Study of Counterpoint

• #16 in Best Music Books

24 Reviews

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The book has a nice pace. It is not a fat book. Content is presented succinctly. The platonic-type dialog is as charming as it is civilized and effective. There is something inspirational about reading a treatise previously studied by people like Bach, Haydn, Mozart, etc. I would say that even the most anti-traditional composer-person might benefit from the straightforward analytic of it all, even if one's harmonic sensibility differs from those presented in this text. All in all, a book to check out, if counterpoint intrigues you.

This is an indispensable work for anyone with a serious interest in musical composition. It lays out the entire foundation of tonal composition (i.e.: counterpoint) in a lucid, organized systematic manner.
The serious student of musical composition should have this book, work through it not once but regularly. I re-read it constantly and work through all the exercises again once or twice a year.
It should also be used in conjunction with "Structural Hearing Tonal Coherence in Music" by Felix Salzer (Schenker's protégé).

[reprint -- sorry]

At one point in the text, Aloysius pretty much says it all: "These lessons are not worked out for actual use but for exercise. If one know how to read one need no longer bother with spelling; similarly, the species of counterpoint are given only for purposes of study."

I have been working out of this book (which is really an excerpt of a larger book called _Steps to Perfection_) with a private tutor for a year, and it has been a difficult but rewarding experience. Essentially, the species provide a platform to learn how to compose concurrent melodic lines. Each following species builds upon the knowledge of the previous. Rules that begin absolute slowly become contextual. While the book's original title is anachronistic, the program within encourages steps towards the understanding of basic tonal principles that have formed the foundation of the grand tradition of western music.

I'd recommend keeping an open mind about the rules. These are treated as the "rules," but are expected to be broken with time and experience. After all, the rules are no more than the collected general tendancies of the great composers.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Fux's book provides an introduction to composition based upon the limitations--and, accordingly, the beauty--of the human voice. This book does not deal with the embellishments and ornaments possible on all instruments.

More caveats: One, I would recommend studying this book with an experienced teacher. It's like a beginning yoga text: basic, but someone with experience will put things in perspective. Two, the exercises, especially for three and four voices, are difficult and require commitment and discipline. (Again, like yoga.) There is no need to rush through the exercises. Three, Fux's book should be part of an integrated tonal curriculum that at least includes four-part writing and ear-training.

And Fux's book is hardly the last word even on counterpoint! At the very least, study 18th century and 20th century counterpoint, because those broad styles used Fux's treatise as their basic foundations. Those who criticize this text do so because it does not immediately apply to modern music situations. But they often fail to see how the text fits beautifully within the broad spectrum of composition. This book reflects the basics of tonal architecture. No more, no less

This is a great introduction to species counterpoint. It has been in use for many years and was studied by many great composers. It still engages the modern person today because it is concise, imaginative and teaches concepts in a digestible and easy to follow manner.

The form of the book is a relationship between a teacher and student. The student is not the brightest bulb on the tree, but the teacher shows him concept by concept how counterpoint works. This story format is entertaining, but also serves as a way to anchor concepts.

If you are looking for something that is a quick, easy read with lots of good content and historical interest, you will enjoy this. I feel it is a must have for any serious student of music.

This book is written in the form of an imaginary dialogue between the author, who plays the part of a humble and eager student, and Palestrina. If you sit down and take the time to do the lessons, contrapunctual lines seem to write themselves for you. Useful for many styles of music, it really helped me write better bass lines and voice leading in general. Self-taught musicians! Don't be afraid of studying theory! This is a great book!

I recently started studying composition, and this book has been immensely helpful! My composition teacher uses the same method of graduated study of starting with one note against one note and then building in complexity to four-part counterpoint. After a lesson, it's useful to read the corresponding section in the book as a refresher before doing my assigned exercises. Plus, it gives me a second explanation about the do's and don't of part writing if I didn't quite catch it in my all-too-brief lesson time. Finally, it's a great way to make sure I don't lose my proficiency over vacation; there's plenty of examples for me to work on in my spare time. After finding this book, I'm surprised it's not on my required booklist! It's a definite must for all serious composers who want to develop a strong classical training. (Let's not forget the value of classical education! Most professional artists that I've talked to, in any field, have told me that it's the best way to begin.)

This book, originally entitled "Gradus ad Parnassum" was the book used by many of the great composers of the classical and romantic eras in learning their craft. Mozart is said to have studied it. Papa Haydn's copy, dog-eared and worn, is on display in a museum in Europe. The book is set up as a series of lessons on the technique of counterpoint, with the student asking questions and the teacher providing answers. There are many examples, both of proper and improper technique. It starts with the easiest forms of counterpoint and moves into the more difficult ones toward the end. It takes itself very seriously and requires a lot of work of the reader. Some of the ideas are outdated, and all of the counterpoint examples are built on bland cantus firmus type melodies, but the exercise of going through this book is invaluable.

This is mostly valuable for its historical significance, but that is no mean thing, and it is worth your while working through it-every composer and theorist should. The translator distributes his English version of Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum" between this and "The Study of Fugue" so I recommend you pick up a copy of "The Study of Fugue" too.

Also recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

When most people think of species counterpoint they think of the method laid out by Johann Joseph Fux in this book. This is a late 17th, early 18th century document describing a theoretical practice of a hundred years earlier, but still used pedagogically in teaching composition students for another hundred years. You might say to the present day, but really this is used as a historical document in musicological studies. Some students might read it for themselves, but few actual courses on counterpoint would be taught at a music school from this book alone.

It is set up as a dialogue between a master, Aloysius, and a conveniently doltish student named Josephus. Josephus is us and asks all kinds of questions to prompt the teacher to say what he was going to teach us anyway. He also provides comic relief.

If you want to understand species counterpoint, this is a concise and historically important way to get at it.

At one point in the text, Aloysius pretty much says it all: "These lessons are not worked out for actual use but for exercise. If one know how to read one need no longer bother with spelling; similarly, the species of counterpoint are given only for purposes of study."

I have been working out of this book (which is really an excerpt of a larger book called _Steps to Perfection_) with a private tutor for a year, and it has been a difficult but rewarding experience. Essentially, the species provide a platform to learn how to compose concurrent melodic lines. Each following species builds upon the knowledge of the previous. Rules that begin absolute slowly become contextual. While the book's original title is anachronistic, the program within encourages steps towards the understanding of basic tonal principles that have formed the foundation of the grand tradition of western music.

I'd recommend keeping an open mind about the rules. These are treated as the "rules," but are expected to be broken with time and experience. After all, the rules are no more than the collected general tendancies of the great composers.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Fux's book provides an introduction to composition based upon the limitations--and, accordingly, the beauty--of the human voice. This book does not deal with the embellishments and ornaments--so the exercises can sound dry.

More caveats: One, I would recommend studying this book with an experienced teacher. It's like a beginning yoga text: basic, but someone with experience will put things in perspective. Two, the exercises, especially for three and four voices, are difficult and require commitment and discipline. (Again, like yoga.) There is no need to rush through the exercises. Three, Fux's book should be part of an integrated tonal curriculum that at least includes four-part writing and ear-training.

And Fux's book is hardly the last word even on counterpoint! At the very least, study 18th century and 20th century counterpoint, because those broad styles used Fux's treatise as their basic foundations.

Those who criticize this text do so because it does not immediately apply to modern music situations. But they often fail to see how the text fits beautifully within the broad spectrum of composition. This book reflects the basics of tonal architecture. No more, no less.

I recently started studying composition, and this book has been immensely helpful! My composition teacher uses the same method of graduated study of starting with one note against one note and then building in complexity to four-part counterpoint. After a lesson, it's useful to read the corresponding section in the book as a refresher before doing my assigned exercises. Plus, it gives me a second explanation about the do's and don't of part writing if I didn't quite catch it in my all-too-brief lesson time. Finally, it's a great way to make sure I don't lose my proficiency over vacation; there's plenty of examples for me to work on in my spare time. After finding this book, I'm surprised it's not on my required booklist! It's a definite must for all serious composers who want to develop a strong classical training. (Let's not forget the value of classical education! Most professional artists that I've talked to, in any field, have told me that it's the best way to begin.)

This most famous text on counteropoint was the standard counterpoint reference for centuries, and was used by such greats as Bach and Beethoven.
It is true that contrapuntal theory has developed significantly since Fux's time (the Gradus was originally published in 1725), but it remains a useful and entertaining introduction to the field of counterpoint. Furthermore, its historical significance cannot be exaggerated.

Clearly I'm in the minority in giving it only three stars, so perhaps I'm way off, but these were my thoughts going through it:

The good aspects: This book is informative and cleverly written and through reading it I had lots of notes written in the margins. I appreciate the format and lessons, and I felt that I could almost use this as a workbook and text book in one due to the excellent arrangement of lessons. The master is helpful and kind, and for me, it was nice having a student asking all the questions so I didn't feel like the only one there that didn't understand every point!

The bad aspects: It seemed so antiquated and I can't imagine memorizing all those arcane rules and applying them when writing. Like, "Oops, I can't proceed in this direction because the masters frowned upon that sound?" Not that all those rules should be thrown out the window, but the exceptionally strict "you must never do this" seems so robotic and programmatic and strange for composing today, even for someone who isn't composing in an atonal or post-modern style. Perhaps if you want to make music that sounds medieval, then yes, this is your book, but if you're looking for something more broad, I don't think this really addresses it. Also, one reviewer said that you didn't need to have much of a background in music to understand it, but I totally disagree (although I can't imagine anyone without a music background picking this book up!). I would not recommend this book for someone who doesn't have a decent background because I think they would get very lost in all the terminology.

Overall: I did feel like it gave a great idea about how many people composed, but again, I can't imagine writing music today based on all of those "right and wrong" rules.

This is a really fun book. It teaches counterpoint, yet I could read it for leisure reading. It is written as a conversation between an instructor and a student, and there are many, many examples... based on these teachings and recieved great feedback on them.
A highly recommended read for anyone who has ever written a song.

It is amazing how this text is still useful today! This is still a fundamental work to this day. How wonderful it is to read the dialog between teacher and student!

While species counterpoint is only a means to an end, one cannot underestimate its value for the study of melody, process and form.

Fux's masterful use of his counterpoint will leave you wanting more. Best know for his masterful thrust with a foreceful tempo, contemporary pianists have emulated his approach to great success. J. Holmes is reported to have read Fux's work daily prior to his strenuous orchestrations of thrust and release. Do yourself and your entire choir a favor and buy this book.

I picked up this book and began reading it right away. In two weeks I understood it completely. It is very easy to understand. There are parts you have to work yourself through, but all in all it is very comprehensible. About the only two things you need to know to understand it is intervals and of course how to read music. I notice when I follow the rules closely enough I compose very much like people of the renaissance did. well actually this was the theory of the time so of course if you follow this book your music will sound that way. If you don't want to sound as they did in that time and just want to have more pleasant music, this book will still be helpful. Good price. Good classic theory. Good book.

The wording may seem a bit strange, but this is one of the classic texts on counterpoint. Must have.

This is mostly valuable for its historical significance, but that is no mean thing, and it is worth your while working throughit--every composer and theorist should. The translator distributes his English version of Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum" between this and "The Study of Fugue" so I recommend you pick up a copy of "The Study of Fugue" too.

Also recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.

The absolute best book for learning 16th century counterpoint. Nothing better!

the student mastering counterpoint cannot go through without 'The study of Counterpoint' by Joseph Fux

ray.sant

It's true that this is the classic work on species counterpoint, used by Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven and endorsed by Bach. It belongs in every serious musician's library. But nowadays, it's not the first book to get on counterpoint. If you are just going to embark on studying counterpoint, do yourself a favor and get Jeppesen's book "Counterpoint: The Polyphonic Vocal Style of the 16th Century", which builds directly on Fux's work and presents essentially the same material with a more informed historical perspective and a somewhat more modern point of view (1929). (There are more recent books as well. Also I have to acknowledge the common complaint that to read Jeppesen requires reading C-clef.) Later you can fill in your knowledge of historical esoterica by reading Fux, just so you can say you did it.

Would you study Western religion without reading the Bible first? Nor should one study counterpoint without reading this book first. I'm glad I was able to purchase it from Amazon.com at a good price.

This book has been the basis of strict counterpoint instruction for over 200 years. In that period of time music has changed considerably. As a composer of a strange variety of music I have to say that these exercises are among the most useful things I've ever done. I dont think that the rules in the book were ever meant to be followed exactly in real composition, look at Handel Bach or Telemann( they were all in the middle of their careers when this was published:1721) but learning to do the exercises strictly to the rules influences the way you think about composing. Of course the main area that this book is concerned with is VOCAL polyphony, most of the rules of writing the individual parts are based on the general limitations of the human voice. I cant accurately explain how much this book has helped my music the exercises are realy helpful in making you think about certain details. Every composer should be force their way through the entire thing before they graduate from the conservatory.