Editing Schenkerian analysis (section)

===={{anchor|Fundamental line}}Fundamental line====
{{main|Fundamental line}}
The idea of the fundamental line comes quite early in the development of Schenker's theory. Its first printed mention dates from 1920, in the edition of [[Piano Sonata No. 28 (Beethoven)|Beethoven's Sonata Op. 101]], but the idea obviously links with that of "fluent melody", ten years earlier.<ref>''Counterpoint'', vol. I, 1910, quoted above.</ref> Schenker first conceived the ''Urlinie'', the "fundamental line", as a kind of motivic line characterized by its fluency, repeated under different guises throughout the work and ensuring its homogeneity. He later imagined that a musical work should have only one fundamental line, unifying it from beginning to end. The realization that such fundamental lines usually were descending led him to formulate the canonical definition of the fundamental line as necessarily descending. It is not that he rejected ascending lines, but that he came to consider them hierarchically less important. "The fundamental line begins with {{music|scale|8}}, {{music|scale|5}} or {{nobreak|{{music|scale|3}},}} and moves to {{music|scale|1}} via the descending leading tone {{music|scale|2}}".<ref>''Free Composition'', § 10.</ref> The initial note of the fundamental line is called its "head tone" (''Kopfton'') or "[[primary tone]]". The head note may be elaborated by an upper neighbour note, but not a lower one.<ref>Free Composition, § 106.</ref> In many cases, the head note is reached through an ascending line (''Anstieg'', "initial ascent") or an ascending arpeggiation, which do not belong to the fundamental structure properly speaking.<ref name="FreeComposition">''Free Composition'', § 120.</ref>