Counterpoint

by Walter Piston, Mario Carmosino (Illustrator)

The art of counterpoint is the art of combining melodic lines. The essence of counterpoint, however, is something deeper than a process of manipulation. It is an ingredient of the inner vitality of music and is found in nearly all music. It is to an understanding of counterpoint as such that this book is directed. In Counterpoint ―for many years one of the most highly regarded texts in the field―the principles by which the contrapuntal element has operated in the works of composers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centures are presented. The counterpoint studied is the harmonic, rhythmic, instrumental style so well represented by the music of Bach. For it is this style that most of the composers who came after Bach, including those of our own time, have regarded as the ideal of contrapuntal technique. Piston's method in Counterpoint is to discover how music has been written rather than how it should be written. This book, in contrast to most traditional studies, states principles and gives rules that are based on actual observations of the practice of composers rather than those invented by the theorist. It offers examples drawn from the works of standard composers rather than those constructed by the author. The literature of the last three hundred years is examined to form the logical basis for this study. Throughout the book, exercises are provided that call for the writing of music and that are intended to clarify the principles under discussion.

Walter Piston, one of America's outstanding composers, created for this book an approach to the study of counterpoint that is stimulating and helpful to an understanding of the music of all times.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

235 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1947

Reviews

[Serge Pierro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Piston's Counterpoint is a welcome companion volume to both "Harmony" and "Orchestration". Being a fingerstyle guitarist who plays multiple lines at one, I found this book to be useful in my early development.

[Benjamin Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

This is an incredibly helpful, densely packed book (and you'd hope so, given the price…). The way that Piston outlines the underlying features of, well, music… is fascinating because he does just that without setting rules as such for a student composer. I think this aspect is particularly well done.

It's a very intelligent book, sometimes using examples and sentences that don't read easily but are packed with useful information - this makes it a really useful tool for me to keep on my shelf as a composer. Some of the things it describes, though, are so complex that it makes me feel completely useless and as if I know absolutely nothing. Other times I'm on board - I guess that shows that it covers an extensive base of topics useful to lots of different people at different stages.

I primarily used this as a reading exercise, but there are also composition exercises at the end of each chapter - they're incredibly detailed and may have taken absolutely ages, but I will come back to these when I have the chance to develop my skills in this area.

The book was written a very long time ago, and this shows in its frankly sexist language by today's standards. While it also remains open minded to new ways of thinking music, its age also shows in its concluding descriptions of 'twentieth-century' counterpoint - limitations which I've honestly managed to overcome with little thought in 2023, and would disagree with now.

However, on the whole, this is a very thorough intelligent book which makes complex ideas relatively accessible. I'd say this is an invaluable tool for me as a composer and even reading through once without necessarily fully processing all the tasks and examples has vastly increased my comprehension of counterpoint in a way that skilfully circumvents rule creation or closed-mindedness.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't read this cover to cover but it's an excellent reference.

[David Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book deals with counterpoint of the baroque and classical eras along with some Romantic-era examples. It contains useful illustrations of a variety of musical concepts relating to counterpoint along with a wealth of examples for each. It's an impressive piece of scholarly work.

My only real complaint with the book is that the examples are difficult to play because they haven't been modified for piano. In many cases, there are viola parts in alto clef which I can read only with difficulty. I thought about entering them into Finale so that I could have my computer play a MIDI version of them for me, but that would take hours. I'd love to see someone revise the book with playable examples or maybe even add a CD to go along with them.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic text on tonal counterpoint and a valuable book for anyone that teaches the subject.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best reference for Counterpoint

[Bill Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must have basics. Highly related to "orchestration" as well