ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces concepts of meter that are fundamental to Schenker’s understanding of musical organization as expressed in a number of his writings and analyses of musical works, but not developed as systematically as his ideas on pitch organization. The first part deals with phrase rhythm, the interaction of phrase and hypermeter. Here we encounter concepts and terminology associated with hypermeter: hypermetric downbeat, successive downbeat measures and hypermetric reinterpretation. The second part deals with the various means by which a phrase can be expanded, either external or internal to the phrase. Externally a phrase can be expanded by an extended upbeat (lead-in) or, at the end, by extension of the cadence. Internal expansion is created by one or more of the following processes: (1) by repetition of a portion of the phrase; (2) by avoidance of the cadence, typically by a deceptive progression; (3) by parenthetical insertion; and (4) by a composed-out deceleration of the phrase. This second part presents a number of complex situations, and it is suggested that the beginning student skip the final examples in the chapter and return to them later, after completing Part I (Chapters 1–5).
