The Analytic Process - A Practical Demonstration The Opening Theme from Beethoven's Op. 26

Abstract

David Beach, one of the world's leading scholars of Schenkerian theory, contributed an article to JMTP over 25 years ago. "The Analytical Process - Practical Demonstration: The Opening Theme from Beethoven's Op. 26" introduced the basic tenets of Schenkerian analysis through a step-by-step process that begins with a clear discussion of the theme's form, and then moves through various rhythmic and pitch reductions, and closes with an elegant reading of the tonal, contrapuntal, metric and motivic processes the theme undergoes using basic notational symbols that prepare students for studies in Schenkerian analysis. The article is still widely cited and should be required reading in any theory class, not only in Schenkerian techniques. Still, when the article appeared in 1989, there were a few, yet substantive, errors in the sketches, which warrant correction given the continued influence of Beach's work. The corrected version in this volume also pays tribute to this scholar's crucial contributions over a period of nearly half a century.