The Craft of Tonal Counterpoint

by Thomas Benjamin

"The Craft of Tonal Counterpoint is a practical text for the analysis and composition of tonal counterpoint. Tonal contrapuntal technique is fundamental to all classical music from the Baroque era through the end of the tonal period and beyond. Using examples from the music of J.S. Bach, the author takes students through a series of carefully graded, cumulative exercises that stress both analysis and writing. Benjamin avoids a species approach to counterpoint, and covers chromaticism and fugal writing in exceptional detail. The exercises cover a wide range of formats, including error detection, linear pitch reduction, analysis and composition. The book is also unique in that it incorporates a 100-page anthology of Bach's shorter works, exemplifying his major contrapuntal forms and procedures - effective for analysis, in-class performance, and compositional models. The Craft of Tonal Counterpoint is a complete pedagogic package for students of composition and music theory."--Jacket.