Society for Music Theory

"Grundgestalt" as Tonal Function

Author(s): Patricia Carpenter
Source: Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 5 (Spring, 1983), pp. 15-38
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society for Music Theory
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/746093
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as
Tonal
Grundgestalt

Function

PatriciaCarpenter

In this paper I will explore one of the importantfunctionsof

a musical idea-namely, how such an "idea" functions in a
tonal work to effect a coherent tonalityof the whole. I use "musicalidea" in a sense taken from Schoenberg:that whicha piece
of music is "about." By Grundgestaltor "basic shape" I mean
the concrete, technical aspect of the idea. I will clarifythis notion by bringingtogether some of Schoenberg'sstatementsconcerningthe musical idea and by a brief sketch of his theory of
tonalityas a networkof tonal relations. Finally, I will elaborate
the notion of the Grundgestaltby showing it at work in an example that Schoenberg used to demonstrate the unity of the
horizontaland vertical implicationsof the idea-Beethoven's
"Appassionata"Sonata, op. 57.
I
"Inits most common meaning," Schoenbergsays, "the term
idea is used as a synonym for theme, melody, phrase, or motive. I myself considerthe totalityof a piece as the idea: the idea
'The following works will be cited:
SFH
StructuralFunctionsof Harmony (New York, 1954)
FMC
Fundamentalsof Musical Composition, ed. G. Strang and L.
Stein (Oxford, 1967)
SI
Style and Idea: Selected Writingsof Arnold Schoenberg,ed. L.
Stein (New York, 1975)
HL
The Theoryof Harmony, tr. R. Carter(Berkeley, 1978)

whichits creatorwanted to present."2But he too uses the term

in its narrowertraditionalmeanings of theme, melody, or motive. By themeor melody he means a complete musicalthought;
by motive, its smallestsegment: "The featuresof the motive are
intervalsand rhythms,with harmonicimplicationswhich combine to producea memorableshape or contour."3That memorable shape is the Grundgestalt;the harmonicimplicationsare
its tonal function.
Schoenbergstruggledthroughouthis life with the concept of
the musicalidea, which served as center for the notions of coherence, unity, and logic that pervadehis thought about music.
His use of the term took on a range of meanings as his concept
changedand deepened, developing from the traditionalmeaning of themeor motive, of which there were many in a piece, to
that of a single unifying germ. In 1939 he wrote of a previous
article:"Then I spoke of 'new motives,' while now I believe in
the availabilityof only a single motive."4 And, more expansively, in Fundamentalsof Musical Composition, a product of
his lifetime of teaching and the most explicit publishedpresentation of his technique of motivic development: "Inasmuchas
2SI,p. 122f.
3FMC,p. 8.
4Quotedby BryanSimmsin "New Documents in the Schoenberg/Schenker
Polemic," Perspectivesof New Music 16 (1977), p. 122.

16

MusicTheorySpectrum

almost every figurewithin a piece reveals some relationshipto

it, the basic motive is often considered the 'germ' of the idea.
Sinceit includeselements, at least, of every subsequentmusical
figure, one could consider it the 'smallest common multiple.'
And since it is included in every subsequentfigure, it could be
consideredthe 'greatestcommon factor.' "5Ultimately this semanticrangefor the term idea-from the totalityof the work to
its smallest segment-designates for Schoenberg a single concept: the source of coherence in a work and the subject of the
musical discourse. I will demonstrate in this paper how these
two, element and whole, are two forms in which the Grundgestaltis made manifest.
I will explicate three technical features of the Grundgestalt:
motive, harmony, and tonality. Motive, although analyzable
into its elements of interval, rhythm,and harmonicfunction, is
a unity of all three: "A musicalidea, though consistingof melody, rhythm, and harmony, is neither the one nor the other
alone, but all three together. The elements of a musicalidea are
partly incorporated in the horizontal plane as successive
sounds, and partly in the vertical plane as simultaneous
sounds."6

Harmony, Schoenbergsays, is the logic of music without its

"motor,"or motive.7The motive is the motor because it "vitalizes" the appropriatevoice of a progressionor modulation. A
good musician,he says, will make a progressionlucidby vitalizing the crucialline, thereby illuminatingthe harmonicfunction
it carries.A theme, then, is not so much a figureagainstan harmonic backgroundas the surface of the underlyingharmonic
progression.Theme and harmonicprogressionare two sides of
the same idea; therefore the developing Grundgestaltis made
manifestin its harmonicas well as its melodic function.
The logic of the harmonicprogressionis the expressionof a
5FMC,p. 8.
6SI,p. 220.
7HL,p. 34.

tonality. Each work makes manifest a tonality in a particular

way. In a tonal piece, Schoenbergsays, the idea has to do with
tonal resolution and closure: "Every tone which is added to a
beginning tone makes the meaning of that tone doubtful. ...

In this manner there is produced a state of unrest, of

imbalancewhichgrowsthroughoutmost of the piece, and is enforced furtherby similarfunctions of the rhythm.The method
by which balance is restored seems to me the real idea of the
composition."8And the same means, it seems to me, are those
by which imbalanceis produced.
The function of the Grundgestaltin effecting a coherent tonalityin a work is to make manifestthat processby whichinstability is broughtabout in a work and stabilityfinallyrestored.
When we comprehendthe work, we understandthat process,
followingit in the developingharmonic,as well as thematic, aspects of the Grundgestalt.
II
In 1934Schoenbergwrote, "An idea in music consists principallyin the relation of tones to one another" and explicated
tonalityas a networkof such relations, referring"not merely to
the relation of the tones with one another, but much more to
the particularway in which all tones relate to a fundamental
tone, especiallythe fundamentaltone of the scale, wherebytonalityis alwayscomprehendedin the sense of a particularscale.
... If, however, we wish to investigate what the relation of
tones to each other really is, the first question that arises is:
whatmakes it possible that a second tone should follow a first.
. . ? How is this logically possible?" Only, he says, because a
relation already exists between the tones themselves.9 By
"tonalfunction"I mean those preexistingrelations among the
tones.
Tonalityfor Schoenbergis not merely a certaincollection of
8SI,p. 123.
9SI,p. 269f.

Grundgestaltas TonalFunction

pitches, a scale, but more importantly,a kind of centricity.All

pitches of a key-collection are related to a single tonal center,
each in a specificway. The function of a single tone is signified
by the degree of the scale it represents.The functionof a chord
dependsupon its root, which is, in turn, the scalardegree upon
which the chord is constructed.Tonality, then, is a set of functions of scalardegrees. If we want to graspthe idea of a composition that is "about" F, for example, we shall want to know
how each pitch that arisesin the course of the piece is related to
the tonic.
Schoenbergapparentlysaw organizationby tonal hierarchy
as an attempt to stave off an ultimate state of disintegration.
The centripetalfunctionof a progressionis exerted by stopping
the centrifugal tendencies, that is, a tonality is established
throughthe conquest of its contradictoryelements. Contradictory elements (in the simplest sense) are of two kinds: ambiguous diatonic pitches (those which a key has in common with
others) and pitches that are foreign to the diatonicpitch collection of the key. The "conquest"of such elements is their assimilation into the tonal whole in such a way that definesthe specific
functionof each.
Ultimately, in Schoenberg'sthought, the structureof a tonalitymay be extended to include all possible elements and relations. The diatonicpitch collection may be enrichedby tones
borrowed from other tonal areas and substituted for the
diatonic scalar material. Such substitutions may form new
simultaneities ("transformations"of the diatonic triad) and
elaborationsof new but related key areas. Suchelaboratedsegments of the basic tonality are called "regions." Borrowed
tones, no matter how far-reachingtheir span of influencesingle tone, harmony,or extended area-must be relatedto the
scalardegrees for which they are substitutedin order to be assimilatedinto the hierarchicstructureof the tonality, thereby
enlargingand extending it but preservingits integrityas well.
Schoenberg'sconcept of tonality as (ultimately)monotonality provides for a technical explication of the nature of tonal

17

musical space. His conception of a musical space which is

shapedand unifiedthroughoutby the idea is well-known:"The
two-or-moredimensionalspace in which musicalideas are presented is a unity. Though the elements of these ideas appear
separateand independent to the eye and ear, they reveal their
true meaningonly throughtheir cooperation, even as no single
word alone can express a thought without relation to other
words."10 Although this was formulated in regard to his
method for composing with twelve tones "related only to one
another," it can be seen to apply as well to tonal music. Tonal
musicalspace is a network of all possible tonal relations. Such
relations in tonal music constitute the preexistingstructureof
the musical space, by means of which a particularwork takes
shape and is comprehended.
As early as the HarmonielehreSchoenberguses the analogy
of a space in which the tonal conflicttakes place: tonality is the
large region in whose outlying districts less dependent forces
resistdominationby the centralpower. If this centralpower endures,however, it then forces the rebels to staywithinthe circle
of its sovereignty, and all activityis for its benefit.
We can assumethattonalityis a functionof the fundamental
tone;
thatis, everythingthat makesup tonalityemanatesfromthattone
andrefersbackto it. But, eventhoughit does referback,thatwhich
emanatesfrom the tone has a life of its own ... it is dependent, but to

a certaindegreealsoindependent.Whatis closestto thefundamental

hasthemostaffinitywithit, whatis moreremote,lessaffinity.
we followthe traces
If, roamingoverthe domainof thefundamental,
of its influence,we soonreachthoseboundarieswherethe attraction
of the tonalcenteris weaker,wherethe powerof the rulergivesway
and the right of self-determinationof the half-free can . . . provoke

upheavalsandchangesin theconstitutionof the entirestructure.11

How is relationshipdeterminedin this space? In the HarmonielehreSchoenbergsays that the circle of fifths expresses the
l?SI,p. 223.
"HL, p. 151.

Music Theory Spectrum

18

relationship of two keys only to a certain extent; hence he will

not use the circle exclusively for determining the relationship of
two keys, but rather for measuring their distance one from the
other.12 In Structural Functions of Harmony he elaborates this
notion, constructing a chart of regions that indicates their distance from and relation to the tonic (Figure 1).13 In the chart
two relations are at work-the fifth relation and the major/
minor relation. In the regions representing the core of the chart
these basic relations are presented: vertical relations are by
fifth (upper clockwise, lower counterclockwise); horizontal reFigure 1
CHARTOF THE REGIONS

MM
Mm

b'mvM

MSM
Msm
SMM
SMm

6MD

ti

M bh?I

6mv

6m
bm

'mvm
6mvSM
6mvsm

ImM
6mm

bmSMbm

SMSM
SMsm

6msm

S/TM
S/Tm

'smM
6smm

S/TSM
S/Tsm

S/r

dor

sd

6SM

bsm

6smSM
6smsm

Np
ABBREVIATIONS

T means
D
SD
t
sd
v

sm
m
SM
M

"

tonic
Np means
dor
dominant
S/T
subdominant
"
M
tonic minor
subdominant minor
'SM
"
five-minor
,MD
"
m
submediant minor
,sm
mediant minor
submediant major ,mv
mediant major

'2HL, p. 154.
3SF, p. 20. Reprinted by permission.

Neapolitan
Dorian
supertonic
flat mediant major
flat submediant major
flat mediant major's dominant
flat mediant minor
flat submediant minor
flat mediant minor's five

lations are alternately by parallel major/minor (based on a

common dominant) and relative major/minor (based on a common pitch content). Further regions are related by "proportional" relations, e.g., as submediant (a) is to tonic (C), so tonic
minor (c) is to flat mediant (Eb), and so on. When I speak in
Part V of this paper of "analogy of tonal function," I draw on
this kind of relationship.
Schoenberg did not consider tonality to be an end in itself
but rather a means to an end: it is one of the technical resources
facilitating unity in the comprehension of tone-progressions.
Its function begins to exist if the phenomena that appear can
without exception be related immediately to a tonic. Its effect
lies in the result that everything that occurs in the harmony is
accessible from the tonic, so its internal relationships are given
suitable cohesion.14 How does the Grundgestalt work to clarify
the manifested tonality?

III
Let us turn to the example, Beethoven's piano sonata, op.
57, the "Appassionata."
In Figure 2, I have constructed a circle of fifths from the
tonic of the sonata, F minor, incorporating the relative minor
relations. This results in a two-track circle, which I use for both
minor and major tonalities, rather than Schoenberg's somewhat awkward chart of regions in minor. There are certain discrepancies between the relations to the tonic laid out by the circle and the chart of regions, which we will see as we follow the
tonal "adventures" of the Grundgestalt. Here the circle will
serve as a map of the musical space of the sonata.
Example 1. The basic tonality: tonic minor/mediant major
The Grundgestalt can be expressed in its most essential form
as a major third (A/bC) with its upper semitonal neighbor (Db)
14SI,p. 261.

Grundgestaltas Tonal Function

Figure2. The tonalityof Beethoven'sop. 57, firstmovement

(Example la). Now the interestingthing about a single third, in

triadictonality, is its ambiguity.And one of Beethoven's games
in this piece is a play with thirds.The basic tonal contrastof this
firstmovement involves a reinterpretationof the Ab/Cthird:it
is made to represent 3-5 in F minor in the first section of the
exposition and 1-3 in Ab major in the second. The initial thematicmaterialof these two sections presentsthose two possibilities, first placing that third within the F octave and relatingit
then to Eb (Example lb). In this example I have designatedthe
mainthemes of the two sections of the exposition A and B, and
the intervallicmotives as T (the ambiguousthird)and T (the
definingfifthor fourth).

19

The two intervallicelements of the Grundgestalt,the third

and its neighboringsemitone, can each define the tonal function of the other. Given that third as establishedin F minor or
Ab major, the semitone functions as either b6-5 or 4-3. Conversely, the semitone b6-5 can serve to relate such a thirdto its
tonic, and in an essential way: as one of the operativepitches of
the diminishedseventh chord. Schoenberg,following his Viennese traditionin the theory of harmony, considers the diminished seventh to be an incomplete dominant ninth chord. I
spoke of the definingfunction of the b6-5 semitone as "essential" because the necessary resolution of the ninth-that is,
66--completes the dominant, thus establishing the triad to
which the ambiguous third is to belong (Example lc).
Beethoven strongly emphasizes this function in the striking
three-notefigureof the firsttheme, Db/C.
I take this procedure-the reinterpretationof a major third
by means of the reinterpretation of a diminished seventh
chord-to be the primary harmonic implication of the
Grundgestalt.By means of it the basic tonal contrast, tonic minor and mediantmajor, is achieved.
The difference between these two tonal areas, F minor and
Ab major, consists of two cross-relatedpitches: Dtlb and Etb.
The reinterpretationof the third involves the latter, requiring
the enharmonicchange of Et to FlS,the b6 of the mediant Ab
(Example ld). Beethoven placed the enharmonic change at
that point in the bridge where he lets go of the thematic materialof the firsttheme and introducesthe bridgetheme, exhibiting in an instant both the transformationof the function of the
semitone D6/C from b6-5 to 4-3 and the transpositionof the
function16-5 to the mediant, F$/Eb.Notice the elegant return
in the recapitulationof this crucialpoint (Example le): the revoicingof the motive in relation to the harmonyplaces it a fifth
(not third) higher, forcing the underlyingsemitones to ascend.
Here Beethoven reminds us that reckoned by straightforward
fifth-relation,Ab's affinityis with Db, not F. I shallreturnto this
implicationof the Grundgestalt.

20

MusicTheorySpectrum

Example 1. The basic tonality: tonic minor/mediant major

(a)

(b)

- i ,
Z7 0b

A
[4):j

06o

11

I
-

L
I

1.2~
~b 1

*..

rILL
rbl

4):,/b

I
_.

I-ir
I

a
-10

(c)

o0

Ir rI ,*

I rrr

J
6a
W?nO
1

--to

-*-

-5

I,

, .

(d)

lw~~I
R_11
I ?

,I k
_-_____ _

I_

--_ _|

II

oT r
b6 -

J
(e)

Fbl
b
't

op

I
-

b6

11

I
^L_

1 i

11tj

J*

i^
b6

. 1a

bd_

11

Grundgestaltas Tonal Function

Example2. Thefirsttonal extension:major/minorinterchange
There is a second procedureexpressingthe harmonicimplications of the Grundgestaltwhich I take to be also basic to this
work:the major/minorinterchange.The b6-5 relationis a function of the minor mode. Schoenberg'snotion of "borrowing"
allowsthe substitutionin the majormode of that functionof the
lowered sixth degree, on the basis of the "interchangeabilityof
majorand minor"by virtue of their common dominant.By this
meansAbminoris acquired(Example 2a). Again, this relationship is expressedby the thematicmaterial:the second theme of
the contrastingsection (B') is indeed a reduction(in the minor
key) of the first (Example 2b). I have designated the minor
third7. To complete the tonal picturewe must add the possibility of F major. In the recapitulationtonic minor and major
are juxtaposedat the beginningof the bridgein lieu of a modulation; and of course the B theme is in F major, reaffirmingthe
analogybetween tonic and mediant.
The major/minorinterchange takes us one quarter of the
circle of fifths clockwise or counterclockwise. Notice that this
relationof parallelminor/major,"close" in the chartof regions
and achieved in a single step, projects the motion quite far
along the circle, opening up possibilities for easy entry into
more far-relatedareas.
In regardto Schoenberg'stheories one might speak of the
structuralfunction of motive as well as of harmony,for he prescribesspecificproceduresfor both in the articulationof tonal
form. Such procedures are especially clear in transition passages. A bridge, which introduces a new tonal area, shows by
motivicanalogyhow that area is relatedto the old. The work of
a bridge is twofold: motivically, it neutralizes old material in
preparationfor the new, while harmonically,it introducesthe
new pitchcontent and transformsthe functionof the old. Motivic intervalscan be used in straightforwardmotivicways:in real
and tonal transpositions, strict forms of inversion and retrograde, and free forms of variation. But because I am interested

21

here in workingout the harmonicimplicationsof the motive, I

shallseparatetwo aspectsof its intervalliccomponents:specific
pitch and tonal function. Either can be manipulated.The tonal
functioncan be maintainedand transposedto anotherpitch, or
the specificpitch can remainconstant and transformedin function. This bridge, as we have seen, must accomplishboth: the
b6-5functionis transposedto the mediantas F /Eb;Db/Cis reinterpreted.
Exploiting the region from which the new b6-5 function is
borrowed, the bridge approaches the contrasting region
throughits own minor, firmlyestablishingFl as againstE . The
materialof the firsttheme (Example 2c) is firstreducedto semitones, given as those crucialto the minor, and finallyliquidated
to a motivically uncharacteristicsemitonal descent, spanning
the linear third which will characterizethe next thematic section. In the closing theme (Example 2d), the bridge materialis
reducedto its simplestform.
Example3. Thesecond tonal extension:TheNeapolitanregion
Let me now return to the opening statement of the first
theme. I want to begin to formulatethe problem of this movement, which will have to do with how imbalance is produced
and how balanceis restored.
For Schoenberga theme is an hypothesis. He distinguishes
theme from melody on this basis: "Every succession of tones
produces unrest, conflict, problems. One single tone is not
problematicbecause the ear defines it as a tonic, a point of repose. Every added tone makes this determination questionable. Every musical form can be considered as an attempt to
treatthis unresteither by haltingor limitingit, or by solving the
problem. A melody re-establishesrepose through balance. A
theme solves the problem by carrying out its consequences.
The unrestin a melody need not reachbelow the surface,while
the problem of a theme may penetrate to the profoundest
depths." A melody, then, can be compared to an aphorism,

22

MusicTheorySpectrum

Example 2. The first extension: major/minor interchange

b0o l1
tLbb
v -

(a)

II ,h-,

'Pv

,Iv-

b3
[B']

(b)

i-

_:rrr-F
ML
rI
^a__
F;

*)1: .b

I I-r

II
II

a3

F51

Bt V IB

bi
'Ii

a'

a,

/--^

I 1111

---

r,

Ir

a I

_.

-):,.b,

,
Am
F II

.,L.I1
-f
(4bW
b-Il
I
O)

1-n
-"

Ih?lM

--

'I

,,.

--

* -F

I' J*rf:rffff fffMfr

ff

.):

r.

11

J'

p
(?5b

_,

II

(c)

-L-9-

...

b "

I-

rfI
l

Y1- f
II

Iv

30bI
- -YIN^

(4 ^X 1^

)bVI

Y)

iffbwww

_=kw6mi(

^-

i
Jnmrnr

4 t7

STr- V I

M * [I

mmm-

..I_

I'1J,

I_11
l

11-1'

Grundgestalt as Tonal Function

23

Example 2 continued

i s

~
b *1

r XbI

(c)
cont'd.

'

dim.
dim.

:'

'i-

J*

pp

1UI l I

I LI I

i II I I I II II IL
pp

a'

[30]
b6 ---

I .

fbh V

[63]

L_

-tlr

b1lbj
111

V%

+
bh O

b6--

||

b Vb

111

Vt

vr

Iti

||

(d)

dim.PP

4i

:
d-^

"'--1

4.

sfp

while a theme resembles a scientific hypothesis which does not

convince without a number of tests, without presentation of
proof.15
Schoenberg used the theme of this sonata as an example of a
motive explicated as both linear interval and harmonic relation, manifesting, that is to say, both horizontal and vertical di'5FMC,p. 102.

-IV-W-

.-

4.-

mensions of the musical space. The semitone (I shall call it motiver ), appearing as the three-note figure Db/C to which the
material of the first theme is ultimately reduced, is given first as
an immediate tonal contrast between the tonic and its Neapolitan, the bII (F/Gb). The musical space is unified here, I maintain, not simply by the appearance of two semitones in two dimensions or at two hierarchical levels; rather, the motivic
analogy potentially indicates the preexisting tonal relation of

24

MusicTheorySpectrum

the foreignGb.How is the II related to the tonic and therefore

availablein the tonality and how will this relationshipbe made
clear?
Accordingto Schoenberg,the II is related throughthe subdominantminor, as its bVI. In example 3a I have applied the
two basicprocedures-the reinterpretationof the thirdand the
major/minorinterchange-to the subdominantminor in tonic
and mediant, thereby acquiringGb, and Bbb,analogousto it in
the mediant. The move to the subdominantminor extends the
tonalitytwo fifthscounterclockwisearoundthe circle to Db minor. The same move from the mediant projects us seven fifths
away, to F, minor, a region classified in the chart as remote.
The nondiatonic "contradictory"tones acquiredfrom this region are only distantly related to the tonic; their assimilation
constitutesa problem.
The constructionof the first theme (Example 3b) not only
presentsthe elements of the Grundgestaltbut also illuminates
the procedures they imply. This theme conforms to what
Schoenbergcalls a sentence: a thematic model embodyingimmediate repetition and reduction in its statement. Both harmonic and motivic procedureswork together to articulatethe
components of the structure: an initial phrase (the "tonic
form"), its immediate contrasting repetition (the "dominant
form"), reductions, and further reductions leading to the cadence. The tonic and dominantformsof the theme (mm. 1-4, 58) presentthe second tonal contrastof the work. The phraseof
the firsttheme is in two parts:an arpeggioplacingthe ambiguous thirdin its F octave and a diminishedseventh interchange
expressed as a neighbor-note configurationaround the dominant. The reductions (beginning in m. 9) pick up the second
part of the phrase, reducingit to the diminishedtriad and the
definingb6-5 function (Db/C) stated as both linear rhythmicized motive and chord progression(Example 3c).
There is no indication here of the function of the Neapolitan. I mean by this that there is no referenceto its derivationas
bVI of the subdominant.Rather, the dominantform is simply

juxtaposed, a "shadow" following the first theme, projected

from Db, the tonic b6. The work of this movement will be to
clarifythe borrowedF/Gbsemitone by means of motivic analogies that will make the derivation,the relationto the tonic, explicit and at the same time demonstrate how the extension of
this relationto other regions allows for the coherent extension
of the tonality.
I have said there is no hint of the derivationof the bII. Perhaps this is not so. Notice that in the tonic and dominantforms
the two correspondingneighbor-noteexchangesare not spelled
in a correspondingway. In the dominantform A~ does indeed
indicatethe properderivationof II from the subdominantminor, Bbminor. In Example 3b I have respelled that diminished
seventh chord so that it is motivicallyanalogous, as V of V in
the Neapolitan region. As such, an applied dominantto Db, it
yields Bbb,b6 of the submediant. I think the solution to the
problemof how the manyrelationshipspresentedin the exposition will be broughttogether and assimilatedinto the basic tonality lies in this Db and the functions that accrue to it. That
solutionwill not be clear until the coda.
Example4. Theflatsubmediant(withmajor/minorinterchange)
The crux of the work lies, then, in the flat submediant,the
simplest harmonic implication of the Grundgestalt(Example
4a). Notice that the flat submediant, Db major, lies only one
fifth counterclockwisefrom the tonic, but on the "outside,"
major track. The effect of the basic harmonicprocedure, the
reinterpretationof the major third (in this case, Db/F), is to
bind these two regions, relative minor and major, into a single
place on the circle. The first fifth counterclockwise,then, in a
minor tonality locates not only the flat submediantmajor but
also the subdominantminor, the source of the Neapolitan. The
exploitation of this relationshipis built into the Grundgestalt,
so to speak.
The derivation of the bII, although suggested in the first

Grundgestaltas TonalFunction

25

Example3. Secondextension:Neapolitanregion
b2 -1

n,

b2-

b6--5

(a)
Tonic:

IV

Mediant: IV

b3

(b)

'A

1I

o
3:b~b

Sd

I
continued

theme, is not made explicit until the contrastingsection in the

mediantmajor. Note the firstappearanceof Bbb(2 of the mediant) in the little link between major and minorthemes of that
section (Example 4b). It is introduced, conformingto Schoenberg's constructionof the network of tonal relations, as b6 of
the subdominantminor, Db minor, thus effecting the major/

minor interchangein the mediant. In the recapitulationof this

passage (Example 4e), the II is finally assimilated into the
tonic.
A curious treatment of Bbb adumbrates harmonic proceduresBeethoven will use in the development; they are derived
motivicallyfrom this link (Example 4c). Notice how he has al-

26

MusicTheorySpectrum

Example 3 continued

'

(b)

7
6

?J

k'

-;-

i711 ta

'PI

x
tb6-

It

k8bba
Reductions
f, ,. 9

i:

4 qk I%o%l .1---,

10

11

ILef
- 8V

17

---

(C)
I,

poco ritar- -

.I

a Tempo

dan-

^bl-b
$ mY'

do,

' '
l~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-Ii
z
7-

?&7jI

II

'p-7

Grundgestaltas TonalFunction

lowed us the illusion that he carriedBbbup to 0d, gatheringit

into the ascending linear motion, transformingthe ordinarily
descending 2 into an ascendingmotion.
In the event that we missed the ascendingb2 the first time
around,Beethoven gives it to us again in that second contrasting theme (B'), this time condensed to become two transformations of the second degree, preparingthe dominant (Example
4d). The link to the development uses this ascendingvariantof
the motive to throwus into the remote region of the flat submediant of the mediant minor (Ft), four fifths counterclockwise
fromthe tonic. This completes the materialof the Grundgestalt
as set forth in the exposition.

27

IV
Example5. Two transitions
In the developmentI particularlywant to show how the melody vitalizes the crucialline of an harmonicprogression,looking especiallyat the role played by the variantof the Grundgestalt, a third plus an ascendingsemitone. Its simplest harmonic
implicationis also tonic/flatsubmediant.Two transitionalpassagesexploit thisvariantof the motive to achieveharmonicmotion: the first is the link from the end of the exposition to the
beginningof the development; the second, the liquidation of

Example4. The flatsubmediant(withmajor/minorinterchange)

(a)

6W
bpb

?12

bo

I
v

Mediant
minor:

IV

IItI

l(lAi

bII

bVI
b

. .

Jo/ ,i.

-a-

-'- '

...

III

II

1%1%in

_P

(b)

., i. ,ffl b

1
.1
I_-"W.

a'

8-s:

i'2

5 b-

-0-

P
p
l
.8-:

b6-5

~0

)('x

a2

(c)

Ib--v
bib

t-

b
continued

28

MusicTheorySpectrum

Example4 continued

ICCCLCCLLJLLLLLJLLLLL.J
LI
-LLLL

(:b?qb

ff
bb
660

(d) <
< -4:

6~Lj'6

3i A-^
II
V
L

t~Gi~bt

Sf

i-I
I

blI

II

mI

E_

A I

1
I

I I

-rio

-' ?i
"'

.- -

ff W.

-1 -1

-'I

II

.I

-a,h~

I '

bo
X,,

'--

L.

the materialof the development from the II at its close to the

dominantthat marksthe beginningof the retransition.
The first (Example 5a) effects, in the mediant, a motion
from that tonic minorto its flat submediant(Fb)by applyingan
ascendingsemitonalfunctionto the common third,Ab/C,. This
was foreshadowed in the second contrastingtheme (B') by its

pivot on that third to F,. Here Beethoven pushes the idea further, applyinga major/minorinterchange,arrivingat F- minor.
Notice how far this twist to the motive has taken us: seven fifths
counterclockwisefrom the tonic. Beethoven rewritesthis as E
minorand condenses the whole procedure,which becomes the
firstmodel and sequence of the development.

Grundgestaltas TonalFunction

29

us againthe tonal function of the II, he producesits own Neapolitan, Abb.By an enharmonicchange to G~ this becomes a
second transformationof II, catapultingus to the dominant.
I have summarizedboth these procedures (in the tonic) in
Example 5c.

The second transition (Example 5b) is a straightforward

model and sequence, utilizingan obvious harmonicimplication
of the variant, 36 , leading from bII to V, GS to C. It seems so
simple!Yet because of what we now know about the bII, we see
that Beethoven is beginningto pull things together: in showing
Example5. Two transitions
L

66

(49 ?r-Q(

-6):

~ nj_i; r rt

L_

r-

6'6

il

-64

.r^r' JJ

t -h
'-

ft-r
-1

a.,)

'

6 --w I-,

M-

to -h

(a)
11

j
""Tt1 T
,JInCg'r

( ^:bjb
Mediant
minor:

.h3.

A
/,

.h,

III

bVI

'a*r' ,e

j;.1

'*

i^

tV

_--,k.4

bVI
b3

J-

--

1bV
6s8
Neapolitan: I
Tonic:
bll

continued

30

Music Theory Spectrum

Example 5 continued
A .
I .
(b)
cont'd. LAbwb t'-

d bJ-

-J

^-_.

tJ I

77l7

j bib

Hbn

Jb

IV
b

[e-R

bll
II

7 -7 7-

i
tl

(c)

oaPS

__,l

8? !8
IL

Example 6. The development: expansion of the mediant as dominant of the flat submediant
The development consists of two main sections, which summarize and simplify the motivic harmonic procedures. The link
and first set of model and sequences unfold an AN octave by
means of descending major thirds: the Ab becomes V of the flat
submediant, preparing a second sequential passage (also based

on descending thirds) to GS, which sets off the retransition (Example 6a).
The model of the first section is a condensation of the device
used in the preceding link, utilizing an ascending semitone to
reinterpret a common third (G/B). The important melodic motion (E/F) is that original motif r , 1-'2; the b2 resolves as
4 to b3, effecting a major/minor interchange (Example 6b).
The reduction of the sequence demonstrates that this semitone

Grundgestaltas Tonal Function

(14-2) is analogousto 5-b6, here presented as B6b/Aband functioning to transformAb into the dominant of the flat submediant. In this instant Beethoven reveals the connection of the
two statementsof the semitone motif7 in the firsttheme, Db/C
and Gb/F. Hence, this is a crucial moment in this first movement, for it assimilates the contradictoryelement Gb into the
basic tonality by demonstratingits analogyto the tonicb6. This
point also startsthe motion back towardhome, takingus to the
firstfifth counterclockwise.
The second section of the development is a straightforward
version of the same cliche progression of descending thirds,
carryingout as harmonic progression the Neapolitan "dominant form" of the opening theme, clarifyingfor us in a simple
tonal way the connection between Db and Gbthroughthe subdominantminor, Bb-the connection that is not made explicit
in the initial statement (Example 6c).

31

Now let me summarizewhat I take to be the tonal structure

of this particularpiece of musical space. I have traced the path
throughthe network of relations on the circle of fifths (Figure
2). I wantto show how Beethoven twice reachesthe same outer
limit of the tonality.
1. The basic tonality is F minor/Ab major, achieved by reinterpretingthe common thirdAb/Cby transformingthe function
of its adjacentsemitone fromb6-5 to 4-3.
2. A major/minorinterchangeacquiresFi and projects the
motion a quarterof the circle counterclockwise.
3. The b6-5 function is transposed to the subdominantminor, taking us one fifth counterclockwise and generating the
second fifth as the Neapolitan Gb. This procedurein the mediant pushes us to the fifth fifth counterclockwise, Db minor/FI
major, generatingthe sixth fifth (Bbbmajor) as its Neapolitan.

Example6. The development:expansionof the mediantas dominantof the flatsubmediant

Dev I
10ilbi6bb11
43 II

(a)

Dev II
w

&I
??.?o as

V
Submediant

Mediant minor

Retransition

~~~~~\O
0~~

Vt
" ~IIII
V

bll
Tonic

Development I

[1
79
[t>^wmwm
rm-[E
9 e_ 7

___

__0

_
d_

iJI

_*

1_
I

.5

A5
S

__

5_I_

flif

____
_

Model
0

1 ----b2

continued

32

Music Theory Spectrum

Example 6 continued

I I

C:

-.,. .
..
Ucit-cI

'

-17E-N
b' "
v

btl~~~~bbH --

r~~~~y

lull

\IACUULt
I!

II

o
b::
5

b2

--,

bbO
-- b6 -

-:
5

NB
Development II

Development I

? J bojbd b

{4

Development II

I_

llr'i d ,2bo

l4

r r fbo

6:dp r

114

j:
lib

41

f , f f' b

: ?

(c)

jibb

if
/Q:Sib~~6
7
_,

f?

H
g^.~

F ]
mm
_-

,L

--

jJ
~~~~

JJ-ij
'~r-.~
I

Icresc.

lH^fju^
L- I
1 I I
I

I Li I

I I

hb.__
continued

Grundgestaltas TonalFunction

33

Example6 continued

')bbbb

1
9:bib~~

II

f]% ti

M
r

I6 ~~~~

?1i

IT

Ir

0t

4. The development emphasizes the importanceof the flat

submediant:First from the mediant minor, a reinterpretation
of the AS/d? third carries the motion to its flat submediantF
major. A major/minorinterchangeprojects the motion to the
seventh fifth counterclockwise (FVminor). This is as far as
Beethoven wants to go. He hops around the dominant side of
the circle, back to the top, the mediant major.
Next the development makes much the same move, elaboratingthe flat submediantof the tonic, taking us, by means of
applieddominants,two fifthscounterclockwiseto the Neapolitan, GCmajor. A major/minorinterchangeprojectsthe motion
anotherquarter-circlecounterclockwiseto Gbminor, then two
fifthsfartherto its Neapolitan, Abbmajor. Beethoven has again
reached the same outer limit of this tonality, the seventh fifth
counterclockwise from the tonic. This time an enharmonic
change to G major quickly takes us back to the tonic, again
along the dominantside of the circle.

V
Example7. Analogies of tonalfunction
How was the imbalance created? By pushing the two elements of the Grundgestaltto their limits in this work: the lowered fourth degree (Bbb)and the lowered first degree (Fb minor).
How was this done? By progressivelyextending the tonality
by means of what I shall call analogies of tonal functionanalogies that work by the manipulationof both specific pitch
and tonal function (Example 7).
First the semitonal motif T was interpretedas ?6-5 or 4-3,
yieldingFbin the mediantand Gbin the subdominant.Next Gb/
F, acquiredin the subdominantminor, functions as b2-1 in the
tonic and extends to Bbb/Abin the mediant. Finally, the function of Db/C as 4-3 extends to Gb/Fin the flat submediantand

34

Music Theory Spectrum

Example 7. Analogies of tonal function

If in tonic:

blb

then in mediant:

b6 4-3

If in subdominant:

b6

bbbo
30

b6

- 5

And further, if in mediant:

bo

bibb

then in tonic:

'

?
-

o
-

i,
bo
b2 - 1

then in flat submediant

But how is the subdominant achieved?

At the first fifth counterclockwise:

b6
4

I
1b8
- v-

5
3

reached through the mediant as subdominant of the flat submediant.

bbo

b2 - 1

and the mediant's flat submediant:

0o
4

All with major/minor interchange.

|
bblbo n bo 1b

and in mediant:

bbo
4

Grundgestaltas TonalFunction

Bbb/Abin Ft, flatsubmediantof the mediant. All these relations

can sustaina major/minorinterchange.
It seems to me that instabilityin this piece is introducedby
the move to the subdominant, expressed as II in the initial
phrase with no indication of its relationship in the tonality,
made cohesive only by the formal juxtaposition of tonic and
dominantforms of the firsttheme. Balance will be restored by
demonstratinghow this was a coherent move; that demonstration will be made by furthermotivic and tonal analogies.
As you have seen, all these relationshipswere laid out in the
mediant. The recapitulationof the contrastingsection in the
tonic minor/majorshows us all those connectionsin the tonic. I
will presenttwo examples of how these motivic/harmonicanalogies are unraveledin other partsof the recapitulation.
Example8. The loweredfourth degree
The first analogy, b6 and b2, which produced the lowered
fourth degree (Bbb),is clarifiedin the bridge, where indeed it
was firstintroduced.The bridge passage appearsthree times in
the movement. In the exposition it establishedthe mediantmajor, borrowingfrom its minorthe b6-5 (Example 8a). It is recapitulatedin the tonic, establishingthe tonic major by the same
means (Example 8b). This affirmsthe analogy between Db and
F1 as b6. In the development (Example 8c) the bridge carries
out the motion to the submediant Db, again using the same
means, thus adding a furtheranalogouspitch, B1b,as b6 of the
submediant.
We have been acquaintedwith Bbbas b2of Ab, the mediant.
By usingthe bridgepassage as a link in Db, Beethoven connects
the two functions of the semitonal motive, 16-5 and b2-1,
throughthe flat submediantregion, Db major/minor.He takes
time here to restate what he had just shown us in a flash in the
dominantpreparationof this passage (Example 6b). Further,
we see Ab in its new role as dominant of the flat submediant,
Ds.

35

Example9. Theloweredfirstdegree
The second analogy is 12-1 and 4-3. What is the role of Fminor, the lowered first degree? In the recapitulationof the
second contrastingtheme, the tonic elaboratesDbmajor, again
affirmingthe analogy between F- and Db as flat submediant.
The recapitulationcloses in the tonic with the descendingF minor arpeggio,returningto the originallow registerof the opening theme (m. 204). At this point in the exposition the link to
the developmentprovidesa major/minorinterchange,carrying
the harmonicmotion to F- minor. At the same point in the recapitulation(m. 205) a coda follows, using the same harmonic
procedurethat served as model at the beginningof the development. The formalanalogybetween Db major and F- major, set
up by the place they occupyin the course of events, makes manifest the analogyof tonal function.
This turn reveals the most surprisinganalogy in the movement: Gband F as 12! Further,this passage bringsinto focus all
the relationshipsset forth in the movement:in the firstmodel of
the development, F is approachedas b2 and left as 4-, 3; here in
the recapitulationthe same transformationof function occurs
on Gb (m. 206), but without the major/minor interchange,
definingAb as a dominant. Again the crucialdouble functionof
Ab, as tonic mediant and dominant of the flat submediant, is
demonstrated:because the originalsemitonal motive Gb-Fcan
be interpretedas 4-3, by analogy Bbb/Abas 4-3 achieves Fb, as
flatsubmediantof the mediant. This passagein the coda, analogous to the farthestlimit reachedin the development, is assimilated into the tonic as flat submediantby means of an elegant
turnbased on the condensationof transformationsof II, turning the motion to the dominantin preparationfor the close. Finally, in the PiuiAllegro, the Gbtakes its place in the dominant
ninthappliedto the subdominant,its originalsource (mm. 244,
247).
The web of tonal functions revealed in the coda illuminates
an earlierquestion: If the basic tonal contrastis between tonic

MusicTheorySpectrum

36

Example 8. The lowered fourth degree

[30
A.[~

b6

6bbb

t8

'

(a)
t)

bilz
I

Reduced in closing theme to:

i

b00Sdbt,

Mediant

1r

Ir

bL6-

68

It

__-.

"I^

A--

-0-

j jib7F7-t7i

'1

dim.

^I]

(b) <fp

8 1'
|@44i kbji

6b6 -8

t'

t_

r -"
b3

b6 ----

LbV

[5v,
b
'V

Submediant
Submediant

b8

i
bo.

6Mbd; h l
blt
.-v

___

mm

n-a:'-

*Z~ "r

i n
i'""7

Tonic

__

dolce

Z_7

r):bbbb

(c)

Pe8BIU

'

----

b6 ---t6

55
-s-

--

r vUTbbt "Is

II

qo
b 6--

1 8

8a

EW

?-~-.
g:_r~

ri-rmf
pS

,
ZPI

t-

,p

, ml;-.6':;immhwH
RIWai"mw
ai
i iqmlm
I

1-

39 sT15
X0f

a;;;aL5

rTm
_, _, _mn_ _

*->
, mM. ,I ^h,

ffi"
fts~~~~~~~~

^^
,

rn
J-J1I1

_,

IdI

4L4' aIJa':
' 4.

.
R.4
d'

tj

.j

4
tL

J' t

*r4 Jtfr 4

P5^

fI

tf

44

dr
.

..

. . L

I..

..

r
u.p d

'
i

Ill~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

s.n p. tM~oI
oJp
l '6 Idu
r xr
33-13p Isjii p3.3;DMOi; *631dwvxg

Lg

uo!iounj leuoi se jiesa6pun2j

38

MusicTheorySpectrum

minorand mediant, why-or how-is the initialmove made to

the realm of the subdominant?The answer seems to be: because of, by means of, all the tonal functionsbroughtinto focus
by the flat submediant,Db major/minor.By the relativemajor/
minorrelationit locates the subdominantminor, Bb, the source
of the b2, G . As subdominantof the mediantAb, it providesthe
analogousb2 (Byb)and the function4-3 or 4- 3 which, applied
to the BbK,carriesthe motion to Fi major/minor.And balanceis

restoredwhen all these relationshipsclick into place at the end

of the movement.
I have been especiallyconcernedhere with two points: first,
to explicate features of Schoenberg'sconcept of tonality as a
networkof tonal relations;and second, to demonstratehow the
Grundgestaltfunctions on several levels-as motive, theme,
spanof bridgeor development, and structuraldesign-to make
manifestthat tonality.