Introduction
In order to understand the music we listen to today, we need to understand where our music comes from.
The earliest form of written music was a system known as neumes. Singers would follow these neumes up and down using the overtone series, also known as the pentatonic scale. This resulted in the very consonant sound associated with Gregorian chant.
The first chants featured only one melodic line. Music of this kind is known as monophonic music.
Later, singers began harmonizing in perfect fifths. This was the beginning of homophonic music, which feautures a melody line and one or more voices of subordinate material.
After many years of homophony, during the renaissance, composers began to go against the idea of subordinate material. They began to write music in which all voices are of equal importance. This type of music is known as polyphonic music.
The system used to compose most of this music is called counterpoint.
Task
Following Fux counterpoint guidelines, complete the "First Species" section of the worksheet provided in the "Process" section.
Process
Visit this link to view your worksheet:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~ston0235/pdf/fux_workbook_0.1.pdf
You are to complete the "First Species" section in its entirety. You may either print the worksheet or transcribe these examples by hand on staff paper.
Visit this link to view the guidelines for completing your worksheet:
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Music_Theory/Counterpoint/Species_Counterpoint/In_Two_Voices
Guidelines are found in the section "FIrst Species - Note Against Note."
Evaluation
Review your answers and make sure they follow the guidelines from Wikibooks. When you are satisfied with your answers, turn a physical copy of your work in to your instructor.
You will recieve credit for completion, and your work will be reviewed to ensure comprehension. Please ask your instructor for assistance if you do not understand the concepts.
If the quality of your work does not demonstrate comprehension, you will get your worksheet back and you will need to complete your work in a way that does.
Conclusion
Congratulations! you have successfully completed this WebQuest.
You should now be able to describe:
- Monophony
- Homophony
- Polyphony
You should now understand and be able to do:
- First Species Counterpoint