MUSIC 3150 - Tonal Counterpoint

(LA-AS)

Spring. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Prerequisite: MUSIC 2101, MUSIC 3111, or permission of instructor.

M. Hall.

This is a practical course for learning the arts of tonal counterpoint. By analyzing and emulating examples of vocal and instrument counterpoint in exemplary music literature from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, students will develop skills in free polyphonic composition as well as strict imitation, canon, and fugue. Emphasis will be placed on the creative use of techniques, building towards an understanding of when and why the “rules” of counterpoint apply (or don’t) and an awareness of their historical genealogy. The goal of the course is to provide an overview of contrapuntal techniques, to improve students’ compositional and analytical skills, and to stoke the fire the musical imagination, regardless of stylistic preference.