Rating: 
Summary: all musicians
Review: the student mastering counterpoint cannot go through without 'The study of Counterpoint' by Joseph Fux ray.sant
Rating:
Summary: Useful!
Review: This book is written in the form of an imaginary dialogue between the author, who plays the part of a humble and eager student, and Palestrina. If you sit down and take the time to do the lessons, contrapunctual lines seem to write themselves for you. Useful for many styles of music, it really helped me write better bass lines and voice leading in general. Self-taught musicians! Don't be afraid of studying theory! This is a great book!
Rating: 
Summary: The all-time classic book of contrapuntal theory
Review: This book, originally entitled "Gradus ad Parnassum" was the book used by many of the great composers of the classical and romantic eras in learning their craft. Mozart is said to have studied it. Papa Haydn's copy, dog-eared and worn, is on display in a museum in Europe. The book is set up as a series of lessons on the technique of counterpoint, with the student asking questions and the teacher providing answers. There are many examples, both of proper and improper technique. It starts with the easiest forms of counterpoint and moves into the more difficult ones toward the end. It takes itself very seriously and requires a lot of work of the reader. Some of the ideas are outdated, and all of the counterpoint examples are built on bland cantus firmus type melodies, but the exercise of going through this book is invaluable.
Rating:
Summary: Counterpoint is this.
Review: This is a really fun book. It teaches counterpoint, yet I could read it for leisure reading. It is written as a conversation between an instructor and a student, and there are many, many examples... based on these teachings and recieved great feedback on them.
A highly recommended read for anyone who has ever written a song.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute Foundation of Tonal Music
Review: This is an indispensable work for anyone with a serious interest in musical composition. It lays out the entire foundation of tonal composition (i.e.: counterpoint) in a lucid, organized systematic manner.
The serious student of musical composition should have this book, work through it not once but regularly. I re-read it constantly and work through all the exercises again once or twice a year.
It should also be used in conjunction with "Structural Hearing Tonal Coherence in Music" by Felix Salzer (Schenker's protégé).
Rating:
Summary: Absolute Foundation of Tonal Music
Review: This is an indispensable work for anyone with a serious interest in musical composition. It lays out the entire foundation of tonal composition (i.e.: counterpoint) in a lucid, organized systematic manner.
The serious student of musical composition should have this book, work through it not once but regularly. I re-read it constantly and work through all the exercises again once or twice a year.
It should also be used in conjunction with "Structural Hearing Tonal Coherence in Music" by Felix Salzer (Schenker's protégé).
Rating:
Summary: required reading for composers, theorists, and historians
Review: This is mostly valuable for its historical significance, but that is no mean thing, and it is worth your while working through it-every composer and theorist should. The translator distributes his English version of Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum" between this and "The Study of Fugue" so I recommend you pick up a copy of "The Study of Fugue" too. Also recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.
Rating:
Summary: required reading for composers, theorists, and historians
Review: This is mostly valuable for its historical significance, but that is no mean thing, and it is worth your while working throughit--every composer and theorist should. The translator distributes his English version of Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum" between this and "The Study of Fugue" so I recommend you pick up a copy of "The Study of Fugue" too. Also recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by Jeff Burns.
Rating:
Summary: The early fundamentals of composition
Review: [reprint -- sorry] At one point in the text, Aloysius pretty much says it all: "These lessons are not worked out for actual use but for exercise. If one know how to read one need no longer bother with spelling; similarly, the species of counterpoint are given only for purposes of study." I have been working out of this book (which is really an excerpt of a larger book called _Steps to Perfection_) with a private tutor for a year, and it has been a difficult but rewarding experience. Essentially, the species provide a platform to learn how to compose concurrent melodic lines. Each following species builds upon the knowledge of the previous. Rules that begin absolute slowly become contextual. While the book's original title is anachronistic, the program within encourages steps towards the understanding of basic tonal principles that have formed the foundation of the grand tradition of western music. I'd recommend keeping an open mind about the rules. These are treated as the "rules," but are expected to be broken with time and experience. After all, the rules are no more than the collected general tendancies of the great composers. Another thing to keep in mind is that Fux's book provides an introduction to composition based upon the limitations--and, accordingly, the beauty--of the human voice. This book does not deal with the embellishments and ornaments possible on all instruments. More caveats: One, I would recommend studying this book with an experienced teacher. It's like a beginning yoga text: basic, but someone with experience will put things in perspective. Two, the exercises, especially for three and four voices, are difficult and require commitment and discipline. (Again, like yoga.) There is no need to rush through the exercises. Three, Fux's book should be part of an integrated tonal curriculum that at least includes four-part writing and ear-training. And Fux's book is hardly the last word even on counterpoint! At the very least, study 18th century and 20th century counterpoint, because those broad styles used Fux's treatise as their basic foundations. Those who criticize this text do so because it does not immediately apply to modern music situations. But they often fail to see how the text fits beautifully within the broad spectrum of composition. This book reflects the basics of tonal architecture. No more, no less
Rating:
Summary: The early fundamentals of composition
Review: [reprint -- sorry] At one point in the text, Aloysius pretty much says it all: "These lessons are not worked out for actual use but for exercise. If one know how to read one need no longer bother with spelling; similarly, the species of counterpoint are given only for purposes of study." I have been working out of this book (which is really an excerpt of a larger book called _Steps to Perfection_) with a private tutor for a year, and it has been a difficult but rewarding experience. Essentially, the species provide a platform to learn how to compose concurrent melodic lines. Each following species builds upon the knowledge of the previous. Rules that begin absolute slowly become contextual. While the book's original title is anachronistic, the program within encourages steps towards the understanding of basic tonal principles that have formed the foundation of the grand tradition of western music. I'd recommend keeping an open mind about the rules. These are treated as the "rules," but are expected to be broken with time and experience. After all, the rules are no more than the collected general tendancies of the great composers. Another thing to keep in mind is that Fux's book provides an introduction to composition based upon the limitations--and, accordingly, the beauty--of the human voice. This book does not deal with the embellishments and ornaments possible on all instruments. More caveats: One, I would recommend studying this book with an experienced teacher. It's like a beginning yoga text: basic, but someone with experience will put things in perspective. Two, the exercises, especially for three and four voices, are difficult and require commitment and discipline. (Again, like yoga.) There is no need to rush through the exercises. Three, Fux's book should be part of an integrated tonal curriculum that at least includes four-part writing and ear-training. And Fux's book is hardly the last word even on counterpoint! At the very least, study 18th century and 20th century counterpoint, because those broad styles used Fux's treatise as their basic foundations. Those who criticize this text do so because it does not immediately apply to modern music situations. But they often fail to see how the text fits beautifully within the broad spectrum of composition. This book reflects the basics of tonal architecture. No more, no less
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