The final pitch of the counterpoint should be do, as in first species. Pdf the study of counterpoint download full pdf book. Counterpoint proceeds by developing species counterpoint in the tradition of johann joseph fux and his famous gradus ad parnassum 1725, but with attention to schenkers more indepth study. Counterpoint kontrapunkt in the original german is the second volume of heinrich schenkers new musical theories and fantasies the first is harmony and the third is free composition. The first 4 species all have severe limits on rhythm and dissonance treatment, not because that is the way reallife composition works, but to allow us to focus on specific problems. Fifth species is also known as florid counterpoint. Many texts insist on using obscure or extinct clefs, which means reading the examples is both challenging and confusing for the modern music student.
Study materials harmony and counterpoint i music and. Class notes for counterpoint carnegie mellon university. Applied counterpoint an online course by alan belkin. Three voices licensed under a creative commons byncnd license visit for more music theory for musicians and normal people by toby w. Counterpoint in composition columbia university press. The first species of counterpoint is the most simple, being that of one note placed against one note that is, if the cantus fimus is quarter notes, the counterpoint will also be in quarter notes there are two ultimate rules of counterpoint that should be observed in first species counterpoint and are almost never broken in any counterpoint with two voices. The following guidelines apply specifically to first species, but will also be relevant to later species. In first species counterpoint, you may write one and only one note in your new melody for each note in the cantus firmus. In first species, the counterpoint moves in the same rhythm as the cantus firmus, resulting in. Composing a firstspecies counterpoint open music theory.
Firstspecies counterpoint grading guidelines 3point mistakes. Heussenstamm page 1 chapter one twopart counterpoint in first species 1. New material constructing noteagainstnote, consonantonly, counterpoint. It is an extremely valuable skill for a musician to study historical evidence shows that haydn, mozart, and beethoven all worked on counterpoint from the same theoretical. With suspensions, for the first time, the student encounters melody and harmony out of phase on the strong beat of the bar. Everyone from beginning music theory students to composers to graduate composition students will benefit from the methods introduced here. In first species, the counterpoint moves in the same rhythm as the cantus firmus, resulting in noteagainstnote counterpoint. The penultimate note of the counterpoint should be ti if the cantus is re, and re if the cantus is ti, as in first species. Summary of rules for species counterpointsummary of rules. It is divided into two books, the first published in 1910, and the second in 1922. The counterpoint should imply a good harmonic progression.
This is not the same thing as free counterpoint, since the florid part is still confined to just one accompaniment voice. Its interesting to think about all of the counterpoint species as being di. Nevertheless, his species approach was pedagogically groundbreaking 1you may remember from biology that species is the most speci. In first species counterpoint, each note in every added part parts being also referred to as lines or voices sounds against one note in the cantus firmus. This is a rule of the game that will be superseded later. Music 231 first species counterpoint, two parts these notes are a distillation with supplements and editorials, in red of salzterschacters counterpoint in composition. An even briefer guide to how species counterpoint affects analysis can be found here. Most approaches limit themselves more or less closely to one style, making some attempt at graduated exercises, often derived from the species method of fux. The problem is that most species counterpoint textbooks are outdated, dry and confusing. New material double passing tones dissonant neighbor tone double neighbor tone nota. In first species counterpoint, we not only write a smooth melody that has its own integrity of shape, variety, and goaldirected motion, but we also write a second melody that contains these traits.
Here it is in all its contrapuntal goodness, just waiting for you to explore and learn from it. Regardless of rhythm, the first pitch in the counterpoint should follow the intervallic rules above. To ask a beginner to write beautiful, easily singable lines, which. Counterpointfirst species wikibooks, open books for an. Firstspecies counterpoint for three parts he traditional manner of approaching species counterpoint is to construct it part by part.
In second species counterpoint, bear in mind that the counterpoint is now moving twice as fast as the cantus firmus, and as such it can and should range further in register than in first species. Want to learn counterpoint from scratch, what are some good resources former music major of 4 years long story short, i spent 4 years majoring in music composition. Species counterpoint definition is a traditional method of instruction in 16thcentury counterpoint based on five increasingly demanding types of twovoice contrapuntal writing based on a preexisting cantus firmus called also strict counterpoint. Summary of rules for species counterpointsummary of rules for species counterpoint. In first species counterpoint, we begin with a cantus firmus new or existing and compose a single new linecalled the counterpointabove or below the cantus. Third species counterpoint, two parts these notes are a distillation with supplements and editorials, in red of salzterschacters counterpoint in composition. First, a voice is added to the cantus firmus in the twopart style, called the dupulum. First species note against note in this species every note of the part added by the student must be consonant with the cantus firmus consonance and dissonance are explained here. The complete guide to counterpoint giorgio signorile. Counterpoint below should begin and end only on 1, 8. Quick first species two voices teacherstudent chant. Fourth species of counterpoint note one two half notes are set against a whole note they the same tone across the bar line and connected by a tie first must occur on the upbeat beat 2 the second on the down beat beat 1 this species is called ligature or syncopation and can be either consonant or dissonant. If you have ever tried to read johannes fuxs treatise you will know what i mean.
Nevertheless, his species approach was pedagogically. This is a new drill added in january 2019, so there may be a few bugs. The preface and 12 chapters below come from the unpublished handbook of tonal counterpoint by george heussenstamm and is used with permission. The subject matter of the work is species counterpoint. It includes a comprehensive set of blank staves associated with each of the six cantus rmi that aloysius, the master teacher, o ers young josephus. Composing a secondspecies counterpoint open music theory. While gradus ad parnassum is famous as the origin of the term species counterpoint, fux was not the first one to invent the idea. Fux method does have pedagogical value, but its advantages are best understood. Since all notes in first species counterpoint are whole notes, rhythmic independence is not available. Fux did not in any way invent counterpoint or its teaching.
Fuxdidnotinanywayinventcounterpoint or its teaching. When the counterpoint has one note for each note of the cantus firmus, it is of the first species a. These laws of counterpoint have followed through up until music of today, though the 20th century saw some huge revolutions in the language of music species counterpoint fux divided counterpoint into. Fifth species florid counterpoint in fifth species counterpoint, sometimes called florid counterpoint, the other four species of counterpoint are combined within the added parts. The list of counterpoint rules is shown at the bottom. Counterpoint is the mediation of two or more musical lines into a meaningful and pleasing whole. In the example, the first and second bars are second species, the third bar is third species, the fourth and fifth bars are third and embellished fourth species. Species counterpoint exercises from fuxs gradus ad.
Complete the countermelody for the given melody using the rules of first species counterpoint. If your counterpoint spends most of its life within the range of a fourth, then it is timid and untinteresting. Want to learn counterpoint from scratch, what are some. You have probably had to harmonise bach chorales as part of your studies, and. Species counterpoint exercises from fuxs gradus ad parnassum 1 introduction this workbook supplements alfred manns the study of counterpoint from johann joseph fuxs gradus ad parnassum.
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