MUS 1201 · Counterpoint: Before the Pen

Led by Carlo Cotumacci Simulacrum

The Neapolitan conservatories knew something modern music education has forgotten: the ear must come before the pen. The foundation course for the counterpoint series.

1. Module 1

   The Conservatory and the Problem

   Led by Carlo Cotumacci Simulacrum

   The question

   Why do counterpoint classes so often fail? Students are placed in the middle of a game whose rules they do not know, competing without knowing how to win. What did the Neapolitan conservatories do differently — and at what age, and in what order?

   Outcome

   The student can describe the Neapolitan sequencing and explain why ear-first produces better results than notation-first.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 1.1 What the Conservatories Actually Did Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 1.2 The Ear Test Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Begin the course → Print certificate of completion
2. Module 2

   Why Harmony Is Not Enough

   Led by Carlo Cotumacci Simulacrum

   The question

   Harmony tells you what notes belong together. Counterpoint tells you why they move. A ninth chord in figured bass is not a ninth above the bass — it is a suspension between upper voices. What does knowing counterpoint reveal about music that harmony conceals?

   Outcome

   The student can write both a harmonic and a contrapuntal analysis of the same passage and explain what each reveals.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 2.1 Two Descriptions of the Same Passage Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
3. Module 3

   The Solfeggio as Foundation

   Led by Carlo Cotumacci Simulacrum

   The question

   A solfeggio is not a singing exercise — it is a model. The Neapolitan students memorised small two-part pieces by Leo and Durante until the patterns were in their bodies. When they varied them, they were not guessing — they were extending what they already knew. What does it mean to learn music the way you learn a language?

   Outcome

   The student has learned and varied at least one Leo solfeggio, and can describe what the process reveals about musical learning.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 3.1 Sing and Vary Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
4. Module 4

   The Style Before the Rules

   Led by Carlo Cotumacci Simulacrum

   The question

   Rules are descriptions of a style, not generators of it. Donizetti did not write arias by consulting a grammar — he had sung Italian all his life. How do you immerse yourself in a style before you begin to write in it?

   Outcome

   The student can identify style markers of the Neapolitan school by ear and articulate the difference between rules-as-description and rules-as-generator.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 4.1 Style Markers Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
5. Module 5

   Setting Up to Succeed

   Led by Carlo Cotumacci Simulacrum

   The question

   Excellence in music is not negotiable — seventy-five percent correct of a counterpoint exercise is not a counterpoint exercise. But excellence is achievable if the task is small enough. How do you design a counterpoint study programme that begins where you actually are?

   Outcome

   The student has designed a personal three-month counterpoint study plan beginning with executable tasks.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 5.1 Your Study Plan Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion