Inventing Free Counterpoint

In these exercises I was keen to take on board my tutor's feedback from the last assignment. With assignment three I was very happy when I handed it in, but with hindsight I can see that creativity overwhelmed the technical aim of the work, and that my melodic lines weren't independent enough. In these short pieces of free counterpoint, I had two aims in mind:

1. To create rhythmically independent melodic lines, utilizing syncopation in particular to stagger progression across bar lines.
2. To create melodic lines that were interesting in their own right, and could be listened to independently.

Although difficult, I feel that I have succeeded with both of the above points. The second point was particularly tricky as it was far too easy to fall into the trap of making one instrument subordinate to the other, especially if it was percussion.

Download Audio

In the first of my two contrasting short pieces, I decided to choose the flute and timpani as my instruments. The timpani I thought would be particularly challenging, as I don't recall hearing any music where the timpani plays a prolonged melody. This piece, ceremonial dance. is very dynamically contrasting, in order to add drama. The melodic lines are rhythmically independent, and I use syncopation in the form of ties and rests to enhance the separation.

Download Audio

This piece is decidedly more cheerful, reflected in my choice of vibraphone with motor off, which gives a fairly sparkling quality to the music. In this piece I created a triplet motif which is exchanged between the two instruments during the course of the piece. In the second half I make much use of syncopation using ties in the clarinet part, ensuring that the instruments aren't always moving together across bar lines. This has the added effect of making it quite difficult for the listener to keep track of the pulse during this section, but the final bar feels satisfying as the parts come together again.

Completing these two short pieces have enabled me to further reflect on mistakes made during assignment three, which I've hopefully corrected here. I am currently awaiting feedback from my tutor on my work in this exercise that I can then take forward into assignment four.