Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52060 in Books
• Published on: 1965-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 156 pages

Customer Reviews

The all-time classic book of contrapuntal theory
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 Some of the ideas are outdated, and all of the counterpoint examples are built on bland cantus firmus type melodies, but the exercise of going through this book is invaluable.

Fundamental
I have worked with this book for several years, and this is an excellent book to learn music from; with a few days or weeks or months study from this book, anyone can become a competent composer of listenable music.

With a few years study a person can have Bach's power to improvise music which "sounds as if it had been composed prior". Following the system out to its conclusion, a musician who really wants to have ultimate understanding of music at his fingertips cannot go wrong.

I have worked with the system that Fux presents, in addition to having learned music theory from other places; and Fux's system works and really can lead to mastery of counterpoint.

(I only wish a single-volume edition existed.)

required reading for composers, theorists, and historians
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.