"An easy method of writing counterpoint:" http://www.shipbrook.com/jeff/ See bottom of the page under Miscellaneous Information.
Peter. On Wed, 26 Aug 2009, Christopher Witmer wrote: > It has been quite some time since I posted to the list, but I have two > questions for list members. Perhaps these two questions are related . . . I'm > not musical enough to say for sure. > > Question 1. > My third daughter, now age 17, has been playing the lute seriously for a few > years now, and has decided that she would like to try to major in the lute at > an overseas conservatory -- probably in Strasbourg, France. (Practically > speaking, there are no conservatories in our home of Japan where she could > study lute.) My daughter is extremely serious and dedicated in her studies. > She just bought a new lute for about $4,000 (USD) with money that she earned > through her part-time job. She plays the lute for at least three hours each > day, and she is also very good at the piano. She does very well with her > "solfege" studies as well. However, her lute teacher recently pointed out to > her that if she hopes to play the lute professionally in the future she will > need to become much more proficient in playing improvisationally. This is > something my daughter is not naturally good at. I know some people are > naturally good at it because my wife, who gave up piano lessons at age 13 > when she could no longer advance without being able to read music (up to that > point, her teacher had always assumed she was reading the music, when she was > in fact playing by ear), can improvise better at the piano than anyone else > in our family, even the two older daughters who are both conservatory > students. And my second-youngest daughter also seems to have my wife's gift > for improvisation -- in fact, a few times she has picked up a new instrument > and within a few minutes she has been able to "fake it" well enough that, to > an untrained person at least, she gives the impression that she has been > taking lessons for a while: there is "real music" coming out. But my third > daughter, despite having very good lute technique, has never been one to > improvise, and this new demand is presenting a bit of a challenge for her. > > Is improvisational ability something that you either have or you don't? Or is > it something that can be learned? Are there any tips concerning how my > daughter could most effectively approach this? I'm assuming that her teacher > is also trying to guide her in this regard, but it occurs to me that if he > just happens to be one of those people who naturally improvises well, maybe > he doesn't really know how to help a person like her improve in this area. > (He plays not only lute but also rock, jazz and classical guitar, while my > daughter has never played any string instrument besides the lute.) In any > case, I would be interested in knowing what sorts of ideas people on the list > might be able to offer. > > Question 2. > A few years ago I found a website where someone was both discussing his > instruments and also introducing a summary of Thomas Campion's counterpoint > technique. I remember being impressed by Campion because it seemed like a > fairly easy, paint-by-numbers approach to composing songs -- something that > almost anyone could apply to song writing. I recently tried an internet > search but couldn't locate that website. If anyone knows what I'm referring > to and can point me to that website, I'd be very grateful. Also, is it worth > picking up the edition that has both Campion's and Coprario's books bound > into one volume? All of my kids (and their musical friends too, for that > matter) could benefit from having access to tools that facilitate getting > their feet wet with composing. Although I don't do it myself, it stands to > reason that the earlier someone gets involved with composing music, the > better. I also wonder whether getting some of these compositional techniques > under one's belt would help my daughter to develop her improvisational > ability. Is not improvisation simply composing in real time? > > Sorry for the long questions! Any help you might be able to provide would be > GREATLY appreciated. Thank you. > > -- Chris > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html the next auto-quote is: Keep your government hands off my Medicare! (Unknown Representative of Idiot America) /\/\ Peter Nightingale Telephone (401) 874-5882 Department of Physics, East Hall Fax (401) 874-2380 University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI 02881
