Heinrich Schenker

Heinrich Schenker (1868–1935) was an Austrian music theorist who developed a method of tonal analysis that explains compositions through nested structural levels.

Schenkerian analysis: A method of tonal analysis that interprets a composition as a hierarchy of structural levels. This is the analytical method Schenker developed and the legacy most associated with him.
Foreground, middleground, and background: Three levels of structural representation in Schenkerian analysis, from musical detail to deep tonal structure. Schenker organized analysis around these nested levels of musical elaboration.
Harmony (Schenker book): Heinrich Schenker’s 1906 treatise on harmony and tonal composition. This early book presents ideas that developed into his mature theory of musical structure.
Oswald Jonas: An Austrian music theorist and student of Heinrich Schenker who helped disseminate Schenkerian analysis. Jonas became a major interpreter and advocate of Schenker’s theories.
Schenkerian analysis in North America: The adoption and institutional development of Schenkerian analysis in North American music theory. Schenker’s writings became a major influence on twentieth-century American analytical practice.
Ursatz: The fundamental structure in Schenkerian theory, combining a bass arpeggiation with a melodic descent. Schenker treated this abstract structure as the deep foundation of tonal compositions.
Voice leading: The way individual melodic lines move and interact within a musical texture. Schenker’s reductions trace how voice leading connects surface detail to deeper structure.
Counterpoint (Schenker book): Heinrich Schenker’s two-volume study of counterpoint, published in 1910 and 1922. Its account of voice leading helped establish the foundations of Schenkerian analysis.
Felix Salzer: An Austrian-American music theorist who developed and taught Schenkerian analysis in the United States. Salzer helped establish Schenker’s analytical approach in American music theory.
Music theory pedagogy: The teaching of musical concepts, analytical methods, and compositional practices. Schenkerian analysis has shaped how tonal structure and voice leading are taught.

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