They don’t teach audiation because they can’t grade it. Same has happened in many fields. And thus did accreditation destroy education. You’re a good man for valuing the real over the measurable.
Edit: Audiation exercise? Wow, thats worth the price of admission alone. At first I thought this was a bit dry, but I was drawn in so deep as it went on. A nice, mellow contrast to the "hyped up" style of most TH-cam videos. Its like a meditation mixed with a lesson... beautiful! Thank you so much!
I expected these videos to get like 12 views, so I designed it to be a resource for teachers or people who want to learn independently. I made it very dry on purpose, and I am still surprised so many people watch it despite that!
@@JacobGran Haha yeah all good man. The information is gold, honestly. And you put it across in a way that is easily digestible, yet still very thorough and correct . I'm already on suspensions 1. When i strike it rich with my songs, im going to load up your Patreon ✌🏻
Thanks! I have no idea why TH-cam decided to recommend this to a random Korean student who knows absolutely nothing about composition, but anyways I watched the entire thing and I really enjoyed it as a music lover. I never knew music composition is done this precisely and carefully. I think I'll watch more of your videos and expand my knowledge about music composition! Thanks for giving me a first step!
Great video, thanks so much Jacob, for anyone else working through the exercises in the PDF, I wrote out some of the notes for lesson for reference: Given Melody - Cantus Firmus (8 to 12 notes) ***************************** The fewest possible notes that still give the impression of complete compossion (that can't be broken into seperate parts) Want to be able to split attention between two melodies Melodic Fluency - Melody takes very little mental effor to keep track of - Mostly Stepwise (Allows prediction of changes) - Leaps are made by Consonant intervals Consonant Leaps: - 3rds - 4ths (Except for F to B) (4 to 7) - 5ths (Except for B to F) (7 to 4) - 6ths - Octaves Dissonant Leaps (Avoid) - 7th - Aug - Dim - >Octave For any large leaps, they should be followed with a 'Recovered' movement in the opposite direction (Larger than a 3rd) and more important for upward movements than downwards (What goes up, must come down) The Cantus Firmus always begins and ends on the root ***************************** Intermediary goal of Melodic Motion, which is far away from the root to ensure seperation from the root notes which begin and end the passage (The Highpoint Consonant) When a counterpoint is written above the Cantus, it can begin on scale degrees 1, 3 or 5, if below the cantus it must begin on 1 The secret to an interesting counterpoint comes from the way the two melodic curves interact, not from either melodies on their own Cantus Firmus should not use tone repeatitions, the counterpoint can, but it should be kept to a minimum ***************************** Categorization of counterpoint notes in relation to the Cantus Firmus: Perfect Consonances - Unison, 5ths, 8ve (Too Stable, avoid using twice in a row, unison only at the start or end) Imperfect Consonances - 3rd, 6th, 10th (Most useful for this exercise) Disonant Consonances - 2nd, 4th, 7th (Unstable, gives the impression of repelling the other melody line) ***************************** Types of Motion: 1. Contrary Motion 2. Direct Motion - Parallel Motion (Same interval in both voices) - Use Sparingly - Simular Motion (Same direction, different interval) 3. Oblique Motion (One voice remains static) ***************************** 1:1 Counterpoint Rules: 1. No Dissonant Harmonic intervals 2. No Direct Motion to a Perfect Consonance ***************************** Counterpoint BELOW the Cantus - Counterpoint must start on the root note - Instead of aiming for high note as the goal, aim for a low note *****************************
Tips for Counterpoint creation - As counterpoint needs to end on root, place this note first - Use contrary motion for the second to last - Avoid starting the counterpoint with either - a 3rd (too close to the first voice) - Anything higher than a 10th - Compose in medium sized chunks as opposed to one note at a time - Don't have the high points in both voices occur at the same spot *****************************
Check the translation. It's the clearest and the best tutorial . I'v been working counterpoint for four years but at that time Internet didn't exists ....
I am two minutes into your video and I am already about to cry tears of relief because I had only taken one semester of music theory before I decided to try out the contrapuntal techniques course. The only prerequisite was diatonic and chromatic harmony, but “A Practical Approach to 18th Century Counterpoint” is full of words and concepts that I’m not familiar with and there are so many of them that I feel like I have to reach for google every two sentences. I’ll reply to this comment after I’ve watched the full video, but I’d just really, really like to thank you for putting this out here.
You are an excellent teacher and every bit of information is presented in an easily-digestible way, using metaphors when appropriate and offering definitions for terminology that may be unfamiliar. You did a really excellent job with the instructional portion of this video and I will now go ahead and work on the assignment. Seriously, thank you for making this.
Did this in music theory class many years ago. It was 5 part counterpoint and our teacher had different students singing each different part…it sounded astounding.
This is an awesome Counterpoint refresher! Thanks a bunch. I’m a Computer Engineer for a living, but waaaay back in the mid-late 1980s, I took the usual Freshman and Sophomore Theory and Ear Training. I’ll be retiring soon, and my #1 goal is to “phoenix” my Music life, including (if not especially!) composition. So, this sort of refresher is perfect! Thanks again!
Thank you for this. I graduated with a masters in music from Stony Brook University, and for some reason they skipped over this. I can write Bach Chorales with ease, analyze all sorts of insanely hard pieces, but I always felt incomplete because I never learned this. It may take some time, but I am going to go through all of these videos. Thank you so much!
You're welcome! I had a similar experience in my music education, which is why I become obsessed with historical counterpoint for a few years and ended up making these videos.
I studied to get into uni to do music and was SO lucky to have a teacher who was able to teach me this stuff; it's optional these days in the UK. It really gave me a firm foundation for all subsequent compositional work.
These videos are really phenomenal -- as a jazz pianist I never got this in my curriculum in music school. Although I've done exercises to try improvise over tunes in what amounts to naive, rules-free "free counterpoint," I've always wanted to get beyond my clumsy, mostly instinctual understanding of the way counterpoint actually works and these videos are awesome and an amazing labor of love. Looking forward to following along with all of them. Thank you!
When I studied counterpoint this was the High Point of my musical education. But counterpoint only made sense after I studied harmony for two years. Counterpoint is absolutely essential to good music composition. Good job my friend.
Is this video recommendation from TH-cam like a level unlock reward for surviving 2020? Searched for such instructions and teaching but never found it before today! Thank you, teacher!
I did the composition homework you suggested. I think I followed all the rules, but even if I made a mistake I still understand all the concepts and I feel prepared to move on. I am looking forward to continuing and finishing this series
I remember reading that Beethoven studied with Salieri for a time. He had a lot of influence on the next generation of composers. It's a shame that Amadeus has created a bad view of him within our modern culture.
The view that that movie cast on him was terrible. What happened was Salieri opposed the monarchy at the time, and in retaliation they destroyed his reputation. He was actually friends with Mozart (they composed music together) he sent his daughter to study piano with Mozart, and while Mozart traveled throughout Europe performing he actually performed some of Salieri's music. Whenever I hear Salieri (even if it is a piece I have never heard) I always know that it is him. He had a style all his own. It's sad that it's only been recently that his music is being revived. All that we can take from what happened to him is that politicians sure do suck!
@@tdswen1 Yes, that's what I read. I believe that that is even written on his Wikipedia page. Yes, he and Mozart were somewhat rivals when Mozart first arrived in Vienna, but Mozart was new to Vienna. So, there was going to be competition between him and the established composers, but eventually Mozart and Salieri became friends. Salieri even got Mozart composition jobs, and conducted some of Mozart's works, and vice versa. Revisionist history sucks!
@@paulquantumblues3599 What did you read? Which language? Everything in english is second choice, only literature in German from solid sources is an evidence, a - bad - movie, from the historic standpoint, is not a clue. Please, do yourself a favor, don´t quote Wikipedia as a source, it´s ridiculous.
This was incredible. I have been introduced to all of these concepts separately but never had them woven together in a way that actually made sense to me.
13:10 “We may not use dissonances in this exercise. You have to unlock them by getting to the next level.” Brilliant. I laughed out loud. Outstanding videos. Thank you, sir!
This is the best Counterpoint tutorial I have come across with the right amount of analytics, sense and justifications which can shape up great counterpoints !
It's great to be reminded of these fundamental ways to construct separate-and-yet-still-related musical structures that stand as both melodic and harmonic concepts. This makes me want to practice this kind of contrapuntal activity again. Thank you.
Very nice explanation. Regarding Shubert's showing off, it may actually be more than just an invertible melody, since he actually just reversed the cantus firmus, with the exception of the two C# in the middle. Salieri's line: D E F D a e F D C# D, Schubert's counterpoint(s): D C# D F c#(d) c# D F E D.
What a cool point; I hadn't noticed that partial retrograde! Alfred Mann argues that Schubert was really chomping at the bit to study advanced fugal and canonic techniques with Salieri, but Salieri only wanted to focus on the fundamentals of non-imitative counterpoint. Mann doesn't give this as an example, but it certainly supports his argument.
Best tutorial on counterpoint out there by far. Much clearer and much simpler than most books I own and had to read a gazillion times over and over again NOT to understand this fully. Cannot thank you enough!
A pandemic masterpiece my friend. Where I live, this kind of knowledge isn't spread. Even the Fux's gradus ad parnassum isn't complete translated to my language. Luck me I studied english. Thank you Dr. Gran.
One time i thought about creating a jazz piece after playing many standards. I was thinking to use this approach as i don't even know about a good approach. Never knew this is actually used. Glad to come across this. I've already made a piece but i wanted it to sound richer in chords and voice movement. Thanks for making this kind of video.
Your not wrong about the applicability in general of counterpoint. Most of the jazz greats also studied it, and even in rock and roll, Frank Zappa was a master of very advanced counterpoint (in his 'serious' orchestral he tended towards serialist atonal stuff, but with a very disciplined counterpoint), and he used it extensively in his prog-rock and fusion jazz compositions. This is the secret sauce folks.
This gotta be THE single best video regarding 1:1 counterpoint on youtube, that i've seen so far. Incredibly well structured, easy to understand and interestingly moderated. Thank you!
thanks for the instructional videos. even though it's counterpoint, you can apply the rules to rock and metal riffs. since i know the rules, my riffs seem much more musical and catchy.
When I studied counterpoint, we were taught in the style of The Gradus ad Pernassum by Johann Joseph Fux. This was the book used by Mozart, Beethoven and many other great composers. There are a few differences between Salieri's and Fux' method. Here are the rules taught by Fux which are different. 1. The piece must start on a perfect consonance ie. 8va or 5th when counterpoint is above the cantus firmus and only 8va when it is below. The 3rd is forbidden. 2. A perfect interval may be approached by direct motion provided that the top note in upward motion or the bottom note in downward motion moves by step. If both move by leap they produce exposed 5ths or octaves. 3. As you have pointed out salieri's acceptance of the dim 4th, dim 5th, aug 4th is forbidden by Fux. 4. At the 18 minute mark, the first two notes overlap (not to be confused with voice crossing) where the bottom voice leaps above the top. This is also forbidden th-cam.com/video/1npMMi-SMz8/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=5minutemusictheory You have done a great job coveringl the important aspects of this style. I think Salieri's canti firmi aren't great because they return to the same note too often. In the D minor example, out of 10 notes 4 of them are the same tonic.
A really instructive and helpful video tutorial for first-year music students on music theory Counterpoint using a Cantus Firmus! It was really easy to follow along even as a second year student !
This video is so amazing. I never even knew of such a teaching system before. It is most excellently presented as well. I have watched it twice today but there are still many elements I failed to grasp. I think I need to spend more time with it . . .
I love counterpoint. I started studying it out of personal interest (I wanted to learn the fugue and needed to put down the necessary building blocks), and I've become more competent in writing singable melodies. Not only that, but I've also observed a general improvement in my musical taste. It's a pity that the composition teacher at the conservatory where I'm enrolled decided to make it an optional part of the composer's academic curriculum :\ Great video, BTW
Thanks so much, this video is a blessing! I am long since obsessed with writing counterpoint but always lacked solid fundamentals, which I can now improve upon.
Bonsoir Jacob Gran, je lis comme tout le monde l'intitulé de votre post, ou vous mentionnez directement que de nombreux grands compositeurs classiques ont créer des contrepoints musicaux. je vous cite, Haydn, Mozart et Beethoven .....très justement et vous avez raison de les mentionner. En revanche, là ou je trouve un oublie incroyable voir incompréhensible de votre part, c'est que vous ne mentionnez pas le plus grand des compositeurs classique qui justement a bâti finalement presque toute sa carrière sur le contre-point, je veux parler de JOHAN SEBASTIAN B.A.C.H !!!! je crois honnêtement Jacob Gran, qu'il serait nécessaire de rectifier cet oubli majeur. Un organiste et mélomane. Laurent
Oh yes, I certainly agree that Bach is one of the all-time greats of counterpoint. The reason I didn't mention him in that particular sentence was because I was referring not just to counterpoint, but specifically to the pedagogical tradition of species counterpoint. Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum was published in the middle of Bach's career, and there is no evidence that he taught using the species method that I demonstrate in this video. I am currently making videos teaching canon and fugue, and believe me, there will be plenty of Bach!
@@JacobGran merci d'avoir eu l'amabilité de me répondre, certes, ce que vous dites n'est pas faux, je souhaiter seulement vous sensibiliser à ajouter à votre petite liste des compositeurs, le compositeur qui me semblait être le plus important dans votre sujet. Tant pis pour Jean Sébastien Bach, je suis navré pour lui, je n'aurai pas su le porter ici pour toute son œuvre..... je bénis Félix Mendelshon, qui grâce à lui, le Maestro JS.BACH n'est pas tombé dans l'oubli. Belle soirée, navré de vous avoir dérangé pour si peu. Amitiés, Musicales Laurent
Cantus Firmus Mostly Stepwise Leaps: Consonant (3,4,5,6,8) Dissonant Leaps(5, aug, Dim, >8) Begins and Ends on 1 Harmonic Intervals: Perfect Consonances: Union/5 Imperfect Consonances: (3,6,10) Dissonant (2,4,7)-good for voice leading indepence, but dont use untill level II. Contrary Motion is Best Direct Motion: --Parallel Motion: same Direction by Same Interval --Similar Motion: Same Direction by Different Interval --Oblique: One motion moves and the other remains the same. Rules No Dissonant Harmonic Interval No Direct Motion to a Perfect Consonance Analytic Diagrams: -Dashed Slurs connect repeated toans -Solid Slurs connect consonant leaps -Label Harmonic Intervals
Fux stated that the beginning needs to express perfection, so seeing Schubert's example you have given I am surprised that the starting interval can be anything other than a perfect consonance. That's something I learned from you. Great video!
Yes, Fux makes it a rule to begin on a perfect consonance in 2-voice counterpoint (^1 or ^5), but with more voices he allows the inner voices to also start on ^3 to form a complete chord. Later composers like Salieri here allow it also in 2-voice counterpoint, so I just wanted to clarify that it is a later adjustment of the rule, not original recipe.
Oioioi, hats down! What an incredibly precise and well explained lesson that is! Not one word too much, not one word too few. And sooooo much of unlocked secrets to the art of polyphonic pleasant music! Even if I won't compose myself (lacking the time at the moment), it certainly will help me also understand the compositions I sing and play.
Beautiful lesson.Really like the way the motion of the melody affects an overall change in emotion too.While composing I constantly find a challenge to naturally come up with a phrase that feels complete and this solves that to a great extent.Thank you for your time and effort.
*Notes:* - Melodies must be fluent -- 3:08 - Stepwise motion is more fluent -- 3:59 - Leap by consonant intervals -- 4:31 - Leaps >3rds typically should be recovered. This is less important for downward leaps -- 5:07 - Ending and beginning on degree 1 is restful -- 5:59 - Melody must have peak a consonant interval from degree 1. This gives melody shape -- 6:44 - Counterpoints above given melody can begin on degree 1, 3, or 5 -- 8:17 - The interest comes from the interaction of the melodies 9:07 - Repeated notes allow listener to listen to other melody, but mustn't be over used 10:04 - No dissonant harmonic intervals may be used (7ths, 2nds, 5ths) 10:52 - Perfect consonances can't be used twice in a row because they ruin the flow 11:02 - Mixing up intervals creates a sense of variety 13:29 - Contrary motion creates most independence 13:50 - Direct motion creates less independence, especially parallel motion. Avoid long stretches of parallel motion - Oblique motion creates more independence, but listener stops paying attention to unmoving voice. Use only if needed 15:45 - Unpredictability and variety are important 16:32 - Direct motion mustn't be used to approach a perfect consonance 16:53 - A natural followed by sharp is an augmented unison 20:41 - Give melodies space 24:16 - Higher than a tenth is unideal 24:30 - Accentuate the shape of the melody by starting lower 25:37 - Make sure melodies don't reach high point at the same time 26:06 - Last things first, first things second, high things third, middle things last 27:20 - Filling the gaps after a leap makes it sound alright 28:30
Thank you for the kind words. But within the last ten hours it has shot up to 87k now... I don't know what the TH-cam algorithm is doing but I like it.
Beautiful. I recently decided to learn music formally. Bach and Vivaldi are my favorites, but my music is between ambient and instrumental. Thanks for the quality info. Greetings from Bolivia.
I like the term 1:1 counterpoint better than First Species because it explicitly shows the ratio. Regardless of whether or not the Cantus Firmus is whole notes, half notes, quarter notes or some other value, the key thing is that the other voice has the same ratio, it's 1:1.
@@Hwyadylaw That may be, but what he's talking about here is what most would say is First Species. And I'm saying that I prefer when they explicitly say the contrapuntal ratio over the species model that is the default for teaching counterpoint. I mean 3:1 counterpoint for instance is generally disregarded in counterpoint studies or if it is mentioned, it's as a subset of Second Species, which isn't fair. And he doesn't do either of those things.
Great video. I studied counterpoint a few years ago on my own. I'm glad according to your lesson I was doing it correctly! I just subscribed and look forward to watching all your videos. Thanks
This certainly is indeed a very good counterpoint tutorial. I think I agree with Trey ---- it probably is the best counterpoint tutorial. I've seen quite vague videos before about counterpoint. This one makes sense for sure. Thanks very much Jacob. The part at 18:34 - mention of 'mediocre lunatic' is somewhat harsh.
Thank you. And I agree that calling him a mediocre lunatic was very harsh. It was intended as a joke about the depiction of Salieri in the movie Amadeus, but I didn't make that clear enough. The real Salieri was a master composer and, as far as I know, well liked by everyone.
A lot of this makes sense to me but I still feel like the student who gets impatient. I studied this stuff at university and a lot of the time I felt like the lesson was like, “counterpoint and 4 part chorale is like a square” and my brain is like, “I really like my green rhombus and red pentagon”. I’m a jazz guy who wants to improve his composing chops so I’m here but the overtly strict rules kinda grinds at me. When I see this line I’m like CM Dm CM Am GM Dm Em G7 CM.
Tips: 1) This video has some helpful information, but is obviously geared towards people with absolutely no knowledge of music theory, which makes it quite a drag for anyone who does. 2) Listen at 1.25 speed if you want to avoid a slow descent into insanity 3) These are suggestions, not rules. This isn't a traffic safety test, or the SAT -- this is art, and something to have fun with.
Thank you for this tutorial! I played one of The Counterpoint 1:1 Melodies and it felt awesome! I took Harmony Classes in College Of San Mateo so this video was just to refresh myself on the things that I’ve learned in that class! Thank You so much!
Listening to this a second time and starting the homework now. The only regret I have is the audiation part, since I believe I have Aural Aphantasia. I'm singing the Rule of the Octave and comparing it with a Pitch Monitoring app, and it's not pretty to look at (luckily I have headphones for my piano) and the neighbors have quit calling the police, but every once in a while the ambulance crew stops by to check on me. My music teacher is very understanding and will grade me and correct my mistakes.
Fantastic content. This is so thorough and step by step, and also very well-paced. It’s everything I want from such a tutorial, and nothing more. I greatly appreciate this, and am about to begin the follow up! Thank you.
They don’t teach audiation because they can’t grade it. Same has happened in many fields. And thus did accreditation destroy education. You’re a good man for valuing the real over the measurable.
Your speaking style makes it very easy to pay attention to what you're saying. Love it, thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Edit: Audiation exercise? Wow, thats worth the price of admission alone.
At first I thought this was a bit dry, but I was drawn in so deep as it went on. A nice, mellow contrast to the "hyped up" style of most TH-cam videos. Its like a meditation mixed with a lesson... beautiful! Thank you so much!
I expected these videos to get like 12 views, so I designed it to be a resource for teachers or people who want to learn independently. I made it very dry on purpose, and I am still surprised so many people watch it despite that!
@@JacobGran Haha yeah all good man. The information is gold, honestly. And you put it across in a way that is easily digestible, yet still very thorough and correct . I'm already on suspensions 1. When i strike it rich with my songs, im going to load up your Patreon ✌🏻
The audation exercise has implanted into my inner voice an endless composing of melodies. I can't stop it anymore.
Thanks! I have no idea why TH-cam decided to recommend this to a random Korean student who knows absolutely nothing about composition, but anyways I watched the entire thing and I really enjoyed it as a music lover. I never knew music composition is done this precisely and carefully. I think I'll watch more of your videos and expand my knowledge about music composition! Thanks for giving me a first step!
this comment is amazing
would it not be most incredible if this random event made you change your major and become a composer?👍
Great video, thanks so much Jacob, for anyone else working through the exercises in the PDF, I wrote out some of the notes for lesson for reference:
Given Melody - Cantus Firmus (8 to 12 notes)
*****************************
The fewest possible notes that still give the impression of complete compossion (that can't be broken into seperate parts)
Want to be able to split attention between two melodies
Melodic Fluency - Melody takes very little mental effor to keep track of
- Mostly Stepwise (Allows prediction of changes)
- Leaps are made by Consonant intervals
Consonant Leaps:
- 3rds
- 4ths (Except for F to B) (4 to 7)
- 5ths (Except for B to F) (7 to 4)
- 6ths
- Octaves
Dissonant Leaps (Avoid)
- 7th
- Aug
- Dim
- >Octave
For any large leaps, they should be followed with a 'Recovered' movement in the opposite direction (Larger than a 3rd) and more important for upward movements than downwards (What goes up, must come down)
The Cantus Firmus always begins and ends on the root
*****************************
Intermediary goal of Melodic Motion, which is far away from the root to ensure seperation from the root notes which begin and end the passage (The Highpoint Consonant)
When a counterpoint is written above the Cantus, it can begin on scale degrees 1, 3 or 5, if below the cantus it must begin on 1
The secret to an interesting counterpoint comes from the way the two melodic curves interact, not from either melodies on their own
Cantus Firmus should not use tone repeatitions, the counterpoint can, but it should be kept to a minimum
*****************************
Categorization of counterpoint notes in relation to the Cantus Firmus:
Perfect Consonances - Unison, 5ths, 8ve
(Too Stable, avoid using twice in a row, unison only at the start or end)
Imperfect Consonances - 3rd, 6th, 10th
(Most useful for this exercise)
Disonant Consonances - 2nd, 4th, 7th
(Unstable, gives the impression of repelling the other melody line)
*****************************
Types of Motion:
1. Contrary Motion
2. Direct Motion
- Parallel Motion (Same interval in both voices) - Use Sparingly
- Simular Motion (Same direction, different interval)
3. Oblique Motion (One voice remains static)
*****************************
1:1 Counterpoint Rules:
1. No Dissonant Harmonic intervals
2. No Direct Motion to a Perfect Consonance
*****************************
Counterpoint BELOW the Cantus
- Counterpoint must start on the root note
- Instead of aiming for high note as the goal, aim for a low note
*****************************
Tips for Counterpoint creation
- As counterpoint needs to end on root, place this note first
- Use contrary motion for the second to last
- Avoid starting the counterpoint with either
- a 3rd (too close to the first voice)
- Anything higher than a 10th
- Compose in medium sized chunks as opposed to one note at a time
- Don't have the high points in both voices occur at the same spot
*****************************
Thank you so much, this is really helpful!
Not all heroes wear capes! ❤
Finding gems like this has saved me thousands on lessons and school 😂
You are the best teacher young man I’ve learned alot here in Zimbabwe by your videos
Check the translation. It's the clearest and the best tutorial . I'v been working counterpoint for four years but at that time Internet didn't exists ....
I am two minutes into your video and I am already about to cry tears of relief because I had only taken one semester of music theory before I decided to try out the contrapuntal techniques course. The only prerequisite was diatonic and chromatic harmony, but “A Practical Approach to 18th Century Counterpoint” is full of words and concepts that I’m not familiar with and there are so many of them that I feel like I have to reach for google every two sentences. I’ll reply to this comment after I’ve watched the full video, but I’d just really, really like to thank you for putting this out here.
You are an excellent teacher and every bit of information is presented in an easily-digestible way, using metaphors when appropriate and offering definitions for terminology that may be unfamiliar. You did a really excellent job with the instructional portion of this video and I will now go ahead and work on the assignment. Seriously, thank you for making this.
Did this in music theory class many years ago. It was 5 part counterpoint and our teacher had different students singing each different part…it sounded astounding.
This is an awesome Counterpoint refresher! Thanks a bunch.
I’m a Computer Engineer for a living, but waaaay back in the mid-late 1980s, I took the usual Freshman and Sophomore Theory and Ear Training.
I’ll be retiring soon, and my #1 goal is to “phoenix” my Music life, including (if not especially!) composition. So, this sort of refresher is perfect!
Thanks again!
Thank you for this. I graduated with a masters in music from Stony Brook University, and for some reason they skipped over this. I can write Bach Chorales with ease, analyze all sorts of insanely hard pieces, but I always felt incomplete because I never learned this. It may take some time, but I am going to go through all of these videos. Thank you so much!
You're welcome! I had a similar experience in my music education, which is why I become obsessed with historical counterpoint for a few years and ended up making these videos.
Same. It's crazy to teach Schenkerian analysis to someone who hasn't even had basic counterpoint yet.
Bach is the master of counterpoint.
Yeah, Bach Chorales ARE counterpoint fundamentally.
Just curious, how do you "write Bach chorales with ease" if you don't know 1:1 counterpoint?
I studied to get into uni to do music and was SO lucky to have a teacher who was able to teach me this stuff; it's optional these days in the UK. It really gave me a firm foundation for all subsequent compositional work.
I'm not a musician or a music student, just a music lover, but you explained this real well. Thanks for putting it out there.
Just get a DAW and start messing around. 😅
These videos are really phenomenal -- as a jazz pianist I never got this in my curriculum in music school. Although I've done exercises to try improvise over tunes in what amounts to naive, rules-free "free counterpoint," I've always wanted to get beyond my clumsy, mostly instinctual understanding of the way counterpoint actually works and these videos are awesome and an amazing labor of love. Looking forward to following along with all of them. Thank you!
Thank you!
When I studied counterpoint this was the High Point of my musical education. But counterpoint only made sense after I studied harmony for two years. Counterpoint is absolutely essential to good music composition. Good job my friend.
Is this video recommendation from TH-cam like a level unlock reward for surviving 2020?
Searched for such instructions and teaching but never found it before today!
Thank you, teacher!
Thank you, that is very generous!
This is god tier content. Thank you so much.
You’re very welcome! Thank you.
i love composeing! im not good on the composing but now when i know this... i can FINALLY this
I did the composition homework you suggested. I think I followed all the rules, but even if I made a mistake I still understand all the concepts and I feel prepared to move on. I am looking forward to continuing and finishing this series
This video is gold. There isn’t another smooth explanation on the web about the subject, it’s easy to grasp if you are new to counterpoint. Thanks!
Carlos Andrés glad you liked it!
I remember reading that Beethoven studied with Salieri for a time. He had a lot of influence on the next generation of composers. It's a shame that Amadeus has created a bad view of him within our modern culture.
The view that that movie cast on him was terrible. What happened was Salieri opposed the monarchy at the time, and in retaliation they destroyed his reputation. He was actually friends with Mozart (they composed music together) he sent his daughter to study piano with Mozart, and while Mozart traveled throughout Europe performing he actually performed some of Salieri's music. Whenever I hear Salieri (even if it is a piece I have never heard) I always know that it is him. He had a style all his own. It's sad that it's only been recently that his music is being revived. All that we can take from what happened to him is that politicians sure do suck!
@@paulquantumblues3599 Salieri’s acting was comedy gold
@@paulquantumblues3599 So the Court Composer opposed the Monarchy? Interesting.
@@tdswen1 Yes, that's what I read. I believe that that is even written on his Wikipedia page. Yes, he and Mozart were somewhat rivals when Mozart first arrived in Vienna, but Mozart was new to Vienna. So, there was going to be competition between him and the established composers, but eventually Mozart and Salieri became friends. Salieri even got Mozart composition jobs, and conducted some of Mozart's works, and vice versa. Revisionist history sucks!
@@paulquantumblues3599 What did you read? Which language? Everything in english is second choice, only literature in German from solid sources is an evidence, a - bad - movie, from the historic standpoint, is not a clue. Please, do yourself a favor, don´t quote Wikipedia as a source, it´s ridiculous.
This was incredible. I have been introduced to all of these concepts separately but never had them woven together in a way that actually made sense to me.
Thank you, glad you got something out of it!
13:10 “We may not use dissonances in this exercise. You have to unlock them by getting to the next level.” Brilliant. I laughed out loud. Outstanding videos. Thank you, sir!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Don't you just love it when the final level has an additional level for no real reason? Me too.
This is the best Counterpoint tutorial I have come across with the right amount of analytics, sense and justifications which can shape up great counterpoints !
Glad it was helpful!
I've been looking for series about counterpoint on TH-cam for a while, and never been stratified until this.
Thank you!
“You have to unlock them, by getting to the next level”
Mans made a video game from studying counterpoint 😂😂😂
Yeah, I thought that reference was awesome. I'm going to use it with my students.
👍👍👍
Is there an app yet?
Use the whole Fux's book as the game scenario
@@ostromogilskaiamaria5268 ññ la qqqñq
That's incredibly useful, thanks!
this is amazing, thank you for posting this so anyone has a chance to try to learn this for free
Calling Salieri a mediocre lunatic was all I needed to hear to subscribe to your channel.
Thank you very, very much, Dr. Jacob Gran! 🙏 Your videos and work are very much appreciated! 🙏
It's great to be reminded of these fundamental ways to construct separate-and-yet-still-related musical structures that stand as both melodic and harmonic concepts. This makes me want to practice this kind of contrapuntal activity again. Thank you.
where have you been all my life. This is amazing
Very nice explanation.
Regarding Shubert's showing off, it may actually be more than just an invertible melody, since he actually just reversed the cantus firmus, with the exception of the two C# in the middle.
Salieri's line: D E F D a e F D C# D,
Schubert's counterpoint(s): D C# D F c#(d) c# D F E D.
What a cool point; I hadn't noticed that partial retrograde! Alfred Mann argues that Schubert was really chomping at the bit to study advanced fugal and canonic techniques with Salieri, but Salieri only wanted to focus on the fundamentals of non-imitative counterpoint. Mann doesn't give this as an example, but it certainly supports his argument.
Best tutorial on counterpoint out there by far. Much clearer and much simpler than most books I own and had to read a gazillion times over and over again NOT to understand this fully. Cannot thank you enough!
A pandemic masterpiece my friend. Where I live, this kind of knowledge isn't spread. Even the Fux's gradus ad parnassum isn't complete translated to my language. Luck me I studied english. Thank you Dr. Gran.
You are very welcome!
I am very pleased because I am now learning to compose a second voice to the song melodies I play. I shake your hand . Thank you. Alan
This is brilliant, after years of struggling with Fux, it’s opened up all the ideas for me- thank you.
Very very very very good!
Thank you very much!
i couldn't find a counterpoint tutorial better than this
thanks a lot man👍👏
You're welcome!
Perfect series , love to watch it all!
Thanks a ton!
One time i thought about creating a jazz piece after playing many standards. I was thinking to use this approach as i don't even know about a good approach. Never knew this is actually used. Glad to come across this. I've already made a piece but i wanted it to sound richer in chords and voice movement. Thanks for making this kind of video.
Your not wrong about the applicability in general of counterpoint. Most of the jazz greats also studied it, and even in rock and roll, Frank Zappa was a master of very advanced counterpoint (in his 'serious' orchestral he tended towards serialist atonal stuff, but with a very disciplined counterpoint), and he used it extensively in his prog-rock and fusion jazz compositions. This is the secret sauce folks.
Oh man I haven’t listened to Boulez Conducts Zappa in years. Time to look that up again.
Look up Ted Greene
This gotta be THE single best video regarding 1:1 counterpoint on youtube, that i've seen so far. Incredibly well structured, easy to understand and interestingly moderated. Thank you!
thanks for the instructional videos. even though it's counterpoint, you can apply the rules to rock and metal riffs.
since i know the rules, my riffs seem much more musical and catchy.
カウンターポイントの理論体系に興味深い内容が多々有ります、勉強法を教わりありがとう御座います。
I can relate to Salieri. I understand from personal experience what it is like to not kill Mozart.
When I studied counterpoint, we were taught in the style of The Gradus ad Pernassum by Johann Joseph Fux. This was the book used by Mozart, Beethoven and many other great composers. There are a few differences between Salieri's and Fux' method. Here are the rules taught by Fux which are different.
1. The piece must start on a perfect consonance ie. 8va or 5th when counterpoint is above the cantus firmus and only 8va when it is below. The 3rd is forbidden.
2. A perfect interval may be approached by direct motion provided that the top note in upward motion or the bottom note in downward motion moves by step. If both move by leap they produce exposed 5ths or octaves.
3. As you have pointed out salieri's acceptance of the dim 4th, dim 5th, aug 4th is forbidden by Fux.
4. At the 18 minute mark, the first two notes overlap (not to be confused with voice crossing) where the bottom voice leaps above the top. This is also forbidden th-cam.com/video/1npMMi-SMz8/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=5minutemusictheory
You have done a great job coveringl the important aspects of this style. I think Salieri's canti firmi aren't great because they return to the same note too often. In the D minor example, out of 10 notes 4 of them are the same tonic.
If only i saw this video 10 years earlier... !! Thanks man
You're welcome!
thanks for mixing the theory with the art and ensuring that the student has vision of a pragmatic approach
I can't imagine a better video of it's kind in understanding this topic. Much
Thanks.
Thank you very much!
A really instructive and helpful video tutorial for first-year music students on music theory Counterpoint using a Cantus Firmus! It was really easy to follow along even as a second year student !
I understand what never understood when I was taking counterpoint as a vocal student! Thanks!!
You're very welcome!
This video is so amazing. I never even knew of such a teaching system before. It is most excellently presented as well. I have watched it twice today but there are still many elements I failed to grasp. I think I need to spend more time with it . . .
I don’t even need this tutorial since I don’t compose, but I’ll still watch all the ads and the video since it seems very interesting
Thank you!
I love this! Beautifully explained. Great rules! It's like solving a puzzle!
I love counterpoint. I started studying it out of personal interest (I wanted to learn the fugue and needed to put down the necessary building blocks), and I've become more competent in writing singable melodies. Not only that, but I've also observed a general improvement in my musical taste.
It's a pity that the composition teacher at the conservatory where I'm enrolled decided to make it an optional part of the composer's academic curriculum :\
Great video, BTW
Thank you!
I came here also to be able to write my own Fugue
Thanks so much, this video is a blessing! I am long since obsessed with writing counterpoint but always lacked solid fundamentals, which I can now improve upon.
Thank you! When I made these videos I hoped they would be used exactly this way.
Okey, following you. Future Bach on the making
Best teacher in conservatory.
I don't know how to write music at all but here I am watching this.
This is a superb counterpoint lesson. Bravo!
Very great tuto , Counterpoint ways are not easy to explain clearly, congrats from France 👍😉🇫🇷
Thank you!
This is the best playlist for big brain theory I have ever seen holy flip
Thank you for making such a lucid and generous explanation.
You're very welcome! Glad it was helpful.
Bonsoir Jacob Gran, je lis comme tout le monde l'intitulé de votre post, ou vous mentionnez directement que de nombreux grands compositeurs classiques ont créer des contrepoints musicaux.
je vous cite, Haydn, Mozart et Beethoven .....très justement et vous avez raison de les mentionner.
En revanche, là ou je trouve un oublie incroyable voir incompréhensible de votre part, c'est que vous ne mentionnez pas le plus grand des compositeurs classique qui justement a bâti finalement presque toute sa carrière sur le contre-point, je veux parler de JOHAN SEBASTIAN B.A.C.H !!!!
je crois honnêtement Jacob Gran, qu'il serait nécessaire de rectifier cet oubli majeur. Un organiste et mélomane.
Laurent
Oh yes, I certainly agree that Bach is one of the all-time greats of counterpoint. The reason I didn't mention him in that particular sentence was because I was referring not just to counterpoint, but specifically to the pedagogical tradition of species counterpoint. Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum was published in the middle of Bach's career, and there is no evidence that he taught using the species method that I demonstrate in this video. I am currently making videos teaching canon and fugue, and believe me, there will be plenty of Bach!
@@JacobGran merci d'avoir eu l'amabilité de me répondre, certes, ce que vous dites n'est pas faux, je souhaiter seulement vous sensibiliser à ajouter à votre petite liste des compositeurs, le compositeur qui me semblait être le plus important dans votre sujet. Tant pis pour Jean Sébastien Bach, je suis navré pour lui, je n'aurai pas su le porter ici pour toute son œuvre..... je bénis Félix Mendelshon, qui grâce à lui, le Maestro JS.BACH n'est pas tombé dans l'oubli.
Belle soirée, navré de vous avoir dérangé pour si peu.
Amitiés, Musicales
Laurent
Cantus Firmus
Mostly Stepwise
Leaps: Consonant (3,4,5,6,8) Dissonant Leaps(5, aug, Dim, >8)
Begins and Ends on 1
Harmonic Intervals:
Perfect Consonances: Union/5
Imperfect Consonances: (3,6,10)
Dissonant (2,4,7)-good for voice leading indepence, but dont use untill level II.
Contrary Motion is Best
Direct Motion:
--Parallel Motion: same Direction by Same Interval
--Similar Motion: Same Direction by Different Interval
--Oblique: One motion moves and the other remains the same.
Rules
No Dissonant Harmonic Interval
No Direct Motion to a Perfect Consonance
Analytic Diagrams:
-Dashed Slurs connect repeated toans
-Solid Slurs connect consonant leaps
-Label Harmonic Intervals
absolutly clear and precise thanks for sharing blessings from France
Thanks for watching!
Fux stated that the beginning needs to express perfection, so seeing Schubert's example you have given I am surprised that the starting interval can be anything other than a perfect consonance. That's something I learned from you. Great video!
Yes, Fux makes it a rule to begin on a perfect consonance in 2-voice counterpoint (^1 or ^5), but with more voices he allows the inner voices to also start on ^3 to form a complete chord. Later composers like Salieri here allow it also in 2-voice counterpoint, so I just wanted to clarify that it is a later adjustment of the rule, not original recipe.
This tutorial is exactly what I need. Very clear and easy to follow. Thanks.
You're welcome!
Oioioi, hats down!
What an incredibly precise and well explained lesson that is!
Not one word too much, not one word too few. And sooooo much of unlocked secrets to the art of polyphonic pleasant music!
Even if I won't compose myself (lacking the time at the moment), it certainly will help me also understand the compositions I sing and play.
Just started going through the exercises in Gradus ad Parnassum and this is a great help. Thank you!
What a fascinating video,although a little out of my depth, what I’ve learned was enlightening,thankyou
Beautiful lesson.Really like the way the motion of the melody affects an overall change in emotion too.While composing I constantly find a challenge to naturally come up with a phrase that feels complete and this solves that to a great extent.Thank you for your time and effort.
Nice way to present in a nowadays language the "Gradus ad Parnassum" 😊😊👍🎶
*Notes:*
- Melodies must be fluent -- 3:08
- Stepwise motion is more fluent -- 3:59
- Leap by consonant intervals -- 4:31
- Leaps >3rds typically should be recovered. This is less important for downward leaps -- 5:07
- Ending and beginning on degree 1 is restful -- 5:59
- Melody must have peak a consonant interval from degree 1. This gives melody shape -- 6:44
- Counterpoints above given melody can begin on degree 1, 3, or 5 -- 8:17
- The interest comes from the interaction of the melodies 9:07
- Repeated notes allow listener to listen to other melody, but mustn't be over used 10:04
- No dissonant harmonic intervals may be used (7ths, 2nds, 5ths) 10:52
- Perfect consonances can't be used twice in a row because they ruin the flow 11:02
- Mixing up intervals creates a sense of variety 13:29
- Contrary motion creates most independence 13:50
- Direct motion creates less independence, especially parallel motion. Avoid long stretches of parallel motion
- Oblique motion creates more independence, but listener stops paying attention to unmoving voice. Use only if needed 15:45
- Unpredictability and variety are important 16:32
- Direct motion mustn't be used to approach a perfect consonance 16:53
- A natural followed by sharp is an augmented unison 20:41
- Give melodies space 24:16
- Higher than a tenth is unideal 24:30
- Accentuate the shape of the melody by starting lower 25:37
- Make sure melodies don't reach high point at the same time 26:06
- Last things first, first things second, high things third, middle things last 27:20
- Filling the gaps after a leap makes it sound alright 28:30
My first time hearing these things but still I could understand.
Thank you for this content. I know you hear it all the time but this is so incredibly useful and inspiring.
I love the little jab at the movie character around 18:50. “…mediocre lunatic.”
why does this only have 68K views? Excellent clear presentation. Fantastic work
Thank you for the kind words. But within the last ten hours it has shot up to 87k now... I don't know what the TH-cam algorithm is doing but I like it.
Beautiful. I recently decided to learn music formally. Bach and Vivaldi are my favorites, but my music is between ambient and instrumental. Thanks for the quality info. Greetings from Bolivia.
Thank you Dr. Gran for all your lessons, tutorials...!! I'm learning a whole lot... Looking forward to more...
I like the term 1:1 counterpoint better than First Species because it explicitly shows the ratio. Regardless of whether or not the Cantus Firmus is whole notes, half notes, quarter notes or some other value, the key thing is that the other voice has the same ratio, it's 1:1.
The two terms don't have exactly the same meaning though. First Species is a subset of 1:1 counterpoint.
@@Hwyadylaw That may be, but what he's talking about here is what most would say is First Species. And I'm saying that I prefer when they explicitly say the contrapuntal ratio over the species model that is the default for teaching counterpoint. I mean 3:1 counterpoint for instance is generally disregarded in counterpoint studies or if it is mentioned, it's as a subset of Second Species, which isn't fair. And he doesn't do either of those things.
Great video. I studied counterpoint a few years ago on my own. I'm glad according to your lesson I was doing it correctly! I just subscribed and look forward to watching all your videos. Thanks
Excellent! Thank you.
This is great content. Thanks for putting this up.
This certainly is indeed a very good counterpoint tutorial. I think I agree with Trey ---- it probably is the best counterpoint tutorial. I've seen quite vague videos before about counterpoint. This one makes sense for sure. Thanks very much Jacob. The part at 18:34 - mention of 'mediocre lunatic' is somewhat harsh.
Thank you. And I agree that calling him a mediocre lunatic was very harsh. It was intended as a joke about the depiction of Salieri in the movie Amadeus, but I didn't make that clear enough. The real Salieri was a master composer and, as far as I know, well liked by everyone.
@@JacobGran haha! No problem at all Jacob! Thanks for mentioning the link to the Amadeus movie!!
Great video! I look forward to the rest of the series, as well as your other videos.
A lot of this makes sense to me but I still feel like the student who gets impatient. I studied this stuff at university and a lot of the time I felt like the lesson was like, “counterpoint and 4 part chorale is like a square” and my brain is like, “I really like my green rhombus and red pentagon”. I’m a jazz guy who wants to improve his composing chops so I’m here but the overtly strict rules kinda grinds at me. When I see this line I’m like CM Dm CM Am GM Dm Em G7 CM.
Thank you for sharing this knowledge, clear like a crystal ❤
Glad it was helpful!
Tips:
1) This video has some helpful information, but is obviously geared towards people with absolutely no knowledge of music theory, which makes it quite a drag for anyone who does.
2) Listen at 1.25 speed if you want to avoid a slow descent into insanity
3) These are suggestions, not rules. This isn't a traffic safety test, or the SAT -- this is art, and something to have fun with.
Schubet's 200 year old homework assignment is more studied than some of his contemporaries masterworks.
Thanks a Bazillion this is what I needed I have studied but an in depth counterpoint was needed , teach on!! Sir
This is really good music course
Thank you!
Thank you for this tutorial! I played one of The Counterpoint 1:1 Melodies and it felt awesome! I took Harmony Classes in College Of San Mateo so this video was just to refresh myself on the things that I’ve learned in that class! Thank You so much!
Listening to this a second time and starting the homework now. The only regret I have is the audiation part, since I believe I have Aural Aphantasia. I'm singing the Rule of the Octave and comparing it with a Pitch Monitoring app, and it's not pretty to look at (luckily I have headphones for my piano) and the neighbors have quit calling the police, but every once in a while the ambulance crew stops by to check on me.
My music teacher is very understanding and will grade me and correct my mistakes.
Thank you so much Dr. Gran for such a great video... by far the best lesson on counterpoint on youtube..!
Glad you like it!
You are a phenomenal teacher. Thanks for these!
Fantastic content. This is so thorough and step by step, and also very well-paced. It’s everything I want from such a tutorial, and nothing more. I greatly appreciate this, and am about to begin the follow up! Thank you.
Glad you like it!
Great tutorial on counterpoint and you explained it excellently. I love the sarcasm about Salieri. "A mediocre lunatic."