Questions tagged [counterpoint]
Questions relating to the uses, history, types, or analysis of counterpoint.
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What is the music theory term for the study of the role and rhythm of each voice in multi voice compositions?
I’m looking for the for the study of the role and rhythm of each voice in multi voice composing. For example “lead part/voice/melody or supporting part/voice/melody”. By rhythms what I mean is the ...
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Why does Schoenberg think of "'semi-contrapuntal treatment' of the accompaniment" as a way of adapting a motive's melody to changes in its harmony?
Schoenberg says that the melody of a motive may be adapted to changes in the harmony "[b]y transposition," "[b]y addition of passing harmonies," or "[b]y 'semi-contrapuntal' ...
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Exceptions to exposed 8ves/5ths?
I was recently approached by a student, who swore that they had read that exposed (i.e. outer voice hidden) 8ves/5ths were permitted between different inversions of the same chord. He said he came ...
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Why isn't a P4 allowed on the upbeat in second species counterpoint?
You are supposedly only allowed to enter and leave a dissonance by step in species counterpoint and use consonant skips on the upbeat. however, in any triad an arpeggiation would very frequently ...
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Resolving scale degree 2 in v7 to 3
Are there any circumstances (at least in the common period use) where the scale degree 2 in V7 goes up to 3 as opposed going down to 1?
Why does this seem to be disallowed in textbooks, even more than ...
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What does this counterpoint rule mean?
I'm using a Musescore extension called Counterpoint Analyzer 0.4, and I am not sure what one of the warning messages refers to.
Please see numbers 1 and 2 in the following:
Any thoughts as to what ...
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What does Hindemith's Rule 20 mean? (The Craft of Musical Composition, book 1: Exercises in two-part writing)
Paul Hindemith's Rule 20 in his The craft of musical composition: Book 2: Exercises in two-part writing has two paragraphs:
Paragraph One:
If the last tone of the model is approached from a fifth ...
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How to identify this Bach Fugue [closed]
I'm trying to identify this fugue subject attributed to J.S. Bach in "Treatise on the Fugue" by Andre Gedalge (page 363 here: https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/5/59/IMSLP243942-...
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Is George Bizet's l'Arlesienne suite an example of counterpoint?
I've always loved the l'Arlesienne suite, and intrigued by the way the two melodies overlap near the end. Is there a specific musical term for this overlap? Is is counterpoint, or round, or something ...
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Six questions about Rule 21 in Hindemith's Craft of Musical Composition, book 2: Exercises in two-part writing [closed]
I am a musician reading Hindemith's Craft of Musical Composition, book 2: Exercises in two-part writing by myself. I have some questions about Rule 21.
Three images of Hindemith's rule 21:
https://www....
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What is taught in an atonal counterpoint course?
One of the main strengths of studying tonal and/or modal (pre-tonal) counterpoint is understanding dissonance treatment within those idioms. Additionally, one learns how to navigate some of the ...
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Bar 48: A3+B4 and B3+A4 - ODE TO JOY Symphony no. 9, opus 125 Extract from a piano transcription by Franz Liszt
In Bar 48 of the fourth movement - "Ode to Joy", Symphony no. 9, opus 125, in this extract from the piano transcription by Franz Liszt, there are three counterpoint melodies, marked in the ...
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Why does species counterpoint not consider harmonic function?
From what I understand, harmonic function came later but since most modern harmony textbooks teach harmony using functional harmony, shouldnt species counterpoint also be adapted to include harmonic ...
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How to play the 1/32-notes rhythmically relative to the base voice in Leiki Ueda's "Chronicles of Narnia"? [duplicate]
I am trying to figure out how to play the following 1/32 notes (in green) in Leiki Ueda's rendition of "The Chronicles of Narnia – The Battle".
My intuition would be to start them on the ...
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First Species of Counterpoint rule involving the next to last bar
In Alfred Mann's The Study of Counterpoint, there is a passage that explains a rule basically restricting the interval of the last bar to a minor third if the cantus firmus is in a lower register, or ...
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Rules for improvising intermediate notes in basso continuo
When realizing figured bass, passing notes in the bass are analyzed quite thoroughly in literature (e.g. The Art of Accompaniment from a Thorough Bass). However, I cannot find any information or rules ...
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Is it possible to write a phase-shifted pattern that obeys the rules of classical counterpoint?
Is it possible to write a phase-shifted pattern in the style of Minimalist phased looping on Gibson Echoplex Digital Pro that obeys all the classical counterpoint rules? Each note of the pattern will ...
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Rule on doubling the second rather than the fourth when using ligatures
I was going through the ligatures in 4 parts exercises from Fux's Gradus. On page 133, Aloys says, "Finally, in the sixth measure of the same example the fourth is doubled, although as a rule one ...
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Are parallel 5ths still problematic if the texture switches between 2 and 3 voices?
This is a 3-part counterpoint I am working on. It is not a strict counterpoint exercise but I want to try keep within the guidelines as much as possible. In m. 19 the middle voice (in red) stops ...
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what are the options for the penultimate measure in the 3rd species counterpoint
Mr. Fux says:
Then, Mr. Fux does:
In Gradus ad Parnassum (Mann's translation).
Is the last one a mistake? There's nothing written in the book that it's a mistake.
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what was a skip according to fux and what is it in general
I wonder what a skip actually is for Fux. Because, in Gradus he says a reversal is needed after a skip but then he does something like that:
To clarify, I've no problem with how it sounds, it sounds ...
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Voice leading errors in Bach's WTC 1 fugue in C major?
Bach is supposed to be the master of all things music, but in the first fugue of the WTC (BWV 846), there seem to be a lot of counterpoint errors and voice leading errors. In the Urtext edition, there ...
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Fux Counterpoint
In Fux's study of First Species modal counterpoint, why is it permitted to raise the 7th as he approached the final cadence. I realize that allowing that creates a leading tone which sounds better, ...
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Question on the definition of a dissonant passing/neighbor tone?
I am currently trying to teach myself counterpoint following Jacob Gran's videos. When I was analyzing my exercises today, I thought of this question. If the first two notes of a dissonant neighbor(or ...
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What is the difference between a double fugue and a fugue with multiple countersubjects?
The double fugue is apparently a type of fugue with two subjects. What I don't understand is what differentiates a second subject from a countersubject, and why a so-called double fugue cannot be ...
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How to study part-writing as a self-taught musician?
I've recently picked up Schoenberg's "Preliminary Exercises In Counterpoint" after reading most of "Fundamentals of Musical Composition" as he indicates there and in other texts ...
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consonant skips in 2nd species counterpoint
From The Complete Musician by Laitz
Consonant skips are motions by a third.
Well, I think we have a confusion here because by saying 'consonant' I suppose Laitz implied that both vertically and ...
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Harmonic Voices Alongside Counterpoint
I'm writing a piece for a rather large ensemble:
full string section
SATB choir plus soloists
2 of oboe, bassoon, and trombone
c-g timpani
In one of the sections, the chorus sings a fugato while the ...
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Are octave leaps in counterpoint subject to the same rules as if the leap never happened?
If I had a V - I progression with ^5 in the soprano the counterpoint would be 8tv and 5th which would be fine because you are moving between two perfect intervals in oblique motion. But I am writing a ...
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How to make a chordal analysis when you only have 2 voices?
In my textbook Harmony and Voice Leading 5th edition I am to complete an exercise using 2 voices and wanted to make an analysis first of what chords were implied by the bass and soprano. Can someone ...
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3part counterpoint 4th species fusion resolving note appearing in other parts
This is 16th century 3 part 3rd and 4th species fusion counterpoint.
At the second measure, there's C, The first note on the soprano.
In the bass, there's sustained D, which will resolve to C.
The ...
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Are voices that have very big pitch difference always independent and less dissonant?
Voices can be "blended" or be independent. Independent voices are very distinct, the listener can hear each voice separately. On the other hand, "blended" voices are those which ...
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Why is this augmented 4th bad ? 16th century counterpoint
I'm studying 16th century counterpoint.
My book says, when writing a melody for second species, augmented 4th or augmented 5th shouldn't occur between strong beat and a strong beat.
But this is not ...
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Is consecutive 8’s on resolving the 7s in the weak beat against the rules ? 16th century counterpoint 3part 2nd and 4th species fusion
This is my exercise on 3part 2nd and 4th species fusion 16 century counterpoint.
Is consecutive 8’s on resolving the 7s in the weak beat against the rules ?
(At measure 5,6 between the soprano and ...
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Can a Round Modulate?
I've been messing around with simple 2-part rounds recently, and also with modulation. The question occurred to me, can a round modulate? Initially I though not, since it would involve having parts in ...
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What intervals does the "consecutive interval" comprehend?
I'm studying 16th century counterpoint.
I'm reading 3part counterpoint with 2 species and 3 species mixed chapter.
I read that consecutive intervals must be avoided in certain situations.
Ok I get ...
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Is there something wrong with this counterpoint practice?
I've been studying 16 century counterpoint through a book myself.
I just got into 3 voice 3 species and its a little confusing.
This is a part of a 16 centrury counterpoint practice I did.
I'll like ...
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the cadence in 3rd species counterpoint with 3 voices in the Phrygian mode
When the Cantus Firmus is in the 1st or 2nd voice, the bass is suppose to play the 5th note of the mode in the 2nd last bar. In the case of E Phrygian, the 5th degree is B which has however a ...
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2nd species counterpoint in 3 parts, is it ok?
If someone would be willing to point out errors I'm making with this species, before I continue on to the others, I'd be grateful
https://flat.io/score/61d7e420658ae700133b1e72-c?sharingKey=...
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Did Stravinsky ever work backwards?
I've always been intrigued by this little passage in Stravinsky's "Fireworks" (op. 4). It seems to me to be many things all at once, each masterfully handled. It's a nifty little canon, a ...
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What are some strategies one could use to put as many suspensions as possible in a chord progression?
I ask this question in the context of strict (florid) tonal counterpoint as taught, for example, by Albrechtsberger and many later writers.
Fux in his Gradus ad Parnassum recommends putting many ...
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4 part counterpoint to chordal harmony transition [closed]
In one of my first solo piano pieces(a Rondo)the A theme is stated, ending on a Picardy third to transition to the second, B theme in the parallel major, which starts in a 4 part counterpoint, and ...
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Can V65 or V6 move down to V7 or do they usually resolve to I?
I understand that the bass of V65 or V6 wants to move up to I. My text book does have some double neighbor figures where V65 goes to V43 before resolving to I or I6. However, I am unable to find an ...
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Is/Are there standard approaches to teaching/learning fugal writing?
I am intimidated by the idea of writing fugues.
...but I would like to do it. I have in mind the style exemplified by Bach.
In a collegiate "Counterpoint" class (or book, or private ...
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Does V42 only resolve to I6 or can it move to V7 forming a stepwise bass?
If the chordal 7th needs to resolve down by step then I understand why V42 should move to I6 but cant chords be expanded and the dissonant 7th in a 7th chord move to another voice for example from the ...
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When realizing a basso continuo, should the realization avoid consecutive fifths and octaves with the written parts?
Many continuo manuals (both historical sources and modern treatises) are careful to point out that a continuo realization should be contrapuntally correct, i.e., one ought to avoid parallel fifths and ...
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On which beats should a composer avoid consecutive perfect intervals?
In an exercise in a grade 5 textbook, I am asked to write a bassline to a given melody. I am told to avoid consecutive parallel intervals but I am not told if that means on beat 1 of each bar or on ...
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Are consonant skips allowed below and above the notes of resolution of a suspension in 5th species counterpoint?
In my textbook and most places I could find online it shows consonant skips as a way to decorate suspensions in 5th species counterpoint. The consonant skip always happens below the suspended note. ...
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Why can't suspensions be prepared on beat 4 in 5th species counterpoint?
Since a mixture of note values is used in 5th species can someone please explain why this is not permissable in 5th species writing? Preparing a suspension on the 4th beat is very common in real music ...
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Writing an invention [closed]
I am an amateur piano player without systematic musical education. I love listening to and playing 18th-century contrapuntal music especially written by JS Bach. Recently I decided to deepen my ...
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