Foundations · 20 lessonsThe Composer's Path · 37 lessons
Lesson 33 of 57 · Counterpoint

The Composer's Path → Module 3 of 9

Counterpoint

Independent lines, from species exercises over an ostinato to interlocking guitars and micropolyphony.

5 lessons · 10 weeks · source course lessons 6 to 10

Counterpoint illustration
L12

Foundations of counterpoint for guitars, bass, and piano: species over an ostinato

Species counterpoint written over an ostinato you would actually play.

2 weeks
L13

Bach's Inventions against interlocking guitars

King Crimson, Polyphia, Chon, and Radiohead's layered arpeggios.

2 weeks
L14

Fugue thinking in a band

Subject, answer, and countersubject in a riff idiom, for guitar and piano.

2 weeks
L15

Rhythmic counterpoint: the riff against the kit

A riff against 4/4 drums as two-voice polyphony in the time domain.

2 weeks
L16

Counterpoint beyond Bach: gesture, mass, and the line you never play

Dissonant counterpoint, micropolyphony, and cluster writing for piano.

2 weeks