MUS 311 Counterpoint

G. Writing of Short Two-Voice Pieces, Chapter 7

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More guidelines for successful 18th-century two-voice writing:

Form:

1. The characteristic form of the dance suite is binary.

2. The typical pattern found in dance movements and other short bipartite forms is:

• Pieces in major modulate to the dominant by the end of the first part; the second part begins with the dominant and modulates back to the tonic.
• Pieces in minor modulate to the relative major key by the end of the first part; the second part begins in major and modulates back to the minor for the conclusion.

Reducing or Increasing the Number of Voices:

3. Occasionally, an "intermission" from two-voice counterpoint may occur.  In such cases, a voice may be doubled at a 6th or 3rd--sometimes, but not often, at the octave--to create a single texture.

• An "intermission" should occur at a logical juncture--e.g., not in the middle of a phrase.

4. Additional notes may also be added occasionally in 2-voice pieces:

• to clearly define the harmony at points where the two voices alone cannot
• to provide greater fullness at cadence points
• to allow a melodic line to momentarily divide, so that one voice may complete a motivic theme or pattern, while the other takes a needed note.

Varied Repetition

5. Rather than having an exact repetition of the binary "A" section, as is normally the case, another option is to write a variation of these measures for the "A" section.  The dominant/relative major modulation back to the tonic remains unchanged.

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