Counterpoint for Composers

  • Course
  • 39 Lessons

Discover the Magic of Counterpoint

Uncover music’s underlying structures, learn the principles of composition, and enrich your understanding of any music style. This course offers a deep dive into contrapuntal works, enhancing your listening and composing skills.

Audiation and Counterpoint: By developing your audiation skills, you’ll be able to mentally hear and understand the intricate interplay of independent musical lines. This ability is crucial for mastering counterpoint, as it allows you to internalize and create complex musical textures with ease.

Experience the relevance of yesterday’s music today and elevate your musical abilities to new heights.

What is Counterpoint?

Discover the Magic of Counterpoint

What is Counterpoint?

Counterpoint is the art of combining melodies. It’s a fundamental technique in music composition that has been used by composers for centuries. By studying counterpoint, you can gain a deeper understanding of how music works and enhance your own compositional skills.

Why Study Counterpoint?

Studying counterpoint can reveal the underlying structures in music. No matter the style of music you love, counterpoint can teach you about the inner workings of music and reveal music composition’s basic principles and process. Composers, performers, and musicians will learn to hear and compose contrapuntal works. Listen more deeply, compose more richly, and learn why the music of yesterday is still relevant today.

About the Course

This course offers a comprehensive study of counterpoint. Originally designed for my undergraduate and graduate students at the university, it has now been adapted for a wider audience. While the course includes a basic review video that gives an overview of counterpoint, the main content goes much deeper, providing a thorough understanding of contrapuntal works and techniques.

What Will You Learn?

In this course, you will:

  • Understand the principles of counterpoint

  • Learn to analyze contrapuntal works

  • Develop skills to compose your own contrapuntal music

  • Gain a deeper appreciation for music of all styles

Who is this Course For?

This course is suitable for anyone interested in music, from beginners to advanced musicians. Whether you’re a composer, performer, music student, or just a music lover, this course will enrich your understanding and enjoyment of music.

Join us on this exciting journey and see your understanding of music transform!

What to Expect?

Prerequisites

This course is designed for committed musicians. To fully benefit from this course, you should possess:

  • The ability to read and write music using standard notation.

  • An understanding of scales, intervals, and chords.

  • Proficiency in playing at least one instrument.

  • Basic aural skills to identify chords and intervals by ear.

  • The ability to vocalize or hum a written melody.

In summary, a foundational understanding of music is required. If you’re not there yet, consider starting with my book, ‘The Staff Speaks’, which provides a comprehensive guide to understanding musical notation and the language of music.

Contents (In-Progress)

Additional Sessions Updated Weekly

Self-Guided Course Important Notices!

Self-Guided Course Information
  • 3 mins
  • 103 MB
Preview

Resources

Counterpoint for Composers Syllabus.pdf
  • 59.9 KB
16th Century Counterpoint Guidelines.pdf
  • 152 KB

Cantus Firmus and Melody

Lecture 1: Melody
  • (1h 14m 17s)
  • 4.07 GB
Lecture 1 Cantus Firmus and Melody Checklist.pdf
  • 41.7 KB

2-Part: First Species – Part 1

Lecture 2.1: First Species Part 1
  • 49 mins
  • 3.34 GB
Lecture 2.1: Assignment First Species Part 1 .pdf
  • 1.73 MB
Lecture 2.1 First Species Part 1 - Presentation.pdf
  • 9.36 MB

2-Part: First Species – Part 2

Lecture 2.2: First Species Part 2 - Creating First Species
  • 22 mins
  • 1.73 GB
Lecture 2.2: First Species Part 2 Presentation
  • 5.76 MB
Cantus Firmi.pdf
  • 57.7 KB

2-Part: Second Species – Part 1

Lecture 3.1 Second Species Part 1 - Overview.mp4
  • 37 mins
  • 1.82 GB
Lecture 3.1: Second Species Part 1.pdf
  • 1.38 MB
Lecture 3.1 Second Species Solutions.pdf
  • 671 KB

2-Part: Second Species – Part 2

Lecture 3.2 Second Species Part 2 - Error Correction.mp4
  • 18 mins
  • 1.06 GB
Lecture 3.2: Second Species Part 2.pdf
  • 632 KB

2-Part: Second Species – Part 3

Lecture 3.3 Second Species Solutions and Demo.mp4
  • 44 mins
  • 1.33 GB
Lecture 3.3 Second Species Solutions and Demo.pdf
  • 1.51 MB

2-Part: Third Species – Part 1

Lecture 4.1 Third Species.mp4
  • 45 mins
  • 3 GB
Lecture 4.1 Third Species.pdf
  • 997 KB
Lecture 4.1: Third Species Analysis.pdf
  • 305 KB

2-Part: Third Species – Part 2

Lecture 4.2 Third Species.mp4
  • 5 mins
  • 201 MB
Lecture 4.3: Cambiata and Double Neighbor
  • 22 mins
  • 165 MB

2-Part: Third Species – Part 3

Lecture 4.4 Third Species.mp4
  • 2 mins
  • 74.5 MB

2-Part: Fourth Species – Part 1

Lecture 5.1 Fourth Species.mp4
  • 18 mins
  • 994 MB
Lecture 5.1 Fourth Species.pdf
  • 1.37 MB

2-Part: Fourth Species – Part 2

Lecture 5.2: Writing Suspensions
  • 9 mins
  • 43.4 MB

2-Part: Fourth Species – Part 3 (Demonstration)

Lecture 5.3: 4th Species Demonstration
  • 34 mins
  • 164 MB

2-Part: Fifth Species – Part 1

Lecture 6.1 Fifth Species.mp4
  • 13 mins
  • 895 MB
Lecture 6.1 Dorian.pdf
  • 52.1 KB

2-Part: Fifth Species – Part 2

Lecture 6.2: 5th Species and Beethoven Sonata No 1
  • 28 mins
  • 299 MB
Beethoven Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2. No. 1
    Beethoven Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2. No. 1.pdf
    • 1.05 MB

    2-Part: Fifth Species – Part 3 (Demonstration)

    Lecture 6.3: 5th Species Demonstration - Phrygian
    • 36 mins
    • 1.66 GB

    2-Part Conclusion

    6.4: 2-Part Conclusion
    • 12 mins
    • 1.59 GB

    3-Part: First Species

    Lecture 7.1 3-Part First Species.mp4
    • 30 mins
    • 1.21 GB
    Lecture 7.1 3-Part First Species.pdf
    • 745 KB

    3-Part: Second Species

    Lecture 8: 3-Part Second Species
    • 29 mins
    • 2.08 GB

    3-Part: Third Species August 16, 2025

    Lecture 9: 3-Part Third Species
    • 33 mins
    • 2.07 GB