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Johann Joseph Fux

The Study of Counterpoint: From Johann Joseph Fux's Gradus Ad Parnassum Paperback – June 17, 1965

by Johann Joseph Fux (Author), Alfred Mann (Translator)

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The essence of the most celebrated book on counterpoint, Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum.

The most celebrated book on counterpoint is Fux's great theoretical work Gradus ad Parnassum. Since its appearance in 1725, it has been used by and has directly influenced the work of many of the greatest composers. J.S. Bach held it in high esteem, Leopold Mozart trained his famous son from its pages, Haydn worked out every lesson with meticulous care, and Beethoven condensed it into an abstract for ready reference. An impressive list of nineteenth-century composers subscribed to its second edition, and in more recent times Paul Hindemith said, "Perhaps the craft of composition would really have fallen into decline if Fux's Gradus had not set up a standard."

Originally written in Latin, Steps to Parnassus was translated into the principal European languages, but the only English version was a free paraphrase published in 1886. The present translation by Alfred Mann is therefore the first faithful rendering in English from the original Latin and presents the essence of Fux's teachings. For its distinction as a classic and its undiminished usefulness for the modern student it is a privilege to offer this fine translation in the Norton Library.

Print length

160 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

June 17, 1965
Dimensions

5.1 x 0.5 x 7.8 inches
ISBN-10

0393002772
ISBN-13

978-0393002775
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The most celebrated book on counterpoint is Fux's great theoretical work Gradus ad Parnassum. Since its appearance in 1725, it has been used by and has directly influenced the work of many of the greatest composers. J.S. Bach held it in high esteem, Leopold Mozart trained his famous son from its pages, Haydn worked out every lesson with meticulous care, and Beethoven condensed it into an abstract for ready reference.

About the Author

Alfred Mann was a musicologist, former conductor of the Cantata Singers, editor of a new full score of Handel's Messiah, and a contributor to The Musical Quarterly and other scholarly periodicals.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (June 17, 1965)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393002772
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393002775
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 0.5 x 7.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #57,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Music Composition (Books)
- #81 in Music Theory (Books)

Customer Reviews:
312 ratings

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5 star		83%
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3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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DLB

THERE'S A REASON THIS IS CONSIDERED THE GREATEST BOOK WRITTEN ON COUNTERPOINT!

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017

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This is the most concise and practical book I've ever read on the study and practice of counterpoint.

Other books I've read and studied tried to cover too much theory along with the study of counterpoint.
The book is short.
But it is the ONLY book you will need on counterpoint. Why?

Because the book is about counterpoint, period.
It's not trying to teach intervals and notation and harmony at the same time as teaching counterpoint. You must know at least intermediate music theory BEFORE coming to this book.

It's written in question and answer format: a student asking a teacher to unlock the key to mastering counterpoint.

The same cantus firmus is used in every example. That takes much confusion out of learning and comparing each species.

23 people found this helpful

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Rehu

An absolutely essential, easy, and useful read for all aspiring composers.

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2015

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Read the almost indecipherable book on Counterpoint that Walter Piston wrote, and you will gain an incredible appreciation for the straight forward, lucid, and plain spoken approach Johann Fux had with his writings. It's ironic that this book, written hundreds of years before Pinton's 20th century work, is so much more approachable. Fux had the heart of a teacher unlike the pedantic Piston. Reading this book and Basic Materials on Musical Theory alone equipped me with the knowledge I needed to write some very complex works of classical music that I am thoroughly happy with. The staff diagrams could have easily been updated to reflect the Bass and Treble staves used today, but that's just a minor suggestion for future editions.

15 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Counterpoint---putting the notes "in the right places "!

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2017

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A knowledge of counterpoint ---that is---how notes "maneuver " with and around each other , is essential for good composition and arranging. Your "writing" will sound and play so much better if you "get the notes in the right places " and this is what counterpoint is about. This book will show you how to do this from the ground up, from the simple to the more complex and does it in a clearly illustrated logical way---one of the best on the subject. Whether involved in writing jazz or classical music , you need to understand counterpoint and your music will show it. One last point, if you're writing for a vocalist, counterpoint will help you enhance the background while keeping it from getting "in the way".

2 people found this helpful

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Peter John

Fascinating, insightful and easy to read

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2017

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Fascinating to learn the basis of counterpoint, some really interesting things come out of it! Like how inverted chords were thought of in this era -- not as inverted chords but as a solution to a line of counterpoint. Or the importance of imperfect and perfect consonances and their resolutions being the basis of all counterpoint.
Really cool to get this stuff from the source that Mozart, Beethoven and others used, gives you insight into their thinking as well. Overall easy to read and can be used to really dive into counterpoint.

5 people found this helpful

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Revelen

Excellent, but don't take my word for it...

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2011

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Take Beethoven's, Bach's, Haydyn's, Mozart's (Wolfgang -and- Leopold), Hindemith's... This text may deal with a style of music long antiquated, but the principle's and structure of its techniques still hold strong today, and a knowledge of them is unquestionably helpful. Fux was also very careful to set the book up as a basic course for the reader, so that all one must do is follow along and do as the Master dictates in order to have a series of excellent lessons.

I know that in my own writing, I now see many places where my ear has lead me to follow many of these rules (and also many places where I have completely ignored, butchered, broken, and smashed them). These rules and tendencies continue to guide, if not dictate, much of contemporary composition.

And if you're still not convinced, the dialogue is so extremely, ridiculously over-the-top as to make reading it an enjoyable experience purely on an entertainment basis! Gotta love 18th century Europe.

6 people found this helpful

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Jimmy Johnson

If you're serious about compsing, you'll apreciate this!

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2017

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Even with a good understanding of Music Theory, be prepared to read this a couple times to catch it all - and, perhaps, have the music samples sited in the book handy to listen to as your reading - especially the second time around. :)

3 people found this helpful

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Steven Bastien

great book

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2016

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Great book. I find the Socratic discussion approach a little annoying at times, but it does force one to slow down and try to absorb the ideas better. Also, a few sections are a little confusing (for example, the discussion about the difference between harmonic and arithmetic fourths), but with a little help from google, this is a minor issue.

6 people found this helpful

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Ralph Barba

Getting Musically deeper

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2019

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Book was exactly as described.
Good condition. Showed up in a reasonable amount of time.
I love music, but have always struggled with the technicalities of it.
Lots of valuable info in there.
This book deserves slow focused reading .

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

João Pinto

Best book for learning the art of counterpoint!! Ever! This belongs to your bookshelf!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2018

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There are many books on this matter, but I find some of them sometimes confusing or not explicit, having lots of big texts saying basically nothing. Not this one though! This book is written based on a teacher/student dialogue system which allows you to really understand what is being explained, step by step, and having all of your silly student questions answered! There is no filler text, everything is really important information, which makes this my go-to counterpoint bible. You end up being able to write efficiently a string quartet following all the baroque counterpoint rules. Of course, you can break the rules in your own compositions, but there's no point in "breaking the rules" if you're not even aware of which rules you're breaking, that's just ignorance at that point, so study counterpoint with this book and evolve your music to the next level!

9 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Good book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2020

Verified Purchase

This book is a translations and therefore is quite difficult to read at points. It is still very good but some points can be difficult to understand.

tomasluisdevictoria

Essential

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2019

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Obviously you'll need to go here first since everyone including Bach has looked at it.

Adrian Mallon

Great value and service at a distance.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2021

Verified Purchase

Very pleased. Thanks

Daniel Pini

Informative, quick-to-read work on counterpoint.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2019

Verified Purchase

Great little book, well translated and easy to read. Lots of information to unpack and worth a read to anyone who is interested in composition and the mechanics of counterpoint.

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