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Introduction to Analysis
So far we have only touched on the most basic melodic-harmonic patterns. There are many variations still
to be explored, but first we should try some simple analysis so that I can further clarify what this study is
trying to achieve. Let me begin by describing briefly what I mean by analysis.
For those readers who already have some background in the study of harmony, analysis has meant applying
labels to elements of the music. It should be apparent by now that I am not terribly interested in labels. A
mindless labelling of every vertical coincidence and every non-chord tone is a tedious and fruitless
exercise. It is important to understand how the musical elements work together, and this cannot be
achieved simply by labelling the parts.
Analysis in this work involves two things - a recognition of the basic melodic-harmonic patterns which
underlie the music, and an examination of details which are particularly interesting or revealing. My goal
is to provide you with general concepts and methods that will help you understand music, rather than
providing a classification for every possible musical device.
In the music which we will examine, some notes are part of the underlying archetypal structure and others
are decorations of that structure. When we analyse, we attempt to separate these two elements so that the
underlying structure is clearly revealed. When we strip away the decoration we create what is known as a
"reduction". Often we will have several levels of reduction as we, in effect, "boil-down" the music to its
most basic form.
Creating reductions can be very interesting, but it is also a little frustrating since it requires discarding the
decorations that give each piece its individual character. In many cases, therefore, once the basic structure
is clear we will examine some edifying aspect of the decoration, considering why the composer chose one
particular option from the many available possibilities.
© 2005 Andrew Hodgson
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