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Questions tagged [counterpoint]

Questions relating to the uses, history, types, or analysis of counterpoint.

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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 ...
mb_altho's user avatar
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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 ...
nuggethead's user avatar
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3 votes
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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' ...
Noah J's user avatar
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3 answers
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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 ...
KKZiomek's user avatar
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1 answer
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Are there stylistic problems with this Renaissance canon study?

I came across this article about a historically informed method to teach canon. https://symposium.music.org/48/item/2248-so-you-want-to-write-a-canon-an-historically-informed-new-approach-for-the-...
Michael Curtis's user avatar
2 votes
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Counterpoint question: "2 quarter notes at the beginning of the measure cause the melody to lag." Fux Palestrina Counterpoint

A question that has been nagging me for a long time regarding counterpoint is the idea of avoiding "2 quarters at the beginning of the measure as the melody tends to lag." as per Johann Fux. ...
William Egert's user avatar
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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.
learnerdude3iforgotmypassword's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
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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 ...
Hyun Yoo Park's user avatar
2 votes
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67 views

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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How to improve the harmonic cohesion of my canon?

So this canon is what ends the Presto section of my Springtime Springs piece. As it is now, I only get 2 parallel fifths and no parallel octaves in the entire canon, which I am fine with, since I am ...
Caters's user avatar
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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 ...
Tristan's user avatar
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How to go about writing a second countersubject?

I have written a subject and countersubject. Here is how I went about writing the countersubject: 1st iteration: Restricted to D, G, and A(answer is is D major), all quarter notes 2nd iteration: A ...
Caters's user avatar
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Handling the fifth in counterpoint inverted at the octave

In counterpoint textbooks inversion of two parts is often explained with a chart like this... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ...with noting... perfect and imperfect intervals remain so after ...
Michael Curtis's user avatar
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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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