University of South Carolina
School of Music

BAIN MUSC 726A
The Art of Counterpoint

Summer 2026

MUSC 726A | Blackboard | Listening/Analysis

C O U R S E   M O D U L E S
Triangle icon Introduction
2. Counterpoint in the
Middle Ages
3. Renaissance
4. Baroque
5. Classical &
Romantic Periods
6. Twentieth Century

News

Welcome to MUSC 726A!

Quotable

Left quote
Counterpoint is the art of properly combining different melodies in a harmonious manner.
 Right quote

– Johannes Tinctoris, The Art of Counterpoint (1477)


Course Description

Analysis of counterpoint and texture in polyphonic music from the Middle Ages to the present


Course Documents

  1. Syllabus (pdf)
  2. Reading
  3. Handouts
  4. Theory
  5. Listening/Analysis
  6. Digital Anthology
  7. Terms & Concepts
  8. Special Topics
  9. Bibliography


Activities

  1. Activity #1: 16th-Century Counterpoint – Due: Fri., June 26, 11:59 pm

  2. Activity #2: 18th-Century Counterpoint – Due: Fri., July 3, 11:59 pm

  3. Activity #3: 20th-Century Counterpoint – Due: Thurs., July 9, 11:59 pm

Analysis Projects

  1. Project 1: Counterpoint before 1600
  2. Project 2: Counterpoint from 1600-1900
  3. Final Presentation: Counterpoint from 1900-present

Online Media Resources

  1. Algomus {Algomus.fr}
  2. Alvira, Teoria
  3. Atkinson, Video analyses of classical music with an emphasis on counterpoint and craftsmanship {YouTube Channel} - *
  4. Bella Voce Chicago, The Middle Ages: A Musical Journey (2020-2021) {YouTube Playlist}
  5. Belkin
  6. Byros, PoetryOfTone {YouTube Channel}
  7. Carter, Counterpoint exercises with Nadia Boulanger, 1933-35 {Library of Congress}
  8. Christiansen, Earsense
  9. Dahn, The Four-Part Chorales of J.S. Bach {Bach-Chorales.com}
  10. Edwards, Puzzle Canon {Website; YouTube Channel} - *
  11. Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Explore the Score - *
  12. Gjerdingen
  13. Gotham et al., Open Music Theory, Version 2 {OMT} (Gotham et al. 2023)
  14. Gran, Counterpoint Tutorials {YouTube Channel}
  15. Hansen, Counterpoint Course {HansenMedia.net}
  16. Hogan, The HMA Podcast
  17. Hutchinson, Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom (Hutchinson 2017)
  18. Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jazz Academy {YouTube Playlist}
  19. Lehman, Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars {FrankLehman.com}
  20. Moths and Nanni (Universität Basel), From Ink to Sound (FITS)
  21. Netherlands Bach Society, All of Bach {Website; YouTube Channel}
  22. Remeš, Historical Music Theory (HMT) {DerekRemes.com}
  23. Rotem, Early Music Sources {EMS}
  24. Scalia, Renaissance Music Project {YouTube Channel}
  25. Smith, Fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier – See the Digital Bach archive {YouTube Channel} - *
  26. SMT-V, Counterpoint {SMT-V} - *
  27. Straus, Joseph Straus - Analyzing Modernist Music {YouTube Channel}
  28. Thomas, Music Theory Videos {YouTube Playlist} - *

* - Video-based analyses

Research Tools

  1. FindIt @ UofSC
  2. Dictionaries/Encyclopedias:
    1. Britannica Academic
    2. EBSCO Advantage: Music
    3. Harvard Dictionary
    4. Grove/Oxford
    5. Oxford Bibliographies
  3. Articles: JSTOR
  4. E-books: Ebook Central | EBSCOhost | Hathi Trust
  5. Recordings: Naxos | Spotify | YouTube
  6. Scores: IMSLP; Alexander Street; CPDL; BAIN MUSC 525


Music Theory Journals

  1. 19th-Century Music {UC Press}
  2. College Music Symposium {CMS}
  3. Engaging Students: Essays in Music Pedagogy {OSU Libraries}
  4. Indiana Theory Review {IU Press}
  5. Intégral {Rochester.edu}
  6. Journal of Mathematics and Music {Taylor & Francis}
  7. Journal of Music Theory {JMT; JSTOR}
  8. Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy {JMTP}
  9. Journal of New Music Research {Taylor & Francis}
  10. Music Analysis {Wiley; JSTOR}
  11. Music Perception and Cognition
  12. Perspectives of New Music {Website; JSTOR}
  13. Society for Music Theory (SMT)
  14. Theory and Practice {JSTOR}


Main References

See also: BAIN MUSC 726A Bibliography

Benjamin, Thomas. 2005. The Craft of Modal Counterpoint, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. {GB; Full text: TCL}

_______________. 2003. The Craft of Tonal Counterpoint, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. {GB; Full text: TCL}

Fux, Johann Joseph and Alfred Mann. 1965/1725. The Study of Counterpoint from Johann Joseph Fux's Gradus Ad Parnassum. New York: W. W. Norton. {GB}

Gotham, Mark, et al. 2023. Open Music Theory, Version 2 (OMT2). Fairfax, VA: Viva Press Books. Available online at: <https://viva.pressbooks.pub/openmusictheory/>.

Jackson, Roland John. 2009. "Counterpoint." In Britannica Academic. Available online at: <https://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/counterpoint/110126>.

Owen, Hal. 1992. Modal and Tonal Counterpoint: From Josquin to Stravinsky. New York: Schirmer. {GB}

Taruskin, Richard. 2010. The Oxford History of Western Music. New York: Oxford University Press. {GB}
  1. Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century {Full text: TCL}
  2. Music in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries {Full text: TCL}
  3. Music in the Nineteenth Century {Full text: TCL}
  4. Music in the Early Twentieth Century {Full text: TCL}
  5. Music in the Late Twentieth Century {Full text: TCL}
Updated: June 5, 2026

Reginald Bain | University of South Carolina | School of Music
https://reginaldbain.com/vc/musc726a/