Ernst Kurth
1886–1946
TENSION-THEORY
AND STRUCTURE LAYER
in
Music Analysis
If you focus on the tunes, and the phrases.
You may be understanding the piece in a
Schönbergian approach, called the
PHRASE ANALYSIS
If you focus on the slow-fast, or the
quiet-loud organization,
you may be understanding the piece in a
Ernst Kurth’s approach, called the
TENSION-THEORY
AND STRUCTURE LAYER
in music analysis
PHRASE ANALYSIS let you see – in
objective ways – how the elements
of music are organized. But this
objective picture can be varied
in one way, or another in
real-time performance.
Tension theory allows us to see more into
the music than mere noting how tunes are
structured; how the harmonies are varied;
how the music is organized, etc. It is useful
to inform us the differences when the same
pieces are played in a variety of ways.
Benefit from wave-editing software, Kurth’s
tension theory can be a powerful tool for
aural analysis