Counterpoint
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8.2: Scott Murphy: “Clara Schumann’s op. 16 no. 3 and ‘Fifth Above, Third Below’: Discerning Inverted Canonic Potential” – shows how to identify whether a subject can be treated in an inverted canon
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7.6: Megan Lavengood, “‘Oops!…I Did It Again’: The Complement Chorus in Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, and *NSYNC” – introduces a chorus where two melodic lines introduced earlier in the song are set in counterpoint with one another; suitable for students at all levels learning about pop music form, counterpoint, and melodic construction; introduces hocket
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6.3: Daniel Ketter, “Discovering Essential Voices in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Solo Instrumental Suite Movements” – discusses how Bach implies distinct voices in his solo instrumental works
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5.4: Scott Murphy, “‘Fifth Above, Third Below’: Discerning Canonic Potential” – shows how to identify whether a subject can be treated in canon; considers examples from Clara Schumann; suitable for students of counterpoint at all levels
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1.2: Peter Schubert, “Contrapuntal Thinking in Haydn” – Professor Peter Schubert explores contrapuntal thinking in an unexpected “place,” the first theme group of the last movement from Haydn’s Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major (1793). He demonstrates how melodic fragments from the theme and accompaniment are repositioned in relation to one another, sounding not only above or below in invertible counterpoint but also before and after. Schubert reveals that the latter two positions (before and after) produce longer melodic lines. This video is suitable for students at all levels who would like to learn more about contrapuntal thinking in music of the high classical style. For more on contrapuntal thinking, see the author’s companion videos “Contrapuntal Thinking in Marenzio” and “Contrapuntal Thinking in Brahms”; videos on improvising counterpoint; and two textbooks, Modal Counterpoint: Renaissance Style, 2nd. ed. (Oxford University Press, 2007), and Baroque Counterpoint (co-authored with Christoph Neidhöfer), revised and expanded ed. (SUNY Press, forthcoming in Nov. 2023).