Thanks for the kind words on my post about the Fux reader! Reading the exercises was half of it; this is the other half.

When I did Fux myself, the counterpoint was the easy part. The hard part was everything around it: notation software, exporting MusicXML, emailing files to my teacher, then waiting a week to learn I'd written parallel fifths in bar 3. I wanted it to be: write, listen, see what's wrong, fix, send.

Pick one of Fux's cantus firmi and a species, write your line, and Aloysius marks it the way he marks Joseph's: the rule named, the passage quoted from the Gradus, and usually a one-tap fix.

Here's one with a cadence mistake to start you off: https://playablebook.com/counterpoint/?cantus=D&line=above&cp=D5.D5.C5.B4.B4.D5.C5.B4.A4.C5.D5

Features

- All five species, above or below (in fifth species you write the pitches to Aloysius's rhythm), plus Goetschius's melodies (checked by his rules)
- Joseph's exercises in the reader open here with one tap ("Try it")
- Tap the staff, type intervals or note names, or use a MIDI keyboard; play it back as organ, choir or piano
- Sending it to a teacher is just a link to your exact line; MusicXML, MIDI and audio exports if they want files
- Your lines are saved in your browser

The checking is rule-based, not AI. Every mark comes from a written rule and quotes the book.

Feedback

I'd love your feedback on what writing the exercises is like:

- What feels slow or fiddly, on a phone or a computer?
- If you study with a teacher (or teach), what would make handing in and marking easier?
- If you disagree with a verdict, send me the line!

Still to come: three and four voices, and choosing your own rhythm in fifth species.

CF: E4-C4-D4-C4-A3-A4-G4-E4-F4-E4

CP: E4-E4-F4-G4-C5-C5-D5-C5-D5-E5

As far as I can tell it doesn't break any hard rules. Here are the softer things I noticed:

- High point: the CP peaks on E5, once, on the very last note. I know a high point at the end isn't typical, but Jeppesen says it's okay in a slow line (whole and half notes) without a huge range.

- Repeated notes: E4 at the start and C5 in the middle, once each, both on purpose.

- Two oblique moves, from those two repeats.

- G4 up to C5 is a 4th leap and I don't turn back after it. I know that's a guideline and Fux skips it sometimes too, but I'm not sure it works here.

- C5-D5-C5-D5 circles between two notes. I think that part is weak.

- I opened on a unison, so the CF's first move (E4 to C4) leaps out of it. Fux tolerates that when it's the CF (his N.B. at Fig. 21), but I could have opened on E5 or B4 instead.

Questions:

1. Is the unrecovered 4th leap (G4 to C5) okay, or should I fix it?

2. How would you fix the C5-D5-C5-D5 part?

3. Anything else I missed?

4. Side question: this is the only one of Fux's first species cantus firmi with an octave leap (A3 to A4). Does anyone know why he wrote it that way? I couldn't find an explanation in Fux or Jeppesen.

Are there any entire books dedicated to canons? How about sections of books that go into detail? Any authors who specialize/d in this form?

Studying counterpoint often means stopping mid-paragraph to work out what a musical example sounds like. With several voices, that can become its own task.

I built Playable Books to put the reading and listening together. The Fux edition includes playable examples, English and Latin text, original or modern clefs, and source scans for comparison.

Read the Fux edition: free (https://playablebook.com/fux-counterpoint/)

Some examples still await playback review. AI assisted the transcription workflow; the original scans remain available for checking.

Just got my first assignment today, and despite thinking I have a strong understanding of theory -- I have no idea how to apply that knowledge to writing in the first person.

I have also done counterpoint in the 16th-century style, though what I've been assigned looks nothing like that.

To be fair, the prof did not review expected cadences, climax, or things to watch out for, so maybe it'll just be a learning curve with his teaching style.

Either way, any help I can get would be greatly appreciated!

hey all, im just learning how to write cantus firmi right now. my goal here was to write a solid CF using 8 notes. i use a DAW to practice and im using Dorian mode to start with.

here's what i wrote (low to high, left to right):

D4 - B3 - A3 - G3 - C4 - B3 - C4 - D4

starts and ends on D, which i think is the final for Dorian here.

things i tried to follow:

• 8 notes total
• starts and ends on the final (D)
• no repeated notes back to back
• mostly stepwise movement

things im not sure about:

• the D4 to B3 leap right at the start, is that too big of a leap to open with
• do i have a clear enough high point, or is my melody too flat/narrow in range
• did i space the leaps out ok

would appreciate any feedback, im brand new to this soo don't get mad that im using a daw

So last time I posted my fifths species here I got absolutely torn to shreds by the comments (which I was very thankful of! Learnt a lot!), so I worked in some of the advice taken and made a new fifth species ct.pt., would love some critique for it and also some advice: When should I graduate from counterpoint? Should I keep doing exercises until I prefect it? Or is it ok to continue working through theory as to not get stuck on one place too long? Is my current level (while not perfect) sufficient to move on to harmony studies? Or would you recommend I keep on counterpoint more?

Thanks!

Finally made it to fifths holy shit that was a journey, thanks for everyone’s help.

I wonder what you all think of this culmination of all techniques of previous counterpoints? I sort of want to see if I’m ready to finally graduate from counterpoint and go to gallant schemes then to harmony or do I still gotta put more hours in.

Thanks in advance!

Hey, so I took some feedback from the last post I made here and tried to implement it here. My hope is that this counterpoint (Treble staff) will be error-free.

I tried to include some daring moves such as compound leaps to revive the melodic line a bit but I still feel it a bit…meh.

So my questions are

1- Is it indeed error free?
2- Is it a good or bad counterpoint?
3- If it is a bad or average one, how would one go about spicing it up without collapsing it?

My thoughts:

- The C.P. features a lot of contrary motion but the fact that the last stretch (m. 6-9) is all parallel bothers me a bit, but I found it difficult to fix as the tonic must be approached in contrary motion and the compound leap must be resolved with a step so that locks down m. 7,9, and 10 somewhat.

- The two climaxes coincide on m. 6 which I’m not thrilled about.

Also apologies if I’m spamming the group (mods could let me know and I’ll stop). I just got a lot of good feedback/resources here and I have no instructor so it’s a bit difficult to get critique.

Edit: also forgot to raise the leading tone, just noticed now

The Cantus Firmus is at the bottom (provided by the exercise) and my counterpoint is at the top.

If possible could someone critique it for me or give me their opinions?

I’m following guidelines set by lessons from openmusictheory.com

Thanks!

My worries: The leap from Measure 5 to measure 6 is a diminished 5th, that definitely needs to be amended.

And the last stretch sounds a bit melodically bland

SCORE: https://youtu.be/giihShJKZho

I'm beginner and self taught, so any advice/reading is more than accepted.
After going far out of my reach trying to do inventions and fugues i figured that a dance form would be easier(?). So i tried doing an Allemande. I couldn't manage to make them exactly of equal lenght, since the b section is a measure shorter, i hope it's nothing so necessary. Also i got myself into some crunchy suspensions that i hope i resolved well.

I recently came across Joseph Frike's A Guide in Harmony (London, 1793), a treatise that behaves like a dictionary of the usage of chords and is different from other 18th C. treatises that focus on regole per accompagnare, basso continuo, partimento,  intavolature, etc.

From my understanding, from the introduction, each page contains this format:

1. the left side shows chords/figures that prepare the main chord or "capital chord".
2. the middle column contains the "capital chord".
3. the right hand shows chords/figures that resolve the "capital chord".

To use the treatise, look up a figure/chord (like looking up a word in a dictionary) to see what harmonies may precede or resolve it (or how the chord is freely used).

Have any modern scholars discussed this treatise in an article, dissertation, or book? I want to know how to approach this source in practice?

To have a historic point of reference, I examined the rules and partimenti of Furno, Insanguine, Fenaroli and Durante, but again, Frike's treatise is not a partimento text and pursues a different goal. Here is what i found so far:

- a remark on an appendix no8 "Meusel (DBA 346, 278) refers to. He says the ‘Dictionnaire’, too, was highly esteemed in England." Philipp Joseph Frick (1742-1798) Music and millenarianism in the late eighteenth century I Cis van Heertum, Mededelingen van de Stichting Jacob Campo Weyerman. Jaargang 22 - DBNL

-

I'm struggling with the last part, mostly because of the second C in the CF. Any feedback is much appreciated :)

Hello, unfortunately, there is no explanation for this in his video, and in general there is not much information about this counterpoint.

Hello, unfortunately, there is no explanation for this in his video, and in general there is not much information about this counterpoint.
help :')

https://reddit.com/link/1ttxqf8/video/102hyc7z6p4h1/player

I created this exercise to study accented passing notes. First i composed a cantus firmus bass (i'm sure you can come up with something better for this purpose) then composed a 1:1 counterpoint. In the second example i did a 2:1 counterpoint with acc passing notes, only downwards because it's more idiomatic than going up. Lastly, i made a schema in two voices of a chain of acc passing notes. What do you think? is this a worthwhile exercise? i welcome critiques to the counterpoint ofc.

I made them for an assignment but i'm not sure if there is any errors in them like parallel fifth, or things like that. The first one is a bit unconventional, I was not certain about how to compose the third voice so I just composed it as a fourth species with my second voice as cantus firmus.

THIRD VERSION: So hier is the (I think) final version. I have to say that it sounds very organic to me. As allways, thanks a lot for all the feedback, and I'd happy to recieve more!

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SECOND VERSION: So here is the new version. I'll leave the first one below in case someone can learn also from my mistakes.
Again thanks so much for the feedback! I hope this time it is a little better :)

Audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15JX6Uos0o0wJQe2Q_ayF5eXt7VrW3TG7/view?usp=sharing

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FIRST VERSION: I'm learning counterpoint by my self. I'd much appreciate feedback. Thanks!

Audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wCU0iQt0oayCoZxgl2QIhnZ4OKa8xrnL/view?usp=drive_link