Counterpoint In Composition

-- Stanley Persky, City University of New York

-- Stanley Persky, City University of New York

Musica ficta is the practice of sharpening or flattening certain notes to avoid awkward intervals in medieval and Renaissance music. This collection gathers Margaret Bent's influential writings on this controversial subject from the past 30 years, along with an extensive author's introduction discussing the current state of scholarship and responding to critics. Also includes 25 musical examples.

The essence of the most celebrated book on counterpoint, Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum. The most celebrated book on counterpoint is Fux's great theoretical work Gradus ad Parnassum. Since its appearance in 1725, it has been used by and has directly influenced the work of many of the greatest composers. J.S. Bach held it in high esteem, Leopold Mozart trained his famous son from its pages, Haydn worked out every lesson with meticulous care, and Beethoven condensed it into an abstract for ready reference. An impressive list of nineteenth-century composers subscribed to its second edition, and in more recent times Paul Hindemith said, "Perhaps the craft of composition would really have fallen into decline if Fux's Gradus had not set up a standard." Originally written in Latin, Steps to Parnassus was translated into the principal European languages, but the only English version was a free paraphrase published in 1886. The present translation by Alfred Mann is therefore the first faithful rendering in English from the original Latin and presents the essence of Fux's teachings. For its distinction as a classic and its undiminished usefulness for the modern student it is a privilege to offer this fine translation in the Norton Library.

"Counterpoint proceeds by developing species counterpoint in the tradition of Johann Joseph Fux and his famous Gradus ad Parnassum (1725), but with attention to Schenker's more in-depth study. Everyone from beginning music theory students to composers to graduate composition students will benefit from the methods introduced here. As emphasized in the preface, readers are presented with "exercises for composition." Rather than actually teaching a student to compose, working through these exercises will improve musicianship as it applies to both composition and understanding music theory."--BOOK JACKET.

Counterpoint manuals have long been central to the music education of composers, historians, and theorists. In this book a conductor uses counterpoint exercises to aid musicians in becoming sensitive to the fundamental ingredients of good music making.

(Berklee Guide). Use counterpoint to make your music more engaging and creative. Counterpoint the relationship between musical voices is among the core principles for writing music, and it has been central to the study of composition for many centuries. Whether you are a composer, arranger, film composer, orchestrator, music director, bandleader, or improvising musician, this book will help hone your craft, gain control, and lead you to new creative possibilities. You will learn "tricks of the trade" from the masters and apply these skills to contemporary styles. Online audio examples illustrate the principles being discussed, and many recommended listening lists point you to additional examples of how these principles have been used in music over the past thousand years.