The third volume of New Musical Theories and Fantasies (preceded by Harmony and Counterpoint), it was first published posthumously by Universal Edition in Vienna in 1935.
The American translation by Ernst Oster was published by Longman, New York and London, in 1979.
[1] Free Composition is often believed to present a complete and systematic outline of Schenker's mature theory, but it relies heavily on his previous writings, especially Der Tonwille[2] and Das Meisterwerk in der Musik[3] and cannot be fully appreciated without some knowledge of these publications.
It is divided into three parts, dealing respectively with background, middleground, and foreground levels of structure.
The last chapters of Part III are devoted to Meter and Rhythm and to Form.