Schenkerian Analysis by Computer

Project Description

Since Michael Kassler's work in 1967, there has been periodic interest in the implementation of Schenkerian theory by computer, but the question of whether this is practical remains open. I hope to finally answer this question of practicality, and (if the answer is positive) to create prototype software to derive structural analyses from MIDI-like information. The project was greatly facilitated by a research-leave grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) during 2007-8.

There has been good progress to date, and software has been developed which automatically produces reductions which broadly match those of Schenkerian analysts for short phrases of music. The validity of the match is yet to be thoroughly tested, however, and the software is computationally very expensive. (Analysis of a phrase of just a few bars takes several minutes, sometimes over an hour.)

Two directions of research are currently being pursued. The first aims for greater computational efficiency by using search instead of the current comprehensive chart-parsing method. The second aims to establish firmer validity by basing development on a wider range of existing analyses (so basing the theory on the practice of past analysts), and also by an examination of Classical variations (so basing the theory on the practice of composers). Ideally, I would like to base theory on empirical investigation of listeners' cognition of structure and reduction, but I have yet to find a good paradigm for doing this.

Demonstration Software

• Reduction application (latest version, demonstrated at ICMC, August 2011)
• Demonstration applet [uploaded 20 Dec. 2007; corrected 4 Jan. 2008]
• Demonstration applet (earlier version referred to in ISMIR paper) [uploaded 25 Apr. 2007; accompanying text revised 21 Sep. 2007]

Associated Papers

• Software for Schenkerian Analysis (demonstration paper at ICMC, 2011)
• Recognition of variations using automatic Schenkerian reduction (paper at ISMIR, 2010)
• Exploring variations through computational analysis (slides of a presentation given at an IMR/SMA study day in London, 26 April 2010)
• Schenkerian Analysis by Computer: A Proof of Concept (pre-print version of an article currently in press)
• Progress Towards Schenkerian Analysis by Computer (slides of presentation given at the International Music Computing Research Workshop, Open University, 18 July 2008)
• Jointly with Geraint Wiggins, Schenkerian Analysis as Search (slides of presentation given at Conference of Interdisciplinary Musicology, Thessaloniki, Greece, 4 July 2008)
• A Framework for Investigation of Schenkerian Reduction by Computer (slides of presentation given at Goldsmiths', University of London, 10 April 2008)
• Systematic Exploration of Schenkerian Reduction (slides of presentation given at Empirical Musicology conference, London, 3 April 2008)
• Automatic derivation of musical structure: a tool for reserach on Schenkerian analysis (revised extended version of paper delivered at ISMIR 2007) [uploaded 21 Dec. 2007]
• Towards Schenkerian Analysis by Computer: Deriving the Harmonic-Contrapuntal Structure of Music Automatically (slides of presentation given at City University, 14 November 2007) [uploaded 21 Dec. 2007]
• Automatic derivation of musical structure: a tool for reserach on Schenkerian analysis (extended version of paper delivered at ISMIR 2007) [uploaded 21 Sep. 2007]