraciones, y la recursi idad de ese fenmeno en diferentes ni eles de la estructura musical: esta premisa permite a !chenker representar a la msica en una /erarqu"a de ni eles desde el exterior al profundo o generar msica desde el profundo al exterior, como hace en su =#omposicin libre>. Ktra premisa importante de !chenker concierne a la naturale*a de las armon"as estructurales que pueden ser tridicas y diatnicas: la l"nea fundamental que puede ser tomada como un trayecto desde la EL. o la (L. K la 'L. hasta la %M en una octa a 6 registro obligatorio7, y la aplicacin de las reglas del contrapunto como la de generar disonancias como paso entre las consonancias y la prohibicin de quintas y octa as paralelas: en todos los ni eles /errquicos. Nuiero remarcar que !chenker cre"a que estas reglas eran uni ersales, basadas en el fenmeno f"sico de todas las tonalidades. $a mayor"a de los analistas schenkerianos reconocen la especificidad estil"stica de este con/unto de principios como un todo y creen poder cambiar algunos de ellos para aplicar la teor"a de !chenker a la msica popular. $a mayor"a de los analistas considera que la msica a la que estn tratando con elementos que tienen que er con la prctica comn de la

msica tonal, que lo ms importantes de ellos cambiarn. 8l mismo tiempo, hay una cierta resistencia entre los tericos a renunciar a los principios de !chenker, y a eces la discrepancia de algunos principios con las caracter"sticas de la msica anali*ada: este punto ser tratado ms adelante. 8dems, parece que la aplicacin del anlisis schenkeriano a la msica popular es ms problemtico cuando la msica participa de muchas de las caracter"sticas de la prctica comn de la msica tonal: esto es, cuando esa msica es tonal y usa bsicamente los mismos acordes, si bien puede ser modificada, y en el mismo camino, es decir, cuando el mo imiento basado en las relaciones entre dominante y tnica, puede ser claramente percibido: sin embargo, existe una clara tendencia entre los analistas de fa orecer esta clase de msica. Este hecho es considerado abiertamente por arios especialistas, incluso si piensan que arios cambios pueden hacerse tambin en el anlisis schenkeriano con istas a aplicarlo en esta msica. 3or e/emplo, Oalter E erett elige anali*ar P!he $o es QouP porque las primeras obras de P$os 4eatles forman un todo en cuanto a la presencia en sumo grado de la tensin estructural que es distinti a en la mayor"a de sus obras posteriores..P 6E erett %&&H) %&7. 8llen Borte dice) =5uchos de esos conceptos y tcnicas desarrolladas en este cap"tulo deri an de los escritos de 0einrich !chenker [...] En este libro, la primera relacin con la destacable e iluminadora obra de !chenker se encuentra en el enfoque anal"ticoR, y no en participar en su inters por ningn repertorio, excepto en lo concerniente a las baladas populares americanas que exhiben las caracter"sticas estructurales bsicas de la msica tonal clsica. 8unque deseo considerar la influencia de !chenker, hago hincapi al mismo tiempo en que la adopcin de los procedimientos anal"ticos lineales que desarrolla se reali*a en un mbito reducido y que no saca todas las consecuencias de su formulacinP 6Borte %&&() @H7. $ori 4urns sostiene =En tanto la aplicacin del anlisis schenkeriano de una cancin popular puede implicar cuestiones metodolgicas, creo que los resultados anal"ticos prueban la alide* del enfoque. $a funcin tonal armnica trae consigo un cdigo de relaciones y un idioma predecibles. Esta popular cancin SP1ohnny Cet 8ngryPT traba/a con y toca desde con enciones armnicas muy conocidas. 64urns %&&;) &&7. Q !te en E, Cilbert establece) #omo CershDin escribi bsicamente msica tonal, es ra*onable que adoptemos el enfoque schenkeriano para anali*arlo. 6Cilbert %&E@) @H'7. $os analistas citados ms arriba por Borte, Cilbert, 4roDn, E erett and 4urns aplican de hecho muchos principios de !chenker . +e acuerdo con Cilbert, =el punto de diferencia es que en el lengua/e armnico de CershDin estu o en una pequea medida S...T emancipada. $a tr"ada toda "a era necesaria para la conclusin pero las disonancias como no enas y hasta trecenas no requer"an resolucin.> 6Cilbert %&E@) @H'7 0ay otras =irregularidades: en las canciones anali*adas por Cilbert. 3or e/emplo, en el final de U! Oonderful , el !egundo grado de la escala de al l"nea fundamental no est y no es una tercera soportada estructuralmente en la l"nea ocal: lo mismo pasa en P. $o e Qou, 3orgyP, donde desaparece el segundo grado de la escala 6Cilbert %&&() H%AHH7. Esto fuer*a a los analistas a considerar >notas impl"citas>con la finalidad de mantener la l"nea fundamental schenkeriana que pueden ser problemticas) =$a cuestin de las notas impl"citas, ms >en la msica del siglo ,, que en el repertorio tonal clsico de los siglos ,-... y ,.,.> 6.dem) %'7. 3ero, en cuanto a los e/emplos mencionados, =$as notas impl"citas ba/os esas circunstancias [...] existir"an en el terreno de la lgica 6o intelectual7 ms que como fenmeno auditi o>. 6.dem) HH7. Ktro mati* interesante en el anlisis de Cilbert es el uso de algunos conceptos schenkerianos para concluir la coherencia orgnica en la msica como lo concerniente a las repeticiones): !ea o no consciente el compositor del papel

de las repeticiones en la estructura orgnica de una composicin El comien*o de ?apsodia en blue, sin negar la creacin intuiti a, es sin duda riqu"sima en repeticiones 6.dem) %E7. !e encuentran muchas en las composiciones =serias> de CershDin, y son instancias de relaciones mot" icas en diferentes ni eles de la estructura musical en canciones como P U! OonderfulP 6-er .dem) x7: Cilbert agrega) =Estas caracter"sticas hacen a una pie*a de msica orgnica y demuestran que el compositor demostr tanto cuidado en sus canciones como en su obras de concierto>. 6.bidem7. El ob/eti o esttico del anlisis de Cilbert es considerado abiertamente) =#reo que !chenker pro ey no slo de un mtodo anal"tico, sino una prueba de calidad en el que una buena pie*a de msica ser rica de acuerdo a la organicidad de las relaciones /errquicas que se proponen en la obra de !chenker. El resultado es que las me/ores melod"as de CershDin sometidas al examen de un anlisis schenkeriano 6 o influido m"nimamente por !chenker7 y los e/emplos presentados han mostrado precisamente eso>. 6Cilbert %&E@) @((A@(G7. Esta creencia en el poder del anlisis schenkeriano para demostrar alor esttico es impl"citamente asumida por arios tericos. 8llen Borte, en su estudio de la balada popular 8mericana, tambin modifica la premisa de !chenker de que toda armon"a estructural debe ser un acorde consonante) ampl"a la idea de consonancia de !chenker, diciendo) en el caso de nuestro repertorio ernculo, un acorde consonante que es puesto de relie e por uno de disonancias estables, como el de no ena> 6Borte %&&() @'7.9na e* ms la l"nea fundamental schenkeriana no ,siempre se manifiesta en esas canciones. $a actitud de Borte es menos escolstica, en ese sentido que la de Cilbert: en cambio en lo concerniente a las notas impl"citas, simplemente establece =algunas baladas pueden tener un amplio rango de configuraciones meldicas que no son l"neas correctas 6.dem) (%7. El anlisis de Borte trata de demostrar que la amplia escala de estructuras meldicas =contribuye de la forma ms elemental a la configuracin de la balada y a sus afectos detallados a menudo en el ni el del con/unto de componentes indi iduales de los corosP 6.dem) '''7. $as canciones de CershDin y las baladas populares americanas pueden erse como ceidas a la =prctica comn> de la armon"a tonal, incluso, hay un clara sensacin de mo imiento tonal en esta msica. $as cosas pueden ser diferentes cuando se tratad del pop o del rock. !i bien la armon"a tonal puede ser muy til para describir cierta msica rock, en general el rock y el /a** son explicadas me/or desde lo modal. El sistema modal es ampliamente usado por los msicos de /a** y de rock y por los analistas que tratan esta clase de msica. 8llan 5oore , en particular, utili*a un enfoque modal en su libro ?ock) Fhe 3rimary Fext 65oore %&&') @;A(<7. !in embargo, otros analistas tratan de aplicar la armon"a funcional modal a la msica rock con la que traba/an. Entre las canciones de $os 4eatles, no siempre es posible encontrar el mo imiento tonal que el pensamiento schenkeriano representa. Oalter E erett ha detectado una cantidad de art"culos que anali*an arias canciones de los 4eatles. En general, trata de a hacer un anlisis schenkeriano muy estricto. 8 eces sus conclusiones lo lle an ms all de la msica actual. 3or e/emplo en su anlisis de =!he>s lea ing home>, construye un marco schenkeriano donde la estructura final dominante es un acorde que no existe 6elpsis7 6E erett %&E;) see graph in page %<7 . 8lgo similar sucede en su anlisis de P!traDberry Bields Bore erP, donde =el cadencial es minimi*ado hasta el punto de no existir> y la l"nea de progresin fundamental .. V . actualmente sucede ba/o la .> 6E erett %&EG) ';HA';'7: de hecho,

en sentido estricto, el mo imiento tonal directo que la teor"a de E erett sugiere6.dem ';H7, parece no corresponder a esta msica. (Idem: 372) $as cosas son diferentes en el anlisis de E erett d en 8bbey ?oad. 6E erett %&&(7.3ara 8llan 5oore !i bien 8llan 5oore sostiene que>El ms reciente e/emplo de un estricto anlisis schenkeriano es probablemente la reduccin de Oalter E erett del !egundo tema de 8bbey ?oad de los 4eatles a una ursat* 6estructura fundamental7>. 65oore %&&;) EE, footnote @ to chapter @7, de hecho, E erett est for*ado aqu" por las caracter"sticas de la msica y las ob ias intuiciones en su obstinacin por mantenerse dentro de un estricto marco schenkeriano. 3robablemente el e/emplo ms claro es el final de PQou Ie er Ci e 5e Qour 5oneyP, done la l"nea el ba/o en la reduccin de E erett termina con los acordes de +o 5ayor, !ol 5ayor en la primera in ersin y $a mayor: una progresin que no es aplicable desde la armon"a funcional: en octa as paralelas con la l"nea fundamental. 6E erett %&&() H%E7. E erett propone la siguiente explicacin) Wl sistema pentatnica no conoce la armon"a del sistema mayorAmenor) las tr"adas son usualmente mayores SXT porque son escuchadas simplemente como dobladas en armnicos naturals de ra"* pentatnicas. Estas no tienen normalmnte erlacioens arnico contrapunt"sticas entre ellas, sal o sus poderosas pero primiti es funciones de paso. SXT 8s" es que la cancin puede terminar con Y'AYHAY% en octa as paralelas 6 la o* solista doblada7 por las otras partes. P 6.dem) HH%7. El problema del uso del marco schenkeriano cuando se trata con msica en la que las relaciones modales son importantes es el hecho de que el marco schenkeriano enfati*a las relaciones dominante V tnica relegando cualquier otra. Estas relaciones son esenciales en la >prctica comn>de la tonalidad, pero en mucha msica rock, el acorde de dominante no es ms importante que los otros. 3or e/emplo, So, en la msica de blues de los doce compases, el patrn . A . A . A . A .- A .- A . A . A - A .- A . A . , no nos da re*ones para pensar que el acorde de - es ms importante que el de .-, no existe la fuerte sensacin de que el acorde de - pueda resol er directamente en el ., como sucede en la omnipresente cadencia de la =prctica comn>de la tonalidad. 3or otra parte, pobres resultados se han obtenido cuando un anlisis schenkeriano estricto ha sido impuesto a una msica como el blues. En su anlisis de =$ittle Oing>de 1imi 0endrix, 5attheD 4roDn sostiene que =las pie*as de blues son conformes a los principios de la prctica comn de la tonalidad>. 64roDn %&&;) %G%7,ahora, las estrategias compositi as de 1imi 0endrix se er"an limitadas por las reglas de la armon"a tonal y el contrapunto. Esta creencia de que la msica de 0endrix es gobernada por las reglas de la armon"a tonal encabe*a una poco plausible interpretacin del blues de doce compases con el siguiente patrn de comien*o y finali*acin Z e Z C Z a Z e Z b Z a Z C B Z # d Z como un marco .A.-A.A-A. en 5i menor 6.dem) er grfico de pag %GH7. !i es posible considerar el acorde sobre ... 6!ol7 del comps dos como un acorde cercano en relacin con el acorde de .- 6a7 en el comps tres, es mucho ms con incente considerar la segunda mitad del patrn como una prolongacin del acorde de - 6b7: ms an, este acorde de - 6b7 es un acorde menor, por lo que entenderlo como dominante es un argumento mucho ms slido. 9na actitud muy diferente hacia el anlisis schenkeriano es el de 8llan 5oore en su libro Fhe 4eatles) !gt. 3epperUs $onely 0earts #lub 4and 65oore %&&;7) =gran parte de mi ocabulario grfico est tomado del anlisis schenkeriano. !in embargo, los diagramas no estn construidos en funcin del anlisis schenkeriano de esta cancin P 6.dem) H;7. !us anlisis no llegan a reducir la superficies musical a un marco schenkeriano y no siempre muestran una estructura en escala amplia basada en las relaciones entre dominante y tnica) entonces, el mo imiento tonal directo no es un pre requisito para la msica. +e hecho, las canciones se clasifican usualmente

de acuerdo al sistema modal.. Io se puede hablar de urmelodie en estos anlisis, aunque las reducciones no son lle adas a otros ni eles. 5oore presenta slo una melod"a intermedia haciendo abstraccin de la superficie musical. El criterio para estas reducciones es slo parcialmente similar al de la teor"a e !chenker. Ba orece las tr"adas y los acordes de tr"ada deri ados, reconoce los principios bsicos de la o* principal como cercanos y las notas de paso y de tensin de las notas =sobresalientes>: por e/emplo, la tnica es identificada por cuestiones de =modos mtricos, r"tmicos y acentuales de tensin 65oore %&&H) ;;7.> En qu sentido podemos llamar schenkeriano a este anlisis[ 3odemos er cmo en sus aplicaciones a la msica popular, los principios de la teor"a schenkeriana deben ser considerados como axiomas que pueden o no ser usados de acuerdo a su su/ecin a las caracter"sticas estil"sticas de la msica. 3ero hay algo de suma importancia en el anlisis shenkeriano que siempre est presente, aunque sea en m"nima medida en estos anlisis. 3rimero, los s"mbolos, grficos y terminolog"a. !egundo, una bsqueda de la consistencia, sobre todo de las l"neas de paso: especialmente en la o* superior o melod"a 6urlinie7 que de hecho es pensada como la que da coherencia a la msica. Fercero, la transformacin /errquica, generati a de la estructura bsica de la msica es asumida por todos en sumo grado, aunque se les da a algunos sonidos ms importancia que a otros....!in embargo, esta /erarqu"a est perdida en los anlisis schenkerianos ms libres) la cantidad de acordes estructurales posibles y las combinaciones posibles de sus fundamentales: las reglas de la o* principal no son tan estrictas, y entonces no hay una /erarqu"a estricta de sonidos: esto es, la tr"ada diatnica no es necesariamente ms importante que otros acordes, ni las armon"as de dominante, ni la marcha ascendente en la o* superior, es enfati*ada en, por e/emplo, el anlisis de 5oore. +e tomas maneras, las /erarqu"as no pueden aplicarse fcilmente a amplios ni eles de la estructura musical. Ktra clase de /erarqu"a es la reduccin de la msica a dos l"neas principales, el ba/o y la o* principal, que es lo mismo en todos los anlisis dentro de la teor"a de !chenker. En s"ntesis, la fuerte unidad y coherencia que la teor"a de !chenker re ela en la msica est presente en estos anlisis schenkerianos respetan de todas maneras los principios schenkerianos de la estructura fundamental y la o* principal. 8hora, cuando los principios shcenkerianos estn parcialmente en desacuerdo con los principios de msicas diferentes a las que !chenker traba/, debemos buscar la unidad y la coherencia basadas en otros principios. 5s an, hemos isto lo que hacen los analistas schenkerianos cuando encaran el estudio de la msica popular, pero tambin es interesante er lo que hacen con otras msicas. 5uchos aspectos significati os de la msica rock no son contemplados por el anlisis schenkeriano debido a las limitaciones de este. 3rimero, el anlisis r"tmico del rock puede dif"cilmente pueda hacerse desde el anlisis schenkeriano) los patrones r"tmicos repetiti os, las pocas ariaciones que aparecen en las repeticiones , los contrastes entre ellas, en una mano, la seccin r"tmica , en la otra, la melod"a que elude el comps mediante frecuentes s ncopas, no puede realmente anali*arse desde una teor"a que e el ritmo como una emergencia de la l"nea media de la estructura. !egundo, y ms generalmente, todos los parmetros =secundarios> son considerados como =proyectados> desde el campo estructural, en tanto no se consideran demasiado significati os como lo son en frecuentemente en la msica rock. Q tercero, los matices formales de la msica rock son de/ados de lado por los anlisis formales shcnkerianos, como si emergieran slo de la amplia escala armnicamente deri ada por el mo imiento directo.

$a teor"a de !chenker ha sido desarrollada para la msica culta tonal occidental. 4usca de elar una =amplia estructura>de msica que se reduce a una composicin de alrededor de einte minutos, con algunos e entos =estructurales> importantes. Esta estructura, la estructura fundamental del enfoque de !chenker simboli*a un claro sentido del mo imiento que a desde el comien*o hasta el final de la pie*a. 0emos isto cmo los intentos de extender la teor"a de !chenker se quedan en sus principios estil"sticos ms elementales y tratan de conser ar la arma*n estructural general del anlisis schenkeriano: la transformacin /errquica, generati a de la estructura bsica: que impl"citamente es tomada como de una alide* psicolgica uni ersa. !in embargo, mucho de lo que usualmente es asumido como uni ersalmente aplicable ha sido de hecho originado por las normas estticas de la msica culta tonal occidental. $a teor"a de !chenker remarca el hecho que la msica nos cuenta una historia, con su comien*o, su desarrollo y su final: una historia completa que no necesita otra fe une de significados que ella misma. 3ero esta clase de discurso musical no es caracter"stico de toda la msica, sino una contingencia histrica asociada con la isin de la msica como autnoma y absoluta, tal como se la msica clsica occidental a partir del siglo ,-.... !in embargo, siempre que tratamos con esta msica absoluta, hay algunos problemas en la aplicacin de esta teor"a. Ella focali*a la armon"a y la o* principal en un ni el amplio y considera los otros parmetros como secundarios o como la =superficie> de los acontecimientos. 8hora, la estructura amplia sobre la que estn basados no es un e ento musical ob io y puede ser descubierto a tra s del anlisis, y sus efectos en la msica no son fcilmente perceptibles: excepto e n el caso de las composiciones muy cortas. En contraste, los parmetros =secundarios> pueden ser muy ob ios. 8dems, estas teor"as son ms pro echosas cuando los parmetros secundarios de la forma musical intensifican la estructura amplia, esto es, cuando, por e/emplo, en la sonata clsica, =el plan tonal S...T gobierna la disposicin de los temas y texturas, la modeli*acin de lo importante y lo superfluo, lo alto y lo ba/o, el paso del cl"max al reposo>. 6#ook %&&@) E&7. 3ero, a partir e la segunda mitad del siglo ,.,, esta estructura amplia, simple y coherente no es fcilmente hallable. 3or e/emplo, en su anlisis de un pasa/e del #oncierto para piano y ientos de !traDinsky el mismo !chenker >prob, para nuestra satisfaccin, que la o* superior de !traDinsky, si bien imita los procedimientos tonales, no llega a crear ninguna clase de /erarqu"a tonal) la ariada prolongacin se expande pero no forma un con/unto slido con ningn ni el. P 6Bink %&&&) %%@7. 8hora, parece que tambin para el arte musical occidental la bsqueda de estructuras amplias de acuerdo al pensamiento de la armon"a y la o* principal es solo una de las posibles "as de organi*acin de la estructura a gran escala. #omo para este repertorio que la teor"a de !chenker focali*a, la existencia de esta clase de organi*acin de la estructura musical no considera que la msica debe ser percibida desde un camino que enfatice esta estructura a gran escala\ 8 pesar de los esfuer*os de los analistas por mostrar conexiones no ob ias muchos oyentes parecen escuchar la msica desde un lugar mucho ms preciso que las superficies musicales) =$a isin de una sinfon"a de 4eetho en como un con/unto catico de =corrientes>de superficie, conexiones de energ"a intensas y transitorias entre =ob/etos parciales>, a eces en una pie*a. 8 eces en la conciencia del oyente S...T captura la fundamental contingencia de la experiencia musicalP 6Bink %&&&) %';7.

En la msica popular, los e entos superficiales parecen ser ms importantes que la estructura amplia. En el rock por e/emplo. $a repeticin continua de una pequea estructura musical: usualmente compuesta por copla y refrn: y el uso de patrones armnicos y meldicos muy pequeos, garanti*an una ob ia y fuerte unidad que no necesita ser apoyada por el descubrimiento de relaciones escondidas. #omo podemos er la audicin del mo imiento tonal directo en mucha de esta msica hace problemtica la aplicacin de la teor"a de !chenker. $as modificaciones de la teor"a schenkeriana an desarrollan modelos /errquicos basados en la armon"a y en la o* principal y tambin subrayan los parmetros musicales que para la msica popular pudieron en efecto ser considerados =secundarios>) cuando la msica repite la misma armon"a y \ o melod"a una y otra e*, los parmetros =superficiales>llegan a ser ms importantes. +e ese modo , puede decirse que esta clase de anlisis, y la e aluacin esttica que implica =de/a intonsos aquello erdaderos factores que en el rock pueden ser istos como los ms interesante 6y comple/os y profundos7) timbre, texturas, manipulacin sonora, e/ecucin, interpretacin, etc> 65oore %&&') %E7. $a msica popular ha sido frecuentemente de/ada de lado por los tericos occidentales debido a su unidad y cohrencia =demasiado> ob ias logradas a tra s e una repeticin reiterada. $o mismo puede decirse sobre el folklore musical occidental y la msica no occidental, cuya forma =c"clica> Aesto es, basada en una continua repeticin de un fragmentoA es muy conocida. 3ero en estas culturas musicales, el alor esttico no est ligado al desarrollo de ninguna historia desde el comien*o hasta el final: ms bien, el placer de la gente al escucharla reside en las pequeas pero importantes ariaciones que los e/ecutantes reali*an de los patrones bsicos. $os l"mites de la uni ersalidad de muchas teor"as basadas en las caracter"sticas de la msica culta occidental como la de !chenker, entonces, son fundamentalmente las impuestas por el modelo de una narrati a coherente y unificada. !in embargo, puede que esto no siempre sea importante. $a msica no es siempre slo para ser escuchada. Iuestra msica culta occidental es el producto de una cultura musical que encara a la msica estticamente: esto es, que =la interpreta en trminos de inters espec"fico por los sonidos y su experiencia perceptual> 6#ook %&&H) ;7: y esto es una : forma restricti a de acercarse a la msica>que = conlle a una interpretacin desequilibrada S...T de la msica ritual, religiosa y de la fcilmente escuchable: msica deseada no para ser escuchada, sino como una experiencia en un amplio contexto social del que deri a mucha de su significacin. 9na e* ms encuentra el pequeo uso para un gran pacto de la msica renacentista y barroca, cuyo inters reside en la e/ecucin ms que en la audicin. Q Io siempre se adecua a la forma de er la msica culta del siglo ,,. SXT En tanto una obra como esta 6una serial de !traDinsky7 puede ser experimentada simplemente como una sucesin de sonidos, es e idente que la atencin esttica del compositor se dirigi tanto al ob/eto imaginario musical delineado pro los sonido como a los sonidos mismo. 3uede ser imposible para los oyentes aprehender el ob/eto musical desde una lectura anal"tica de la partitura.> 6.dem) E7. 8hora bien, los parmetros musicales cumplen diferentes funciones, y la funcin del =disfrute esttico>es solo uno de los tantos posibles. 3aree que nuestra e aluacin de la msica es relati a a cunto cumple con estas funciones) =muchos de los argumentos concernientes a los mritos relati os de diferentes msicos pueden resol erse ms a tra s de lo tico que de la explicacin de algn mati* musical. ! 65oore %&&') H;7.

8hora, la idea del anlisis que focalice exclusi amente lo musical, audible, hechos que estn en el centro de la teor"a de !chenker, es completamente espec"fico de una cultura, y la extensin de esa idea a otras culturas musicales acarrea el riesgo de de/ar de lado las caracter"sticas ms importantes de esta msica.
"#T$% ". #ost of this article is ta$en from m% dissertation !&ni'ersalit% 'ersus (ultural Specificit% in )nal%tical and *erceptual )pproaches to #usic: the (ase of &nit% and (oherence! (#) diss., &ni'ersit% of Southampton, "+++). I am profoundl% inde,ted to m% super'isor -icholas (oo$ ,ecause of the man% su..estions he made for it, some of /hich /ere included literall%. 2. 0o ,e sure, this anal%sts usuall% assume Schen$er1s aesthetic implication that their anal%ses re'eal, at least in part, the aesthetic 'alue of the music, as /e /ill see ,elo/. 2hat the% do not assume is that onl% music from 3ach to 3rahms is aestheticall% 'alua,le and that onl% this music can ,e successfull% anal%sed ,% means of Schen$erian techniques. 3. )ccordin. to Schen$er, repetition is one of the !forms of or.anic relationship /hich occur in true diminution! (Schen$er "+7+:+4)5 for him, concealed repetitions 6that is, the moti'ic relationships in the middle.round or e'en ,et/een middle.round and fore.round that Schen$er points out in his anal%ses6 are more important than o,'ious repetitions in order to achie'e or.anic coherence in music: !it /as precisel% these concealed repetitions /hich freed music from the narro/ness of strict imitation and pointed the /a% to the /iedest spans and most distant .oals! (Idem: ++) 7. 0hese terms /ill ,e used here /ithout distinction. 8. Shen$er1s theor% focuses on pitch structure, especiall% harmon% and 'oice leadin.. 0herefore, other musical parameters 6such as tim,re, d%namics, te9ture, rh%thm, re.ister and so on6 are usuall% considered as 1secondar%1 parameters in Schen$erian anal%ses. :. 0his ar.ument is /idel% de'eloped in (oo$ "++2. 7. )lan #erriam proposes ten cate.ories of function of music in #erriam "+:7: 2"762"4. 4. Simon ;rith de'elops a similar ar.ument in ;rith "++4. R$&$R$"C$% 3ro/n, #atthe/. ("++7) ! 1<ittle 2in.1. ) Stud% in #usic (o.nition!, in 9nderstanding ?ock. Essays in 5usical 8nalysis, ed. =ohn (o'ach and >raeme #. 3oone (-e/ ?or$ @ A9ford: A9ford &ni'ersit% *ress). 3urns, <ori. ("++7) ! 1=oanie1 >et )n.r%. $.d. lan.Bs ;eminist Ce'ision!, in 9nderstanding ?ock. Essays in 5usical 8nalysis, ed. =ohn (o'ach and >raeme #. 3oone (-e/ ?or$ @ A9ford: A9ford &ni'ersit% *ress). (oo$, -icholas. ("++2) 5usic, .magination and #ulture (A9ford: (larendon *ress). (oo$, -icholas. ("++7) !*erception: ) *erspecti'e from #usic 0heor%!, in 5usical 3erceptions, ed. Cita )iello @ =ohn Slo,oda (-e/ ?or$: A9ford &ni'ersit% *ress) :76+8. D'erett, 2alter. ("+4:) !;antastic remem,rance in =ohn <ennon1s Stra/,err% ;ields fore'er and =ulia!, 5usical Nuarterly 72E3, 3:F6+3. D'erett, 2alter. ("+47) !0e9t6paintin. in the fore.round and middle.round of *aul #c(artne%1s 3eatle son., 1She1s lea'in. home1: ) musical stud% of ps%cholo.ical conflict!, .n theory only + E7, 862". D'erett, 2alter. ("++2) !Goice leadin. and harmon% as e9pressi'e de'ices in earl% music of the 3eatles: She lo'es %ou!, #ollege 5usic !ymposium 32, "+637. D'erett, 2alter. ("++8) !0he 3eatles as (omposers: 0he >enesis of ),,e% Coad, Side 0/o!, in #oncert 5usic, ?ock, and 1a** since %&@() Essays and 8nalytical !tudies , ed. DliHa,eth 2est #ar'in @ Cichard Iermann (Cochester: &ni'ersit% of Cochester *ress) "726227. D'erett, 2alter. ("++7) !S/allo/ed ,% a Son.!, in 9nderstanding ?ock. Essays in 5usical 8nalysis, ed. =ohn (o'ach and >raeme #. 3oone (-e/ ?or$ @ A9ford: A9ford &ni'ersit% *ress). ;in$, Co,ert. ("+++) !>oin. ;lat: *ost6Iierarchical #usic 0heor% and the #usical Surface!, in ?ethinking 5usic, ed. -icholas (oo$ @ #ar$ D'erist (A9ford: A9ford &ni'ersit% *ress) "F26"37. ;orte, )llen. ("++8) Fhe 8merican popular ballad of the golden era, "+276"+8F (*rinceton: *rinceton &ni'ersit% *ress).

 ;rith, Simon. ("++4) 3erforming ?ites. E aluating 3opular 5usic. (A9ford: A9ford &ni'ersit% *ress). >il,ert, Ste'en D. ("+47) !>ersh/in1s art of counterpoint!, 5usical Nuarterly 7FE7, 72368:. >il,ert, Ste'en D. ("++8) Fhe music of CershDin. (omposers of the t/entieth centur% (-e/ Ia'en: ?ale &.). #erriam, )lan. ("+:7) Fhe 8nthropology of 5usic ((hica.o: -orth/estern &ni'ersit% *ress). #oore, )llan. ("++2) !*atterns of harmon%!, 3opular 5usic ""E", 736"F:. #oore, )llan ;. ("++3) ?ock) Fhe 3rimary Fext. +e eloping a 5usicology of ?ock (3uc$in.ham @ *hiladelphia: Apen &ni'ersit% *ress). #oore, )llan ;. ("++7) Fhe 4eatles) !gt. 3eppers $onely 0earts #lub 4and ((am,rid.e: (am,rid.e &ni'ersit% *ress). Schen$er, Ieinrich. ("+7+) Bree #omposition (-e/ ?or$: <on.man). 0rans. Drnst Aster. Schen$er, Ieinrich. ("++76"++7) Fhe 5asterDork in 5usic ((am,rid.e: (am,rid.e &ni'ersit% *ress). 3 'ols. Dd. 2illiam Jra,$in.

Revista Transcultural de Msica Transcultural Music Review

Schenkerian Analysis and Popular Music

arc!a allardo Southampton Schenkerian analysis is probably the most disseminated approach in order to analyse Western tonal music, at least in the English-speaking world. In the last decades, there have been many attempts to apply Schenkerian analysis to other musical traditions than the one it was created for that is, Western art tonal music. These attempts include Western art medieval and enaissance music, Western folk music, non-Western music and Western popular music. !owever, most of Schenker"s theory as e#pressed in his late writings, such as $ree %omposition &Schenker '()(*, published in '(+, shortly after his death- is culturally, stylistically specific. the availability of /ust a few forms of the fundamental structure, the voice-leading principles, and the emphasis on triads, among other constraints, make it applicable /ust to a very specific repertoire. In fact, Schenker only analyses 0erman instrumental music of the '1th and '(th centuries, mainly by !2ndel, 3. S. and %. 4. E. 5ach, !aydn, 6o7art, 5eethoven, Schubert, 6endelssohn, Schumann, and 5rahms. The only Cristbal L.

&remarkable* e#ceptions are the foreign composers %hopin and Scarlatti and the vocal music by 3. S. 5ach &chorales* and Schubert and Schumann &lieder*. In spite of this fact, Schenker assumed his theory to have universal validity. 8s based on nature-the harmonic series- it would be applicable to any good music. Therefore, Schenker believes that only the music above mentioned is good music. !e usually dismisses non-Western music and Western folk music as primitive- considers Western music before ')99 to be /ust a early stage which would lead later to :true: music- re/ects the composers of his own time- and scorns most European non-0erman music-especially Italian opera. These aesthetic implications are hardly assumed nowadays by those who practice Schenkerian analysis. They acknowledge Schenker"s theory to be culturally specific and, as such, only applicable to a very limited repertoire. 8ttempts of application to other kinds of music are usually deemed to re;uire important adaptations in the theory. In this article, I will e#amine some significant Schenkerian analyses of popular music in order to obtain conclusions about the applicability of this kind of analysis to this music, and, in general, to other repertoires than Western art tonal music. Schenker did not attempt to apply his theory to modern-that is, 8mericani7ed or /a77-influenced- popular music. To be sure, he would have considered such an attempt aberrant. !is theory was only concerned with :masterworks:, and his /udgments about popular music was very negative. 3a77 was the closest to the popular music of our time that he was ac;uainted with in his own time. These are some of the opinions he wrote about it. :/a77 possesses as little genuine rhythm as a metronome or a train wheel: &Schenker '((<-(). III-)*, and :3a77 stirs the bones, not the mind: &Idem. III-))*. =espite Schenker"s scorn of other kind of music than Western art music from 3. S. 5ach to 5rahms, there have been attempts to apply Schenkerian analysis to popular music, which include 8merican popular ballads &$orte '((,* and songs by 0ershwin &0ilbert '(1< and '((,*, 3imi !endri# &5rown '(()*, the 5eatles &Everett '(1>, '(1), '((?, and '((,, and 6oore '(()*, @. =. Aang &5urns '(()* and 4aul Simon &Everett '(()*. Bo one of these analyses intends to apply the whole Schenker theory. 8t least, the aesthetic implications of Schenker"s theory are not assumed in them, since they usually try to :demonstrate: the aesthetic value of the popular music they are dealing with? . :The aim of this essay is to e#pose the musical means of e#pression of geniality and e#uberance in the 5eatles" simple early song, CShe Aoves DouC, using the CseriousC tools of academic analysis that pertain to issues of voice leading and harmony.: &Everett '((?. '(*- and :The popular music with which this book is concerned en/oys an international reputation as an 8merican cultural artifact of highest ;uality. Bot all the popular music written in the period '(?<-,9 is worthy of consideration E...F In a very real sense, these songs are the 8merican CAiederC of a particularly rich period in popular music.: &$orte '((,. +*. !owever, the amount of Schenkerian principles adopted in these analyses varies broadly among them- some try to apply most of them, whereas others can hardly be called Schenkerian analyses. Schenker"s theory aims to e#plain the organic coherence of the :best: pieces of the so-called :common-practice: tonal music-though Schenker did not use this term. In short, this coherence is mainly achieved through directed tonal motion-where the relationship between dominant and tonic harmonies is the basic principle- as synthesised in the fundamental structure. Therefore, the

main assumption Schenker makes is the subordination of some sounds to others as their elaborations, and the recursivity of this phenomenon at different levels of musical structure- this assumption permits Schenker to represent music in a hierarchy of levels from foreground to background-or to generate music from background to foreground, as he does in his $ree %omposition. Gther important assumptionsC by Schenker concern. the nature of structural harmonies, which must be triadic and diatonic- the fundamental line, which must be a step-wise descent from H1 , H, or H+ to H' in an octave &obligatory register*and the application of the rules of counterpoint such as the generation of dissonances from motions between consonances and the prohibition of parallel fifths and octaves- at all hierarchical levels. I have already commented that Schenker believed these constraints to be universal, as based in the physical phenomenon of the over-tones. The ma/ority of Schenkerian analysts acknowledge the style-specificity of this set of principles as a whole and they feel free to change some of them in order to apply Schenker"s theory to popular music. The less the analysts consider that the music they are dealing with shares features with :common-practice: tonal music, the more important these changes will be. 8t the same time, there is a certain resistance among theorists to renounce to Schenker"s principles, and sometimes the discrepancy of such principles with the features of the music analysed leads to unconvincing analyses this point will be dealt with below. Therefore, it seems that the application of Schenkerian analysis to popular music is less problematic when the music shares the main features of :common-practice: tonal music that is, when this music is tonal since it uses basically the same chords, though maybe modified, and in the same way, so that directed motion based in dominant-tonic relationships can be clearly perceived- hence, there is a certain tendency among analysts to favour this kind of music. This fact is overtly acknowledged by many analysts, even if they think that some changes must still be made in Schenkerian analysis in order for it to be applied to this music. So, for e#ample, Walter Everett chooses to analyse :She Aoves Dou: because :The 5eatlesI ardent early works cohere by virtue of a greater degree of structural tension than is heard in most of their later work.: &Everett '((?. '(*. 8llen $orte says. :6any of the concepts and techni;ues covered in this chapter derive from the writings of !einrich Schenker E...F In this book, the primary relation between Schenker"s remarkable and path-breaking work is to be found in the analytical approach, not in any shared interest in musical repertoire, e#cept insofar as the 8merican popular ballad e#hibits the basic structural characteristics of classical tonal music. 8lthough I wish to acknowledge Schenker"s influence, I emphasi7e at the same time that the adoption of the linear-analytical procedures he developed is modest in scope and does not begin to engage the full range of his formulation.: &$orte '((,. <?*. Aori 5urns claims. :While the application of Schenkerian analysis to a popular song may raise methodological ;uestions, I believe that the analytical results prove the validity of this approach. Tonal harmonic function carries with it a code of predictable idioms and relationships. This popular song E:3ohnny 0et 8ngry:F works within and plays upon well-known harmonic conventions: &5urns '((). ((*. 8nd Steven E. 0ilbert states. :Since 0ershwin wrote basically tonal music, it is reasonable that we adopt a modified Schenkerian approach.: &0ilbert '(1<. <?+*.

The above cited analyses by $orte, 0ilbert, 5rown, Everett and 5urns in fact apply most of Schenker"s principles. Some adaptations are needed. 8ccording to 0ilbert, :the main point of difference is that in 0ershwin"s harmonic language the dissonance had at least been partially E...F emancipated. The triad was still necessary for closure, but dissonances such as ninths and so-called thirteenths did not re;uire resolution.: &0ilbert '(1<. <?+*. There are some other :irregularities: in the songs analysed by 0ilbert. $or instance, in the end of : "S Wonderful:, scale degree H? of the fundamental line is lacking, and there is not a structurally supported H+ in the vocal line- the same happens in :I Aove Dou, 4orgy:, where there is a missing scale degree H? &0ilbert '((,. ?'-??*. This forces the analyst to consider :implied notes: in order to maintain the Schenkerian fundamental line, which can be problematic. :The matter of implied notes is open to ;uestion, more so in twentieth-century music than in the standard tonal repertoire of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.: &Idem. '+*. 5ut, at least for the mentioned e#amples, :Implied notes under these circumstances E...F should be understood as logical &or intellectual* rather than aural phenomena.: &Idem. ??*. 8nother interesting issue in 0ilbert"s analyses is the use of some of the Schenkerian means to achieve organic coherence in music, such as concealed repetitions+ . :Whether conscious on the composer"s part or not, concealed repetitions such as these contribute greatly to the organic structure of a composition. The opening of hapsody in 5lue, no doubt an intuitive creation, is nonetheless rich in concealed repetitions.: &Idem. '1*. These are mainly found in 0ershwin"s :serious: compositions, but there are also some instances of motivic relationships between different levels of the music structure in such songs as : "S Wonderful: &see Idem. #*- 0ilbert adds. :Such features make for an organic piece of music and demonstrate that the composer lavished the same care on his songs as he did on his concert works.: &Ibidem*. The aesthetic aim of 0ilbert"s analyses is overtly acknowledged. :I also believe that Schenker provided not only an analytic method, but a test of ;uality-in that a good piece of music will be rich in the kind of organic, hierarchical relationships that were the focus of Schenker"s work. The result is that the best of 0ershwin"s melodies submit very well to the scrutiny of a Schenkerian &or at least Schenker-influenced* analysis-and it is hoped that the e#amples presented here have shown precisely that.: &0ilbert '(1<. <,,-<,>*. This belief in the power of Schenkerian analysis to demonstrate aesthetic value seems to be implicitly assumed by most theorists. 8llen $orte, in his study of the 8merican popular ballad, also modifies Schenker "s assumption that every structural harmony must be a consonant chord. he allows for an e#tension of SchenkerCs concept of consonance, speaking of :in the case of our vernacular repertoire, a consonant chord that is enhanced by one of the stable dissonances, such as a ninth.: &$orte '((,. <+*. 8gain, Schenkerian fundamental line do not always fit in these songs. $orte"s attitude to this is less scholastic, so to speak, than 0ilbert"s one- instead of resorting to implied notes, he simply states. :some ballads may have long-range melodic configurations that are not stepwise lines: &Idem. ,'*. $orte"s analyses try to demonstrate that large-scale melodic structures :contribute in the most elemental fashion to the shaping of the ballad and to its detailed affects, often down to the level of the setting of individual components of the lyrics.: &Idem. +++*.

0ershwin"s songs and 8merican popular ballads can be seen as somehow close to the :common-practice: tonal harmony- at least, there is a clear feeling of directed tonal motion in this music. Things can be different when we are dealing with pop or rock< music. Though tonal harmony can be useful to describe some rock music, much /a77 and rock harmony is probably better e#plained as modal. 6odal system is widely used by /a77 and rock musicians and by analysts who deal with this kind of music. 8llan 6oore in particular, advocates a modal approach in his book ock. The 4rimary Te#t &6oore '((+. <)-,9*. !owever, other analysts try to apply functional tonal harmony to the rock music they are dealing with. 8mong the 5eatles"songs, it is not always possible to find the clear directed tonal motion that Schenkerian backgrounds represent. Walter Everett has devoted a number of articles to analysing some 5eatles" songs. In general, he tries to make a rather strict Schenkerian analysis. Sometimes, this stance leads him to conclusions which are distant from the actual music. Thus, for e#ample, in his analysis of :She"s Aeaving !ome:, he builds a Schenkerian background where the final structural dominant is a non-e#istent &elided* chord &Everett '(1). see graph in page '9*. Something similar happens in his analysis of :Strawberry $ields $orever:, where :the cadential J is minimi7ed nearly to the point of not happening:, and the fundamental line progression :H?-H' actually occurs above I: &Everett '(1>. +)?-+)+*- in fact, the strong sense of directed tonal motion that Everett"s background suggests &Idem. +)?* does not seem to correspond to the music. Things are rather different in Everett"s analysis of side two of 8bbey oad &Everett '((,*. Though 8llan 6oore claims that :The most recent e#ample of the strict Schenkerian approach is probably Walter Everett"s reduction of the entire second side of the 5eatles"8bbey oad to an Krsat7 Efundamental structureF: &6oore '((). 11, footnote < to chapter <*, in fact Everett is forced here by the features of the music and the obvious intuitions in its hearing to move away from a strictly Schenkerian background. 4robably the clearest e#ample is the end of :Dou Bever 0ive 6e Dour 6oney:, where the bass line in Everett"s reduction finishes with the chords % ma/or, 0 ma/or in the first inversion, and 8 ma/or-a progression which is not at all e#plainable through functional harmony- in parallel octaves with the fundamental line &Everett '((,. ?'1*. Everett offers the following e#planation. :The pentatonic system does not know the harmony of the ma/or-minor system- triads are usually all ma/or E...F because they are simply heard as doublings, in natural overtones, of the pentatonic CrootsC. These do not normally have harmonicLcontrapuntal relationships between them, other than the powerful but primitive passing functions E...F and neighbor functions E...F Therefore, the song can end with H+H?-H' in parallel octaves &a doubled single voice* in the outer CpartsC. : &Idem. ??'*. The problem in using Schenkerian backgrounds when dealing with music where modal relationships are important is the fact that Schenkerian backgrounds emphasise dominant-tonic relationships while relegating any other ones. These relationships are essential in :common-practice: tonality, but in much rock music, the dominant chord is not more important than others. So, for e#ample, in the very usual twelve-bar blues pattern I - I - I - I - IJ - IJ - I - I - J - IJ - I - I , there seems to be no reasons to think that the J chord is more important than the IJ one, and there is not a strong feeling that the J chord must resolve

directly into the I one, as it happens in the omnipresent full cadence of :common practice: tonality. Therefore, no good results are obtained when a strict Schenkerian analysis is imposed on such music as blues. In his analysis of :Aittle Wing: by 3imi !endri#, 6atthew 5rown claims. :blues pieces essentially conform to the principles of common-practice tonality: &5rown '((). '>'*, so the compositional strategies of 3imi !endri# would be limited by the rules of tonal harmony and counterpoint. This belief that !endri#"s music is governed by the rules of tonal harmony leads to an implausible interpretation of a eight-bar blues open-ended pattern M e M 0 M a M e M b M a M 0 $ M % d M as a I-IJ-I-J-I background in E minor &Idem. see graph in page '>?*. If it is possible to consider the III chord &0* of bar two as a neighbouring chord in relation to the IJ chord &a* in bar three, it is much more unconvincing to consider the whole second half of the pattern as a prolongation of the J chord &b*- moreover, this J chord &b* is a minor chord, so that its intended role as a dominant harmony is much more arguable. 8 very different attitude to Schenkerian analysis is that of 8llan 6oore in his book The 5eatles. Sgt. 4epper"s Aonely !earts %lub 5and &6oore '(()*. :much of my graphic vocabulary is borrowed from Schenkerian analysis. The diagrams are not, however, intended to function as Schenkerian analysis of these songs: &Idem. ?)*. !is analyses do not attempt to reduce the musical surface to a Schenkerian background and do not even show a large-scale structure based in dominant-tonic relationships. So, directed tonal motion is not supposed to be in the music as a prere;uisite. In fact, songs are usually classified according to the modal system. Gne can not even speak of backgrounds in these analyses, since the reductions are not carried out at deep levels. 6oore presents /ust a middleground ;uite close to the musical surface. The criteria to make these reductions are only partially the same as those of SchenkerCs theory. !e favours triad and triad-derived chords, recognises such basic voice-leading principles as neighbouring and passing tones and selects stressed or :salient: tones for e#ample, the tonic is identified by means of :metric, rhythmic and accentual modes of stress: &6oore '((?. ))*. In which sense can all these analyses be called Schenkerian analysesN We have seen how in its applications to popular music the principles of Schenkerian theory have been considered as a#ioms that may or may not be used, according to their fitting in the stylistic features of the music. 5ut there are still some important Schenkerian principles that remain even in the least Schenkerian of these analyses. $irst, Schenkerian symbols, graphs and terminology prove to be useful in all these analyses. Second, there is still a search for consistent, mainly step-wise lines especially in the upper-voice or melody- which in fact is meant to provide some coherence to the music. Third, hierarchical, generative, transformation-based structure of music is assumed by all of them in some degree, since some sounds are always selected as being more important than others, which elaborate them. !owever, this hierarchy is looser in the freest Schenkerian analyses. the number of possible structural chords and of possible combinations of them grows- the voice-leading rules are not so strict- and there is not a strict hierarchy of sounds-that is, diatonic triad are not necessarily more important than other chords, and neither dominant harmonies nor step-wise descents in the upper voice are emphasised in, for e#ample, 6oore"s analyses. Therefore, hierarchies can not be so easily applied to deep levels of the musical structure. 8nother kind of hierarchy is the

reduction of music to two main lines, the bass and the upper voice, which is the same in all these analyses as in Schenker"s theory. In short, the strong unity and coherence that Schenker"s theory reveals in music is retained in these Schenkerian analysis insofar as they are faithful to Schenkerian fundamental structure and voice-leading principles. So, when Schenkerian principles are partially left in order to approach other kind of music than the one Schenker dealt with, such unity and coherence must be either found by other means or given up. So far, we have seen what Schenkerian analysts do when approaching popular music, but it is also interesting to see what they do not do. Some significant aspects of rock music are not emphasised by Schenkerian analyses because of their intrinsic limitations. $irst, rhythmic analysis of rock can hardly be carried out by Schenkerian analysis. the repetitive rhythmic patterns, the slight variations they undergo in the repetitions, and the contrast between, on the one hand, the rhythmic section and, on the other hand, the melody which avoid the beats by means of fre;uent syncopation, can not be properly addressed by a theory that sees rhythm as emerging from middleground pitch structure. Second, and more generally, all :secondary: parameters are considered /ust as :pro/ecting: pitch structure, so that they can not be considered as much significant as they fre;uently are in rock music, . 8nd third, issues of form in rock music are neglected in Schenkerian analyses when form, as it often happens, does not emerge from large-scale linear-harmonically induced directed motion. Schenker"s theory has been developed for Western art tonal music. It seeks to unveil a :deep structure: of the music which reduces a whole composition or movement-maybe twenty minutes long- to a few important :structural: events. This deep structure-the fundamental structure of Schenker"s backgroundsymbolises a clear sense of directed motion from the beginning to the end of the piece. We have seen how the attempts to e#tend Schenker"s theory leave its most obviously style-specific principles and try to retain the general structural framework of Schenkerian analyses-the hierarchical, generative, transformationbased structure- which is often implicitly understood as having some psychological, universal validity. !owever, much of what is usually assumed to be universally applicable, in fact originates from aesthetic norms tied up with Western art tonal music. Schenker"s theory emphasises the fact that music tells us a story, with its beginning, development and end- a complete story, which does not need any other source than the music itself to be meaningful. 5ut this kind of sustained musical flow is not characteristic of all music, but a historical contingency associated with absolute, autonomous Western :classical: music since the eighteenth century onwards. !owever, even when dealing with this absolute music, there are some problems in the application of this theory. It focuses on harmony and voice-leading at a large level and consider any other musical parameters of musical form to be secondary or :surface: events. Bow, the deep structure on which it is based, is not an obvious musical event. it must be discovered through analysis, and its effects on the music are not easily perceivable-e#cept in the case of very short compositions. 5y contrast, the :secondary: parameters can be much more obvious. Therefore, these theories are the more useful when the :secondary:

parameters of musical form enhance the deep structure- that is, when, for e#ample, in the classical sonata form :the tonal plan E...F governs the disposition of themes and te#tures, the patterning of loud and soft and high and low, the pacing of clima# and rela#ation: &%ook '((<. 1(*. 5ut, since the second half of the nineteenth century onwards, simple, coherent deep structures of this kind are not so easily found. 8s an e#ample, in his analysis of a passage from Stravinsky"s %oncerto for 4iano and Winds, Schenker himself :succeeded in proving-to his own satisfaction- that Stravinsky "s voice-leading, though it mimics tonal procedures, fails to create any kind of organic tonal hierarchy. the various prolongation spans /ust do not cohere at any level.: &$ink '(((. ''<*. So, it seems that even for absolute Western art music, the search for deep structures by means of harmony and voice-leading is /ust one of the possible ways to organise large-scale structure. 8s for the repertory that Schenker"s theory focuses on, the e#istence of this kind of organisation of musical structure does not mean that music must be perceived in a way that emphasises this large-structure. =espite the efforts of analysts to show these non-obvious connections, most listeners seem to hear music in a way very much closer to musical surfaces> . :The view of a 5eethoven symphony as a chaotic and shifting assemblage of surface CflowsC transient, intense energy connections between Cpartial ob/ectsC, some in the piece, some in a listening consciousness- E...F does capture the fundamental contingency of musical e#perience.: &$ink '(((. '+)*. Surface events also seem to be more important than deep structures in most popular music. In rock music, for e#ample, the continuous repetition of a short musical structure usually composed of versus and refrain- and the use of very short harmonic and melodic patterns, guarantees a strong, obvious unity that does not need to be emphasised by means of any hidden relationships. 8s we have already seen, the absence of directed tonal motion in much of this music makes problematic the application of Schenker"s theory. 6odified Schenkerian theory still develop hierarchical models based on harmony and voice-leading and they also focus on musical parameters which for popular music could in fact be considered as :secondary:. when the music repeats the same harmonic andLor melodic patterns over and over again, the :surface: parameters become the more important. Thus, it can be said that this kind of analyses, and the aesthetic evaluation they imply, :leaves untouched those very factors where rock can be seen at its most interesting &and comple# and profound*. timbre, te#tures, sound manipulation, performance practice etc.: &6oore '((+. '1*. 4opular music has fre;uently been despised by Western theorists because of its :too: obvious unity and coherence, which is achieved by means of incessant repetition. The same can be said about most Western folk music and nonWestern music, where :cyclical: forms --that is, based on the continual repetition of a fragment- are widespread. 5ut in these musical cultures, the aesthetic value probably does not lie in the unfolding of a :musical: story from the beginning to the end- rather, the pleasures people obtain from listening to music lie in the slight but important variations performers make on the basic patterns. The limits on the universality of such theories based on the characteristics of Western art music as SchenkerCs, then, are fundamentally those imposed by the model of the unified and coherent narrative. !owever, maybe this is not even the most important point. 6usic is not always meant /ust to be listened to. Gur Western art tonal music is the product of a

music culture which approach music aesthetically-that is, which :interpret it in terms of a specific interest in sound and its perceptual e#perience: &%ook '((?. )*- and this is a :distinctly restrictive approach to music: which :leads to an unbalanced interpretation E...F of ritual, religious, and easy-listening music-all of which are intended not so much to be listened to, as to be e#perienced within a larger social conte#t from which they derive much of their significance. 8gain, it finds little use for a great deal of enaissance and baro;ue music, whose interest lies in the playing rather than the listening. 8nd it is not even ade;uate as an approach to twentieth-century art music E...F While a work such as this Eone of Stravinsky"s serial compositionsF can be e#perienced simply as a succession of sounds, it is evident that the composer"s aesthetic attention was directed as much to the imaginary musical ob/ect delineated by the sounds as to the sounds themselves. It may be impossible for the listener to grasp this musical ob/ect without an analytical reading of the score.: &Idem. 1*. Thus, music fulfils several different functions, and the function of :aesthetic en/oyment: is /ust one of the possible ones) . It seems that our evaluation of music is related to how well it serves particular functions. :many of the arguments concerning the relative merits of different musics can be resolved into arguments concerning the relative merits of different functions, which thus becomes an ethical rather than an e#plicitly musical issue. 1: &6oore '((+. ?)*. Therefore, the idea of analysis focusing almost e#clusively on purely musical-audible- facts which lies at the core of Schenker"s theory, is strongly cultural-specific, and the translation of this idea to other musical cultures creates the risk of neglecting more important features of their music.
"#T$S '. 6ost of this article is taken from my dissertation :Kniversality versus %ultural Specificity in 8nalytical and 4erceptual 8pproaches to 6usic. the %ase of Knity and %oherence: &68 diss., Kniversity of Southampton, '(((*. I am profoundly indebted to my supervisor Bicholas %ook because of the many suggestions he made for it, some of which were included literally. ?. To be sure, this analysts usually assume SchenkerCs aesthetic implication that their analyses reveal, at least in part, the aesthetic value of the music, as we will see below. What they do not assume is that only music from 5ach to 5rahms is aesthetically valuable and that only this music can be successfully analysed by means of Schenkerian techni;ues. +. 8ccording to Schenker, repetition is one of the :forms of organic relationship which occur in true diminution: &Schenker '()(.(1*- for him, concealed repetitions -that is, the motivic relationships in the middleground or even between middleground and foreground that Schenker points out in his analyses- are more important than obvious repetitions in order to achieve organic coherence in music. :it was precisely these concealed repetitions which freed music from the narrowness of strict imitation and pointed the way to the wiedest spans and most distant goals: &Idem. ((* <. These terms will be used here without distinction. ,. ShenkerCs theory focuses on pitch structure, especially harmony and voice leading. Therefore, other musical parameters -such as timbre, dynamics, te#ture, rhythm, register and so on- are usually considered as CsecondaryC parameters in Schenkerian analyses. >. This argument is widely developed in %ook '((?. ). 8lan 6erriam proposes ten categories of function of music in 6erriam '(><. ?')-?'1. 1. Simon $rith develops a similar argument in $rith '((1. R$%$R$"C$S 5rown, 6atthew. &'(()* : CAittle WingC. 8 Study in 6usic %ognition:, in Understanding Rock. Essays in Musical Analysis, ed. 3ohn %ovach and 0raeme 6. 5oone &Bew Dork O G#ford. G#ford Kniversity 4ress*. 5urns, Aori. &'(()* : C3oanieC 0et 8ngry. k.d. lang"s $eminist evision:, in Understanding Rock. Essays in Musical Analysis, ed. 3ohn %ovach and 0raeme 6. 5oone &Bew Dork O G#ford. G#ford Kniversity 4ress*. %ook, Bicholas. &'((?* Music, Imagination and Culture &G#ford. %larendon 4ress*.

%ook, Bicholas. &'((<* :4erception. 8 4erspective from 6usic Theory:, in Musical Perceptions, ed. ita 8iello O 3ohn Sloboda &Bew Dork. G#ford Kniversity 4ress* ><-(,. Everett, Walter. &'(1>* :$antastic remembrance in 3ohn AennonCs Strawberry $ields forever and 3ulia:, Musical Quarterly )?L+, +>9-(+. Everett, Walter. &'(1)* :Te#t-painting in the foreground and middleground of 4aul 6c%artneyCs 5eatle song, CSheCs leaving homeC. 8 musical study of psychological conflict:, In theory only ( L), ,-?'. Everett, Walter. &'((?* :Joice leading and harmony as e#pressive devices in early music of the 5eatles. She loves you:, College Music Symposium +?, '(-+). Everett, Walter. &'((,* :The 5eatles as %omposers. The 0enesis of 8bbey oad, Side Two:, in Concert Music, Rock, and a!! since "#$%& Essays and Analytical Studies , ed. Eli7abeth West 6arvin O ichard !ermann & ochester. Kniversity of ochester 4ress* ')?-??). Everett, Walter. &'(()* :Swallowed by a Song:, in Understanding Rock. Essays in Musical Analysis, ed. 3ohn %ovach and 0raeme 6. 5oone &Bew Dork O G#ford. G#ford Kniversity 4ress*. $ink, obert. &'(((* :0oing $lat. 4ost-!ierarchical 6usic Theory and the 6usical Surface:, in Rethinking Music, ed. Bicholas %ook O 6ark Everist &G#ford. G#ford Kniversity 4ress* '9?-'+). $orte, 8llen. &'((,* 'he American popular (allad o) the golden era, '(?<-'(,9 &4rinceton. 4rinceton Kniversity 4ress*. $rith, Simon. &'((1* Per)orming Rites. E*aluating Popular Music . &G#ford. G#ford Kniversity 4ress*. 0ilbert, Steven E. &'(1<* :0ershwinCs art of counterpoint:, Musical Quarterly )9L<, <?+,>. 0ilbert, Steven E. &'((,* 'he music o) +ersh,in. %omposers of the twentieth century &Bew !aven. Dale K.*. 6erriam, 8lan. &'(><* 'he Anthropology o) Music &%hicago. Borthwestern Kniversity 4ress*. 6oore, 8llan. &'((?* :4atterns of harmony:, Popular Music ''L', )+-'9>. 6oore, 8llan $. &'((+* Rock& 'he Primary 'e-t. .e*eloping a Musicology o) Rock &5uckingham O 4hiladelphia. Gpen Kniversity 4ress*. 6oore, 8llan $. &'(()* 'he /eatles& Sgt. Peppers 0onely 1earts Clu( /and &%ambridge. %ambridge Kniversity 4ress*. Schenker, !einrich. &'()(* 2ree Composition &Bew Dork. Aongman*. Trans. Ernst Gster. Schenker, !einrich. &'((<-'(()* 'he Master,ork in Music &%ambridge. %ambridge Kniversity 4ress*. + vols. Ed. William =rabkin.

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