MUS 1205 · Counterpoint: The Vocabulary

Led by Giovanni Furno Simulacrum

The missing piece: the vocabulary of 18th-century counterpoint. Collocations, synonymy, and the patterns every trained composer knew instinctively.

1. Module 1

   What a Collocation Is

   Led by Giovanni Furno Simulacrum

   The question

   Knowing what letter follows what letter does not let you write a narrative. You need words. In counterpoint, the collocations — the Prinner, the Romanesca, the Monte, the Fonte — are the words. What changes when you know them?

   Outcome

   The student can explain collocations and describe how knowing them reduces the difficulty of writing.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 1.1 The Language Analogy Open this unit → ✓ ↻
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2. Module 2

   The Core Patterns: Cadences and Sequences

   Led by Giovanni Furno Simulacrum

   The question

   Five cadences and five sequences are enough to write a piece. What are the most essential collocations of the Neapolitan tradition, where do they appear in repertoire, and what do they sound like in your ear?

   Outcome

   The student can identify and write five named galant collocations.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 2.1 Pattern Hunting Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 2.2 Write Two Collocations Open this unit → ✓ ↻
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3. Module 3

   Synonymy: Different Means, Same Result

   Led by Giovanni Furno Simulacrum

   The question

   Furno's synonymy: two bass patterns that look different but produce equivalent effects. How does this concept reduce the apparent complexity of the tradition — and how do you rewrite the same harmonic framework in three different ways?

   Outcome

   The student can rewrite the same harmonic framework in at least two synonymous ways.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 3.1 Three Synonymous Versions Open this unit → ✓ ↻
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4. Module 4

   Building a Musical Sentence

   Led by Giovanni Furno Simulacrum

   The question

   A musical sentence has a beginning (establish the key), a middle (sequence and modulate), and an end (cadence). How do you combine collocations into a phrase that feels inevitable rather than arbitrary?

   Outcome

   The student can construct a sixteen-bar piece from at least three collocations.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 4.1 Compose a Phrase Open this unit → ✓ ↻
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5. Module 5

   The Vocabulary and the Voice

   Led by Giovanni Furno Simulacrum

   The question

   Knowing the patterns is the beginning, not the end. Bach uses the Prinner differently from Haydn, who uses it differently from Pergolesi. Where does the transition from vocabulary to individual voice happen?

   Outcome

   The student can discuss the relationship between internalised vocabulary and individual compositional voice.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 5.1 Final Essay: Vocabulary and Voice Open this unit → ✓ ↻
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