MUS 325L: COUNTERPOINT Fall
2009
Prerequisite:
MUS 411 AND 612.
unique days time
room
21910 MWF 1100 -1200 MRH M3.114
Instructor:
David Neumeyer
Office:
MRH 3.748
Office hours: MWF 1:00-1:45 or by appointment
Phone:
471-7346 (you can leave voicemail but I recommend email instead)
Email: neumeyer@mail.utexas.edu
Introduction/Bulletin
description of our course:
Development
of contrapuntal skills, covering abstract aspects of counterpoint and
historical styles from the 13th century through the late 17th century.
This is how the late Dr. Douglass Green taught 325L. I use a compromise between his approach covering a wide range of musical styles and the more traditional pedagogical model that focuses entirely on the musical style of Counter-Reformation sacred music as represented by Palestrina.
We will in fact spend a bit more than half of our time with sacred vocal music of the mid-sixteenth to early seventeenth centuries, but we will also (1) study similar techniques and other compositional practices in instrumental music and secular vocal music from the same period, and (2) repeatedly jump forward to the twentieth century, to study and write exercises after composers who have incorporated historical styles and techniques into their own music.
The two classical types of
counterpoint are sixteenth-century ("Palestrina") and
eighteenth-century ("Bach"). (ÒSpecies counterpointÓ is a
non-style-specific distillation of basic rules for sixteenth-century
counterpoint.) A common final project in a sixteenth-century counterpoint
course is to write a 3 or 4 voice motet or motet-like mass movement. The
parallel in an eighteenth-century course is a 3 or 4 voice fugue.
In most schools, counterpoint is usually an upper-level
undergraduate course, and as such it gives the student who has gone through
lower-division theory courses an opportunity to spend a focused semester developing
composition-like skills through style imitation of historical models. For
composers, counterpoint supplements their major-field instruction with a
regimen of tightly rule-based practice in style imitation.
Your
responsibilities:
1. Class attendance.
Counterpoint is a hands-on, skills-based activity. Therefore, although our
textbook will give us the basic rules and guidelines we need to write in a
16th-century style, no textbook can cover everything -- checking assignments
and working out problems in class is essential to success. I won't grade
attendance, but I am giving you fair warning that it will be hard to achieve a
satisfactory grade without regular class attendance. I have assigned final
grades of ÒCÓ to ÒFÓ to students who have not heeded the warning in past, and I
am ready to do the same this semester if necessary.
2. Reading. We will read much
of our textbook, and we'll use it constantly for reference and as a source of
musical examples in class. I will not assign additional readings from other
sources, but you may want to do some reading on your own–the online Grove
Dictionary should be sufficient
(you have access to it through the UT Library website/Research Tools/).
3. Assignments. Many classes may have short, ungraded
assignments meant for practice and class discussion. Assignments due on Monday (and listed in the Schedule) will
be handed in and graded. Each of these will count 6% toward the final grade.
Any of these assignments may be corrected and handed in a second (or even a third)
time for a higher grade. The graded assignments are clustered near the
beginning of the semester, in part to give you prompt feedback on your
progress, but mainly to develop your skills quickly.
Any assignment with a
grade of "4" or lower MUST be corrected and handed in no later than
seven days after I return the original assignments in class (that's whether or
not you were attending that day). If you are required to correct and hand in
again, but don't, you will lose all the points for that assignment.
In the rare
case where the corrected version receives a lower grade than the original, then
the original grade will stand. (This semester I have put in two
"double" Monday assignments. These are longer problems and count
twice the usual amount – 12% rather than 6% -- but you can resubmit them
as with any small assignment.)
The
total number of these assignments is 12, adding up to 72% of the final grade.
4. Project. Compose an original
sacred choral composition or secular choral work in three-to-five voices. The
musical style should be contemporary but with clear ÒresonancesÓ of
Renaissance-era style and technique. Twentieth-century composers who have
written such music include PŠrt, Tavener, Distler, Hindemith (choral music),
and others. WeÕll study examples of their work in class. If you are a keyboard
player, you may substitute a variation set or fantasia reflecting music by 16th-17th
century English and Dutch composers. Benjamin Britten and others provide good
models in the 20th century.
The work will be done in three stages: (1)
proposal, approved by me; (2) draft of the composition, presented in class for
discussion and critique by class members; (3) final score handed in with a page
or two of description. Stage 1 & 2 each count 5%, the final score 18%. I canÕt guarantee it will happen, but I
will try to arrange to have all the project compositions performed in class.
The total points for the project, then, make 28%
of the final grade.
5. Listening. There are no
specific listening assignments or exams, but I do strongly (that's
STRONGLY) suggest that you listen on your own to a body of sixteenth and early
seventeenth-century music to get the sound in your ear. At the end of the day,
no matter what the textbook or I tell you, having the sound of the style in
your ear is just as important as knowing the rules. Our class eRes site has two
complete masses in both score and streaming audio. I also recommend CDs by the
Tallis Scholars.
Other
information related to grading and my policies:
1. I grade on a percentage scale (in
other words, I don't use a curve). Your final grade will be based on 90-100 =
ÒAÓ, 80-89.999 = ÒBÓ etc. unless the Ò+Ó Ò-Ò system is in fact implemented this
fall, in which case I will follow that.
2. I will accept late work without
docking points only during the week in which the work was due -- so, for
example, you can hand in those graded assignments due on Monday as late as
Friday without losing points.
After that the grade is "F" -- only exception is for documented
medical emergency.
3. I do not offer extra credit options to raise the final grade
or to avert failing the course.
4. I do not give incompletes except
for documented medical emergency that prevents you from completing the final
large assignment (interview/paper and original composition). In particular, I
do not give incompletes as a way of avoiding a failing grade -- because of the
steady flow of assignments through the semester, you should know long before
the end of semester if you are in danger of failing.
5. I will accept
assignments only if they are handed in in class or by some other means through
prior arrangement. (Sliding the assignment under my office door but not
attending class is not a "prior arrangement".) I will not accept
assignments handed in by other students, except through prior arrangement. I
cannot accept email attachments except on an emergency basis agreed to
beforehand.
6. When a cell phone sounds in class,
all work stops. I reserve the right to administratively drop any student who
answers a cell phone or checks messages during class time.
7. No laptop computers are allowed in
this class. You will use old-fashioned pen, pencil, and chalk for all work
during class time.
Supplies:
Textbook:
Peter Schubert, Modal Counterpoint,
Renaissance Style (Oxford
University Press). Second edition (2008). Should be available at Coop East.
Other:
1.
For assignments, you may use handwritten manuscript or printouts from Finale,
Sibelius, or other music notation programs. Unfortunately, I cannot accept
computer files -- either directly generated from a notation program or as a pdf
file. I need paper copies for grading.
2.
Whatever your choice for assignments, you'll need some music manuscript paper
(perhaps 30-40 sheets) for work in class.
3.
Pencils for work in class.
Schedule for class
meetings, with dates for assignments and project:
W August 26 - F 28:
M August 31 – F September 4: Assignment 1
due
M September 7: Labor Day, no class
W September 9 - F 11: Assignment 2 due
M September 14 - F 18: Assignment 3 due
M September 21 - F 25: Assignment 4 due
F September 25: no class
--NOTE: SEPTEMBER
23 WEDNESDAY. Last day to drop a
course without a possible academic penalty.
M September 28 – F October 2: Assignment 5
due
M October 5 - F 9: Assignment 6-7 due
M October 12 - F 16: Assignment 8 due
M October 19 - F 23: Assignment 9 due
M October 26 – F 30: Assignment 10 due
F October 30: no class
M November 2 - F 6: Assignment 11-12 due;
proposals for project due this week
M November 9 - F 13:
M November 16 – F 20: Drafts of project composition start
coming due -- presentations
M November 23 – W 25: Drafts of project
composition start coming due -- presentations
F November 27: Thanksgiving break, no class
meeting
M November 30 - F December 4: Drafts of project
composition start coming due -- presentations
W December 9 - T December 15, final exams. The
finished score and notes for your project composition will be due no later than
the official final exam time for this course.
Schedule of topics and
readings for each class period:
NB: This is a provisional schedule; we should be
able to stay close to the list of topics as given, but they could vary by one
or more class periods depending on whether we need more or less time to cover
any individual topic.
Unit 1: 2-voice writing in the five species;
ÒexcursionsÓ into the 17th and 20th centuries
W August 26 - F 28: Preliminaries (syllabus,
schedule); 2v writing with white notes (1st and 2nd
species)
--read
Introduction, Chapters 1-3.
M August 31 – F September 4: 2v writing with
white notes (1st and 2nd species) continued
--read
Chapters 4 & 6 (§
note)
M September 7: Labor Day, no class
W September 9 - F 11: 2v writing with white and
black notes (3rd species)
--read
Chapter 5.
M September 14 - F 18: 2v writing with white and
black notes (5th species); 2-voice compositions
by Hugo Distler
--read
Chapter 7.
F September 18: no class
Unit
2: Specialized problems in 2-voice writing (use of motives, invertible
counterpoint; the 2-voice motet); more 17th and 20th century examples
M September 21 - F 25: Counterpoint with Repetition of a
Motive
; Motivic Variation
; Cadence Formulas
in Two Voices
--read
Chapters 8-10.
M September 28 – F October 2: Two Parts in Mixed
Values
; The Imitative Duo
--read
Chapters 11-12
M October 5 - F 9: Invertible Counterpoint
; the 2v
motet
--read
Chapter 13.
Unit 3: 3- and 4-voice writing; more
contemporary examples
M October 12 - F 16: 3-voice writing
in 1st through 4th species
--read
Chapter 14
M October 19 - F 23: 3-voice writing in 5th
species
--read
Chapter 15 (we will not read Ch. 16)
M October 26 – F 30: 3-voice motets and mass
movements
--no
reading for this week
F October 30: no class
M November 2 - F 6: 4-voice writing in species
--read
Chapters 17 & 19 (we will not
read ch. 18)
M November 9 - F 13: composition
--read
Chapter 20
Unit
4: Presentations and Project
M November 16 – F 20: class presentation of project drafts;
if thereÕs time, additional examples
of contemporary compositions
M November 23 – W 25: continued
F November 27: Thanksgiving break, no class
meeting
M November 30 - F December 4: continued
Reserves:
I will be using electronic reserves this semester.
Go to the Library's main page http://www.lib.utexas.edu/ and under
"Library Services" select "Reserves" and follow
instructions. You will need a password to access the course site; I will give
the password at our first class meeting.
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request
appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the
Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with
Disabilities, 471-6259..