Tonal Counterpoint for the 21st-Century Musician: An Introduction

Students today have grown up in the age of digital technology. As a result, they process information in radically different ways than preceding generations. They like their information fast and consider visual images as important as textual content. In Tonal Counterpoint for the 21st-Century Musician, Teresa Davidian finally provides students a textbook that is quick, direct, and visual—a direct reflection of the age in which they live. This book is easy to understand, comprehensive, and distinctly modern in its approach to the study of counterpoint. Written in a style that is clear, simple, and informal writing style, Davidian artfully mixes the history of counterpoint with an outline of its structure, placing musical examples from J. S. Bach side by side with those from The Beatles to illustrate the universality and currency of counterpoint in music analysis and composition. Designed as a single-semester introduction, Tonal Counterpoint brings the study of counterpoint into the present by: Making ample use of diagrams and flow chartsIncluding helpful step-by-step prompt sheets for analyzing inventions and fuguesPlacing just as much emphasis on the composition as on the analysis of counterpointOffering a broad array of musical examples, including the work of women composers, American songwriters, current students, and pop music composers Throughout, Davidian explains how the techniques of 18th-century contrapoint still readily apply to how music is composed today. Tonal Counterpoint for the 21st-Century Musician is ideal for students in the fields of music theory, composition, music history, and performance.

Teresa Davidian is head of the department of fine arts at Tarleton State University, a member of the Texas A&M University System. She is the author of articles on Debussy, the 1930s avant-garde movement, and music theory pedagogy.