Here is a rigorous counterpoint treatise implementing the basic principles of tonal writing. The rules in force, in agreement with those of harmony, are integrated into the counterpoint of the species. We are thus moving away from the modal counterpoint of which many books are treated and entering the usual world of tonality. As in Fux, learning is based here on the game of species. But the exercise is reworked so that the practice of one species is integrated into the next. In total, there are five species that gradually combine different note values, to which are added the tonal borrowings at the highest degrees. After a chapter devoted to the study of the reversible counterpoint, we will find many Cantus Firmus, specific to the species! The volume also offers several examples from the repertoire highlighting the fundamental aspects of tonal language.
Under the supervision of the master, the student must discover the harmonic progression suggested by the Cantus Firmus, note it under the scope, and compose a counterpoint based on the principles of complementarity of contours, syntactic fluidity and voice behavior specified in the volume. The clear and concise rules lead her to understand the basics of tonal contrapuntal writing. As a result, the learning of counterpoint can be done in symbiosis with that of harmony since their foundations are the same.
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