Students today have grown up in the age of digital technology. As a result, they process information in radically different ways than preceding generations. They like their information fast and consider visual images as important as textual content. In Tonal Counterpoint for the 21st-Century Musician, Teresa Davidian finally provides students a textbook that is quick, direct, and visual—a direct reflection of the age in which they live. This book is easy to understand, comprehensive, and distinctly modern in its approach to the study of counterpoint. Written in a style that is clear, simple, and informal writing style, Davidian artfully mixes the history of counterpoint with an outline of its structure, placing musical examples from J. S. Bach side by side with those from The Beatles to illustrate the universality and currency of counterpoint in music analysis and composition. Designed as a single-semester introduction, Tonal Counterpoint brings the study of counterpoint into the present by: Making ample use of diagrams and flow charts Including helpful step-by-step prompt sheets for analyzing inventions and fugues Placing just as much emphasis on the composition as on the analysis of counterpoint Offering a broad array of musical examples, including the work of women composers, American songwriters, current students, and pop music composers Throughout, Davidian explains how the techniques of 18th-century contrapoint still readily apply to how music is composed today. Tonal Counterpoint for the 21st-Century Musician is ideal for students in the fields of music theory, composition, music history, and performance.

The Principles and Practice of Tonal Counterpoint is a comprehensive textbook that combines practical, "how-to" guidance in 18th-century techniques with extensive historical examination of contrapuntal works and genres. Beginning with an introductory grounding in species counterpoint, tonal harmony, and figured bass, students progress through the study of chorale preludes, invertible counterpoint, and canonic and fugal writing. This textbook thoroughly joins principle with practice, providing a truly immersive experience in the study of tonal counterpoint and familiarizing students with contrapuntal styles from the Baroque period to the 21st century. Also available is a companion volume, The Principles and Practice of Modal Counterpoint, which focuses on 16th-century techniques and covers modal music from Gregorian chant through the 17th century.

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 great composers, including J.S. Bach, Haydn, and Beethoven. Originally written in Latin, this work has been translated in to the principal European languages. The present translation by Alfred Mann is the first faithful rendering in English, presenting the essence of Fux's teachings.

First Published in 2003. The Craft of Tonal Counterpoint is an introductory text to the analysis and composition of tonal counterpoint. Using examples from the music of J.S. Bach - the master of this style - the author takes students through a series of carefully graded, cumulative exercises that stress both analysis and writing. Benjamin covers chromaticism and fugal writing in exceptional detail. The exercises cover a wide range of formats, including error detection, linear pitch reduction, analysis and composition. The book also incorporates a 100-page anthology of scores, effective for analysis, in-class performance, and compositional models.

This is a comprehensive study of the development of counterpoint form the sixteenth century through the first half of the twentieth century. Deriving the rules of counterpoint from the music itself, each chapter begins with a complete musical example followed by questions for class discussion. Chapter observations and subsequent musical examples amplify the concepts discoverd through individual analysis. --book cover.

In this groundbreaking book, Tymoczko uses contemporary geometry to provide a new framework for thinking about music, one that emphasizes the commonalities among styles from Medieval polyphony to contemporary jazz.

Harmony Through Melody:The Interaction of Melody, Counterpoint, and Harmony in Western Music, Second Editionoffers a robust, composition-based approach to tonal music theory, ranging from early modality to recent film and popular music. Charles Horton, David A. Byrne, and Lawrence Ritchey develop techniques and strategies for exploring the fundamental interaction of melody and counterpoint with harmony, and provide students with opportunities to creatively express what they have learned in the writing and analysis of short passages and complete pieces in historical styles. This second edition contains additional examples from the standard literature, film music, and popular song, and features new assignments involving late nineteenth-century chromatic practice. The textbook present a step-by-step method for the composition and analysis of short passages and complete pieces, with more than 1400 musical examples drawn from a variety of styles and genres, plus classroom-tested examples for study and suggested assignments at the end of each chapter. The second edition has an online companion website (textbooks.rowman.com/horton2e) featuring: A student workbook with more than 260 assignments for individual work and classroom use Audio links to 315 newly-recorded live performances of model compositions and fully realized settings An instructor’s manual with guidelines for evaluation of assignments, additional repertoire for in-class analysis and assignments, sample syllabi, and other useful information is also available. Please email [email protected] for more information.