Counterpoint is two or more melodic lines moving simultaneously. The more independent they are, the more "contrapuntal" the effect. In the world of counterpoint, the stuff here is pretty basic-- but if you get the idea of this, you can do a hell of a lot with it. It will definitely help you with harmonizing a melody-- the kind of counterpoint I'm doing here is basically harmonizing a melody, but not harmonizing each note.
We'll be using two different approaches.
1. Two lines, both moving in quarter notes.
(this is not really counterpoint, it's just a harmonized line.)
2. Two lines, the primary line (either upper or lower) moving in quarter notes, the secondary line moving in half notes.
(this is a little more contrapuntal, but you still have one line in a subordinate role.)
Eventually, you can move on to
3. Two lines, moving as in #2, but the roles of primary and secondary switch back and forth.
but my examples are just #1 and #2.
We'll use simple major scale motion for the primary line. The secondary line will be formed by harmonizing with the primary line so that one of the following intervals is created--either 3rds and 6ths (either major or minor), or the compound intervals you get by adding an octave to those (10ths and 13ths). If you use the same interval each time, the lines sound less independent. If you vary the intervals, you get a more contrapuntal effect. It can sound good either way. (Incidentally, if you are operating diatonically, i.e. using just the major scale, each note will require either a major or minor interval to fit the key. If you pick the one that is not in the key, it might still sound good, so experiment. In my examples here, I'm sticking with diatonic notes.)
PLEASE NOTE: I HAVEN'T PUT RECORDED EXAMPLES HERE YET, I'LL GET TO IT EVENTUALLY.
NOTE ON THE WRITTEN EXAMPLES.
The examples all have the same top line. The first series of examples is two lines moving with the same rhythms, with the same interval throughout. The next series is half notes against quarter notes, with the same interval throughout. After that you have half notes against quarter notes, but varying the intervals. There are many other combinations than the ones here, and you should be able to figure out some other ways to put it all together.
If you work through all of these, you may find yourself experimenting with a different melody, or treating the bottom line as the primary and making the top line the harmony part. My examples are just to get your feet wet; by the time you can play all the examples, you'll probably be stumbling onto some variations. After playing some counterpoint exercises I got from John C. McCain, I found myself improvising in this vein. I suspect that anyone who puts in a lot of time with the examples here will figure out how to take it to the next level. For me, the various intervals and fingerings became familiar after a while, and my fingers started gravitating to them. There are a lot of other places on the neck to play these ideas; these examples are just to get your feet wet. If you know what thirds and sixths are, it will help you to find more of them on different string sets. ( I ended many of the examples with an octave, to suggest the ending of a phrase . You can use octaves if you want to stop the motion of the line.)
(NOTE-- if anyone wants some information about intervals, there should be plenty of theory sites . If anyone is itching to have ME explain it, please leave a comment! )
Try to keep the secondary line ringing when you change the primary note. In some cases, this will create a momentary dissonance. You may not like some of these dissonances-- I recommend being able to play the examples with the notes in the secondary line held for full value, and by the time you are able to do that well you may be used to the dissonant sound. Once you develop the technique of holding one line ringing while the other moves, you can choose whether to cut those notes off or not.
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