musicians of old

Chapter 885: Schenker Analysis!
"Everyone."

"Let's start by discussing works from before the modern era."

"But let's take it a step further, starting with traditional theories such as harmony, counterpoint, and form analysis."

Fan Ning's voice remained calm, still carrying the guiding tone characteristic of his lectures, even as the visual organs of the dense, terrifying black shadows stared at him.

He turned and waved, erasing all the previous musical examples and harmonic symbols, and then added a new line of writing.

And add a heavy exclamation mark—

"Schenck analysis!"

Although it is the first step in a process, it is already an extremely difficult one.

Fanning first pays homage to the name of this being whose existence was erased and reset, just as he had previously paid homage to and collected "starlight".

"Schenker analysis, originally created by Heinrich Schenker, the Austrian modern music theorist in 'History That Never Exists,' holds that all musical creations originate from an initial, extremely simple 'basic structure'! It is only through a series of embellishments and extensions using techniques that a complex musical work that you hear is ultimately formed!"

Fanning quickly wrote the phrase "basic structure" on the blackboard, then added two lines from the top left and bottom left to introduce two other concepts that also sounded very simple.

“‘Basic structure’ is the conceptual cornerstone of Schenker analysis, and it comprises two parts: ‘basic lines’ and ‘bass progressions’.” Fanning slowed her speech, each word striking a chord with the listeners. “These two parts are actually incredibly simple; anyone who can sing nursery rhymes can understand them!”

“Starting from a tonic chord degree, usually the 3rd, 5th, or an octave higher, descending step by step back to the tonic, this is the ‘basic line’; then there is a very simple bass line that supports it, tonic-dominant-tonic, this is the ‘bass progression’.”

Fanning deftly wrote the musical notes on the staff.

Only six.

"Look, in C major, the 'basic structure' is like this—"

"'Basic lines', 3-2-1, mi-re-do; 'Bass progression', 1-5-1, do-sol-do, that's all!"

"This is the whole secret, this is the beginning and the end of all journeys!!"

The classroom was completely silent. These few simple notes formed a stark contrast with the complex and profound ocean of music in the hearts of the "listeners".

Those blurry, homogeneous figures in the front row seemed even more interested under their hat brims.

This doesn't seem to have much to do with atonal works.

But that doesn’t stop its proposition from being shocking enough. How can it possibly justify itself?
Will I end up getting lost in this mess?

This is indeed very satisfying for those curious about exploring mysterious knowledge.

"But if the 'basic structure' is so simple, does that mean that's how the works have always been, from Bach to Beethoven to Wagner? Where do the epic masterpieces and tumultuous waves we hear about come from?"

Fanning's lips curled into a knowing smile.

"It comes from extension! It comes from decoration! It comes from the infinite proliferation and transformation of this 'basic structure' in the dimensions of time, space, and imagination!"

He paused for a moment, letting the silence itself become the declaration.

Then, he scribbled a few more lines. "The finished musical works we see and hear are certainly more than just the 'basic structure'."

"It actually contains three structural layers—background, foreground, and middle ground!"

"The 'background,' or the 'basic structure' I just mentioned, is the deep grammar of the work. As I said before, whether it's mi-re-do or do-sol-do, it seems very simple, even too simple. But in our Eastern culture, there's a saying: 'The greatest truths are the simplest,' and 'From three comes all things!' If you find this difficult to understand, you can also think of it as the 'divine remains' of music, the 'primordial harmony' sleeping beneath all sounds!"

"Then, the 'foreground,' which is the actual musical score we see, is the final auditory result of all the extension and embellishment techniques superimposed."

“The ‘mid-shot’ is the structural layer between the ‘background’ and the ‘foreground’. The mid-shot structure is the most complex, unfixed, and most likely to change. It can be a structure that supports the internal form, or it can differentiate into a lower-level ‘secondary mid-shot’ structure!”

Fanning then turned to the shadows and asked them a meaningful question:

"So how exactly are these background, foreground, and middle ground elements formed? This involves another important concept that coexists with 'structure'—"

"Prolopgation, 'prolongation'!"

He smiled calmly.

"In fact, elongation is a universal principle that exists in all phases, not only in mysticism but also in ordinary linguistics. For example, a sentence is often composed of a main clause and various modifying clauses, and these clauses are the factors that elongate the main clause!"

"Through extension techniques, the 'basic structure' of music can be expanded and embellished, which includes techniques such as adjacent notes, passing notes, initial lifting, arpeggio dynamics, voice exchange, and 'linear progression' thinking that is closer to traditional counterpoint, etc."

"In short, 'structure' and 'extension' are the core of the Schenk system and the entire logic behind the writing of a work. 'Structure' represents stable factors, while 'extension' represents dynamic factors!"

Fanning summarized these concepts from the previous presentations, then gave a mysterious smile to both the public and potential audiences:
"Next, I'll increase the intensity a bit."

"It's time for practical case studies."

"Let me first introduce the chart analysis technique used in conjunction with Schenker analysis theory, also known as the 'three-chart method'. Listen carefully, it's different from those traditional harmonic symbols."

Fanning's right hand moved swiftly across the blackboard.

"Here we use half notes with long stems to represent the 'background,' quarter notes with different stem lengths to represent the different levels of structural layers in the 'middle ground,' and noteheads without stems to represent details in the 'foreground.' We use the occasional eighth note to represent ornaments or appoggiaturas, and noteheads in brackets to represent notes that should have been there but were bypassed or replaced."

"Then we use the ^ symbol above the numbers to represent structural line notes, curved arrows to indicate the logic of sustained chords, straight arrows to indicate passing movements in the lower voices, horizontal lines or dashed lines to indicate structural continuity, and curved lines to indicate the movement of inner voices in and out."

Finally, common functional markers.

"CS, counterpoint chord! DF, multi-functional chord! EM, ornamental chord! N, adjacent chord, where UN is the upper adjacent note and LN is the lower adjacent note; M, mixed chord! P, passing chord! NP, adjacent passing chord! VL, voice-contrast chord! (D), the fifth chord used to distinguish it from the obstructive progression of a regular dominant chord!"

It's not the level-based system anymore?
It wasn't a tonic-subdominant-dominant chord, nor a triad or seventh chord, and it didn't even have inversions, modulations, or key changes.

A completely different set of symbolic logic from acoustic marking.

A complete reconstruction in a mystical sense.

With this initial setup, even though Fanning's case analysis hadn't even begun, some of the previously enthusiastic but vaguely focused "audience" suddenly seemed to quiet down!
Faced with another vast knowledge system that possessed effective divine power, they couldn't help but begin to ponder.

It wasn't the kind of contemplation that carried a strange sense of worship.

His eyes were clear and thoughtful.