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Chris

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  1. To my ear, the music as a whole is in A minor; and now after hearing that, all of the other lines sound like they're in A minor, although perhaps they didn't at first. Modes are fascinating, I need to study them more. Thanks.
  2. Thanks for your responses. The first part is really interesting. Could you give an example of what would define a line above a C Ionian bass line as being in, say, G Mixolydian. To my thinking, if the music began on a C-G, then it would simply be established in C Ionian. As for the second part, I misunderstood and see it now. Chris
  3. Hi Monojin Thanks for the info. I have some questions if that's ok. The mode is specific to each voice, and is established by nothing more than melodic motions, and cadences (which, in renaissance thinking, also consist of nothing more than melodic motions). The motions in question are skips or outlines between the final (the "root note") and the fifth scale degree, or from final to final. You're supposed to end a piece on the final (hence the name) but as for the rest, it's a lot more free than Fux is making you believe. If your bass starts in G, that doesn't stop your CF from being in the dorian mode, although you will have to bring them both in line for the cadence. No keys, chords or progressions to be found here. Can you give an example, e.g., do you mean to say you could write a bass line in C Ionian and write a contrapuntal line above it in C Dorian? A perfect fourth becomes consonant if it is "supported" by a bass note either a third or a fifth below, but that is true for all of common practice. Could you give an example of this too? If a 4th had a 5th below it, wouldn't that fifth be outside of the triad, e.g., G-F-C, with F being a 5th below C, but outside of the C major triad. Skips or outlines of a tritone are never allowed in the renaissance style. Pretty much all of the theory is vocal in nature and that stuff's icky to sing. You may use a B-flat (never a F#) in this and other situations. The only other accidentals allowed are historically unwritten sharps ('ficta') to produce leading tones at cadences. Thanks for that - it's good to have some clarification. Chris
  4. 1. If you are in D Dorian, you need to start the progression with a D chord - either D and D, or D and A. As the cantus firmus is in the upper voice, you can't use the note A in the counterpoint, as this would give a perfect 4th (dissonant). Using G and D (as a perfect 5th) is not allowed as it essentially establishes a G mode. Therefore, the only possible note is D. 2. In the example, mi is F and fa is B. They represent a tritone, i.e. there are three tones (six semitones) between them. In the major scale, i.e. C Ionian, it's the 4th note against the 7th note. In D Dorian, it's the 3rd note against the 6th note, etc. I was disappointed that the book didn't go into more detail about this. In the example, it's an upward skip from F to B that is marked as incorrect, however, what about going down from B to F? And what about going up from B to F (it's still a tritone, but in a different context), or down from F to B? I chose to avoid them all, although some clarity would have been nice. 3. The upper voices are only reckoned with the bass, but not with each other, so you're essentially looking, with 1-3-6, at a 3rd and a 6th; 1-5-8 is a 5th and an octave, etc. However, in my understanding the rules for voice leading are still to be observed between all voices, no fifths or octaves by direct motion, no "battuta", etc. Chris
  5. Hi I'm surprised there are no answers to this as it's a great question, and one that I've often asked myself. I don't know the answers. I actually did an experiment, where I wrote a woodwind ostinato, and then later brought in a somewhat unrelated string part, and then also something else with a horn and a trumpet. I balanced the woodwinds according the rules I'd learned in The Study of Counterpoint, and then did the same with the strings. The horn part is a pedal note, and the trumpet part is a just a melody that felt right and balances with the bass. The experiment was that I did it mostly out of intuition without trying to balance the whole thing harmonically/contrapuntally. It was more like I balanced each section, and the sections seemed to go together. And it seems to work, i.e. it sounds like well balanced music (I think!). So that was an interesting experiment. If I were you I'd do something similar and see what works. Based on what you said about it being a woodwind quartet with a vocal line to be added, I'd imagine that the vocal line would need to have some kind of harmonically balanced relationship with the bass/chords, and therefore might need to function as a fifth voice in what would therefore be a quintet. But I'd definitely experiment with it. I've also had this question come up when considering pieces for violin and piano say. For a long time I've been looking for a theory book that really goes into depth with these questions/ideas. Chris
  6. This is just a computer performance/piano roll. The transition of 2:05 was indeed a bit of a night- mare. In both of these piano pieces I experimented with modulation a lot. Often I would modulate so far and struggle to get back into the desired key. This was one of those times. :happy: Interestingly enough, I originally thought the 2:22 transition was a bit risky/extreme. Thanks for the comments. I used FL Studio to produce the audio, pretty sure there's no way to get a score out of it, had a little check this morning. Dynamically flat, that was a concern of mine, the first half of the piece is pretty dull, I only like the end really, from 2:24 onwards. :lol: Thanks for the comments. I remembered that I actually wrote this one up by hand, so I've created a zip file containing six pictures of the score. It's okay quality, some of the accidentals are a bit ambiguous, but other than that it's okay. How do I upload it? I uploaded the score: Score for Piano Pieces - No. 2 in A minor :happy:
  7. Hi there, I'm getting rid of some music books, and wondering if anyone is interested in buying them. The following books are for sale (prices include postage and packaging): 1. Tonal Harmony by Kostka & Payne; 5th edition (not the newest one); hardcover; A4 (approx.); no CD - £15.00 2. Beethoven: Symphonies 5, 6 and 7 in Full Score by Dover; softcover; A4 (approx.) - £6.00 Both are in good condition with very minimal wear and tear. PM if interested. First come, first served. Due to shipping costs, only available to UK residents. (Unless, of course, you are willing to pay a little extra for shipping. We can discuss this over PM.) Thanks.
  8. I wrote this as a thematic piece with a specific setting in mind, but I'm curious to know what it brings to mind in others so I named it ambiguously. :happy: Piano Theme
  9. Liked it so much I listened to it twice (EDIT: three times). I liked how it was quite misleading; I could never really tell where it was going, kind of like a dream I guess. :happy: :phones:
  10. :o Amazing... :phones:
  11. I really like this music, particularly the first movement as it has such a great theme. If I was still intent on learning piano I'd definitely learn it as it's not easy finding beginner pieces that I actually like. :happy: :cool:
  12. This is only about 20 seconds long but I'll probably never do anything more with it so I'll consider it complete! String Quartet in E minor
  13. This is great, a really happy piece. Would love to hear it played live. :happy:
  14. Thanks treCorde.
  15. I liked this piece. I particularly liked the "heavier" parts, e.g. the one beginning at 0:48. I thought the ending was really good too, from 1:02 onwards. :happy:
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