Schenkerian analysis is a method of music analysis developed by the Austrian music theorist Heinrich Schenker in the early 20th century. It focuses on the underlying structure of a musical piece, revealing how surface melodies and harmonies relate to deeper, more fundamental musical ideas. This approach emphasizes the importance of tonal hierarchy and the relationships between different musical elements. The analysis typically involves creating a visual representation, known as a Schenkerian graph, which illustrates the connections between the foreground (melody and harmony) and the background (fundamental structure). By doing so, Schenkerian analysis helps musicians and scholars understand the compositional techniques used by composers, particularly in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.