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The systematic study of strict counterpoint is several centuries old. Mozart tutored the English composer Thomas Attwood in the elements of music between 1785 and 1787, from key signatures through strict counterpoint to free composition. Mozart himself, as well as Haydn, Beethoven, and countless other composers studied strict counterpoint in Johann Joseph Fux's remarkable tutorial, Gradus ad Parnassum.
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Why do we still follow this centuries-old progression of study through the five species of strict counterpoint now, in the 21st century? First and maybe most important, a person who devotes time and energy to this practice will reap an invaluable reward: the ability to hear the delicate relationship between melody and harmony, line and interval. Species counterpoint is one of the great ear-training phenomena of all time.
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Second, a thorough understanding of strict counterpoint, and of the application of the principles of strict counterpoint to "free" composition, is crucial for the development of musical instinct, as Felix Salzer and Carl Schachter point out in their classic text Counterpoint in Composition.
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Species counterpoint, like the music of all periods and genres from the most ancient monophony to the music written for today's concert halls and theaters, draws from a common gene pool of musical impulses and forces. In that shared source, music finds its codes for beginning and ending, conflict and resolution, drama, expressiveness, purpose, unity, and variety. Strict counterpoint provides a simple and uncluttered background in which familiarity with these basic forces can be fostered. Through the writing, analysis, and singing of strict counterpoint, you will make these basic forces your own, and will learn to recognize them and recreate them in your own music and in the music of others.
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Finally, strict counterpoint is simply fun. It is analogous, in a way, to an acrostic puzzle: the particular cantus firmus and the rules of each species provide clues to the completion of a musically satisfying solution. Added to the challenge, of course, is the fact that every cantus firmus can be accompanied in more than one way, with lines written above or below it, perhaps in more than one species at a time. The possibilities are nearly infinite, and exploring those possibilities guarantees that ever more ingenious and felicitous solutions will result. The discipline of strict counterpoint forms the foundation for more liberated compositional techniques and styles for four centuries.
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We will see that music from all stylistic periods owes a great deal to the five species of strict counterpoint.
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