Fugues

Hey guys. I haven't been on for a while. I have recently been getting into some more advanced compositional techniques such as counterpoint and I have some questions. How do you write a fugue? I've looked it up on wikipedia and I understand it to a certain degree but not completely. Can someone help me out?

I dont completely get you in this soz. I personally write fugues (very rarely thou, because my style), but I try to write them as a tonal fugues.

Interesting question to see what our pro's have to offer...on my studies I usually struggle with harmonies in fugues because I dont clearly get that counterpoint thing and I believe that is something to do with it.

Nice to see you still progressing, peace.
Empirism.

well i hate to break it to you but no one can teach you counterpoint over a forum. But to help you out I'll make some recommendations. First, i think you got this but i have to say it any way you need to KNOW you basic theory if you don't go back. you'll also need a good grasp of harmony(i say A and C# you say Major 3rd), but it doesn't need to be perfect if your willing to study harder. Also you need to read notation and i strongly recommend you get some keys if you don't already(make things so much easier to see).

so the first book is "the study of counterpoint" by Johann Joseph Fux. my book's translator is Alfred Mann so it might be under his name I think his' is the only one in print right now in English, and it is, it says so in small print at the bottom mystery solved. It's basically a third person/in the classroom view of a teacher and a ,over questing, pupil learning counterpoint. It in my naive opinion is the best book to begin with, because it's the only highly recommend book in this subject that i have found at beginner level and i own it have gone through it and going through it. The catch is, that it is old real old came out in Bach's life time(middle/late you do math he didn't study it any way) so i have read(Amazon) some criticism on it being to archaic with to many rules. But my argument against that is one, it's meant to be simple(1st grade don't start a sentence with "and" then in latter grades they tell you how), Bach didn't always start with a perfect Consonance(first rule and point a reviewer made) so proof it simple and not meant to be followed that way, and you got to start somewhere why not the beginning. Also Mozart, Hayden, Beethoven, and so many others where taught from its pages, made work books out of its lesson, and the true test used it in there teachings. so I'd start there, and if you go another path make sure it beginner because unlike other theory books counterpoint book don't advertise. For example, Schonberg books all have innocent titles but there all hardcore theory texts and your need to be versed in counterpoint or have a good teacher with you to take it in.

also I recommend to get yourself a Book full of Bach's chorals and listen and study the master at work.


O and to answer how to wright one. First start off with a melody. then build it up using counterpointal theories. not very helpful i know but i not writing a book nor am i any way qualified.

Cool, thanks for the tip, I think I myself definately need to start with beginner level studies on these counterpoint theories, Ill check those out. Thanks again

Sidenote: I can see that Fux book or atleast some part of it can be found in pdf when I googled it. So I start with that, but I think I try to find one translated in Finnish if there any.

Empirism

Empirism- I have a site that train you to write counterpoint: http://homepage.eircom.net/~gerfmcc/mainSite.html

that's funny, but it is only a short overview of the book. I would still get the book it goes into so much more detail, and the teaching style is by far better. But overall good site. At first I thought the trainer in writing the counterpoint to the melody was a great idea but, in the end I think writing it out is better. plus you look smart with pages of written music you wrote your self. Overall good site will help you in finding your goal and what you need to know but no substitute for a good book. Also many of the links he has are good.

@EMP-make sure the pdf has the back section pages cause Alfred shows you 18 century way of thinking which is vastly different then now. and maybe you might want to try the original title "Gradus ad parnassum" for a another translation cause that title is the English one. or if you know Latin and willing to transposes clefs get the complete book.

I thought I had written something that resembles a fugue but after knowing how many rules apply It may just be something else.