The Principles and Practice of Tonal Counterpoint

The Principles and Practice of Tonal Counterpoint is a comprehensive textbook that combines practical, "how-to" guidance in 18th-century techniques with extensive historical examination of contrapuntal works and genres. Beginning with an introductory grounding in species counterpoint, tonal harmony, and figured bass, students progress through the study of chorale preludes, invertible counterpoint, and canonic and fugal writing. This textbook thoroughly joins principle with practice, providing a truly immersive experience in the study of tonal counterpoint and familiarizing students with contrapuntal styles from the Baroque period to the 21st century. Also available is a companion volume, The Principles and Practice of Modal Counterpoint, which focuses on 16th-century techniques and covers modal music from Gregorian chant through the 17th century.

Douglass M. Green (1926–1999) was a founding member of the Society for Music Theory. He last taught at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was Professor of Music Theory until his death. Widely known as an expert in the music of Debussy and Berg, Green was the author of many articles and books on musical form and harmony, including the seminal analysis text Form in Tonal Music. He won several honors throughout his lifetime, including appointment as a Fulbright Scholar to Italy, the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, and the E. W. Doty Professorship of Fine Arts at UT-Austin. Green’s counterpoint classes remain legendary among his students.

Evan Jones is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Theory and Composition at the Florida State University College of Music. He has received a Sproull Fellowship from the University of Rochester, a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Alfred Mann Dissertation Prize from the Eastman School. He has published research on music by Lassus, Quantz, Schubert and Xenakis in peer-reviewed journals and essay collections, and edited a two-volume collection of essays on twentieth-century string quartets that received the Society for Music Theory’s Citation of Special Merit.