Reddit mentions of The Craft of Tonal Counterpoint

I find it frustrating that there are so many comments responding to this question, and may others like it, that go along the lines of, “it’s just you’re intuition/your natural expression”, “just learn scales”, “study Bach chorales”, etc. Those sorts of answers are either completely unhelpful, counterproductive if practiced or, at worst, completely untrue.


What you’re looking for is not under the title of “theory of melody” but “Counterpoint”, and “Form” and/or “Composition”.


The study of counterpoint covers the use of multiple melodic lines that occur simultaneously. The desired outcome of counterpoint is to create a set of melodic lines that all have their own individual character and retain independence from one another. This is achieved by using a very large set of rules for each voice. Studying counterpoint will also cover an understanding of structure tones, and their importance within larger structural frameworks (Schenkerian Analysis). Their are two types of counterpoint, “Strict”, which is like a set of basic musical exercises and extremely limiting, and “Tonal”, the latter is the kind I’m talking about.


The study of Form and Composition covers the construction of musical forms on a macro level (Sonata Form, Ternary, Rondo, etc), the construction of individual phrases on a micro level, and the specific functions (presentation, continuation, cadential, how these functions can be expanded upon or edited, and more ambiguous functions) of certain phrases.

Both subjects require an advanced knowledge of harmony and voice leading, most of the discussions on the sites and in the books listed below assume this.

Resources:


(The web)


http://openmusictheory.com/contents.html


^ Look under “Form”


http://www.schenkerguide.com/whatisschenkeriananalysis.php


https://monoskop.org/images/d/da/Schoenberg_Arnold_Fundamentals_of_Musical_Composition_no_OCR.pdf


https://imslp.org/wiki/Exercises_in_Melody-Writing_(Goetschius%2C_Percy)


(Books)


Analyzing Classical Form: An Approach for the Classroom https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0199987297/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_XQe0Cb65B4NP5


Formal Functions in Perspective: Essays on Musical Form from Haydn to Adorno (Eastman Studies in Music) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1580465188/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_MWe0CbRJMCJ0H


The Craft of Tonal Counterpoint https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0415943914/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_DRe0Cb19ZTSMF


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Melody-Songwriting-Berklee-Guide-Perricone/dp/063400638X

I found the Craft of Tonal Counterpoint to be very helpful.

And I would recommend starting with 2-voice Bach style inventions if you want to write fugues.

The Craft of Tonal Counterpoint was the textbook I used when I studied counterpoint.