Comments on: Why teach counterpoint? http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/ Roger Bourland writes about music and life Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:59:55 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Roger Bourland http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/comment-page-1/#comment-69598 Roger Bourland Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:20:41 +0000 http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/#comment-69598 I better bring this back to reality: UCLA was a VERY different department 25 years ago. I was NOT talking about entering composers, these were ALL music major theory classes. We had high standards in our theory classes, but I was not convinced that entering Freshmen had a good grasp of literature. Ignorance of the common practice literature is unfortuantely fairly common, at least in the US. So to expect 18 year olds fresh out of high school, who most likely did NOT have music theory there, to compose fugal expositions is a stretch, and an bad curricular idea. We changed it. Do I think student composers MUST learn to compose fugues in the style of Bach? No. But, we require our entering graduate composers to be able to do a fugal exposition. Hmm, maybe we should look at that prerequisite again... I better bring this back to reality: UCLA was a VERY different department 25 years ago.

I was NOT talking about entering composers, these were ALL music major theory classes. We had high standards in our theory classes, but I was not convinced that entering Freshmen had a good grasp of literature. Ignorance of the common practice literature is unfortuantely fairly common, at least in the US. So to expect 18 year olds fresh out of high school, who most likely did NOT have music theory there, to compose fugal expositions is a stretch, and an bad curricular idea. We changed it.

Do I think student composers MUST learn to compose fugues in the style of Bach? No. But, we require our entering graduate composers to be able to do a fugal exposition. Hmm, maybe we should look at that prerequisite again…

]]> By: A.C. Douglas http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/comment-page-1/#comment-69597 A.C. Douglas Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:05:28 +0000 http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/#comment-69597 It's even more dismaying that is seems I have to explain that what my post was about was this part of what I quoted: "Sheesh, most of them [the first-year students] don’t even know the music of Bach...." No student that musically ignorant should be permitted to even audit a course in composition at the university level. ACD It’s even more dismaying that is seems I have to explain that what my post was about was this part of what I quoted: “Sheesh, most of them [the first-year students] don’t even know the music of Bach….” No student that musically ignorant should be permitted to even audit a course in composition at the university level.

ACD

]]> By: Roger Bourland http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/comment-page-1/#comment-69596 Roger Bourland Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:57:54 +0000 http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/#comment-69596 Remember the Steve Allen Show? Audience members would give Steve random pitches and he would turn them into songs. Maybe this is a kind of talent we could foster by training students to compose Baroque Counterpoint. No? Oh well, I was trying to think of some use for it.... Sigh. Remember the Steve Allen Show? Audience members would give Steve random pitches and he would turn them into songs. Maybe this is a kind of talent we could foster by training students to compose Baroque Counterpoint. No? Oh well, I was trying to think of some use for it…. Sigh.

]]> By: A.C. Douglas http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/comment-page-1/#comment-69590 A.C. Douglas Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:10:16 +0000 http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/#comment-69590 ACD was NOT grumbling about Dr. Bourland. Read more carefully, please. ACD ACD was NOT grumbling about Dr. Bourland. Read more carefully, please.

ACD

]]> By: Lisa Hirsch http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/comment-page-1/#comment-69573 Lisa Hirsch Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:26:07 +0000 http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2008/01/06/why-teach-counterpoint/#comment-69573 You know you've arrived when <a href="http://www.soundsandfury.com/soundsandfury/2008/01/dismaying-but-n.html" rel="nofollow">ACD grumbles about you</a>. You know you’ve arrived when ACD grumbles about you.

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