(Ger. Anstieg).
In Schenkerian analysis (see Analysis, §II, 4), a method of Prolongation consisting of a preliminary conjunct ascent from a note in the tonic triad to the first note of the Urlinie. Ex.1, based on Schenker’s Der freie Satz (1935), fig.5, shows an ascent from the 3rd to the 5th of the C major chord, the 5th being the start of the Urlinie descent (indicated by capped numerals and a square bracket above).
As the initial ascent is preparatory to the Urlinie, not part of it, it need not be diatonic (see Der freie Satz, fig.38a). It may include a raised 4th, and so give the effect of a Tonicization of the dominant, as illustrated by Haydn’s ‘Emperor Hymn’ (see Stufe, ex.2); this example is exceptional because it shows the initial ascent covering the first 12 bars, i.e. fully three-quarters of the total length of the piece.
WILLIAM DRABKIN