Re: Schenker arp. vs. desc.

>Schenker's
>fundametal melody is _not_ an arpeggio -- it is a _scalar_ descent. I
>think D.C.Carr's description is actually closer to Schenker's in that
>for Schenker, much harmony is simply a way of structuralizing and
>embellishing what is ultimately scalar melodic motion, in conjuction
>with elaborations of I-V-I bass movements .

Yes, but a melodic descent of 3-2-1 or 5-4-3-2-1, is an elaboration of
3-1 or 5-3-1. . . ie the triad. I.e. a harmonic entity, elaborated by
arpeggiation + passing tones. As is a I-V-I bass line. Thus in the
farthest background is an harmonic entity. Well, I don't
know if Schenker himself went that far in reduction, but Salzer's
"Structural Hearing", if I remember correctly, does go that far.
Anyway, I know that book annoys diehard Schenkerites, etc. etc., but
I was just trying to say that from a certain point of view, one
can see line as ultimately deriving from harmonic concepts.

Also, that when composing, and learning to compose, a "good tune", I
think one *has to* keep harmonic concepts of some sort in mind.

***From: Christopher Bailey******************
http://music.columbia.edu/~chris
**********************************************

Christopher Bailey wrote,

>Well, I don't
> know if Schenker himself went that far in reduction, but Salzer's
> "Structural Hearing", if I remember correctly, does go that far.

The article we recently read about the origins of tonality spend about half
its length blasting Salzer's distortions of Schenker's theory. Anyone have
that URL handy?

>but
> I was just trying to say that from a certain point of view, one
> can see line as ultimately deriving from harmonic concepts.

I think it is often a mistake to do that in a "tonal" way when dealing with
music outside the geographic and historical realm of "tonality". I think it
takes a long time _not_ listening to tonal music to be able to understand
Gregorian Chant, for example . . . lest you hear a Phrygian piece in terms
of major, etc. . . . or music of other cultures . . .