Workshop 71 mini-test

1. What is the most important density relationship between main melody and countermelody?

2. What are contrary, parallel, and oblique motion?

3. Why are melody rests especially good places for countermelody?

4. Why are guide tones excellent raw material for secondary lines?

5. What is the difference between harmonizing in thirds and writing a true countermelody?

6. How can register, timing, and dynamics preserve melodic hierarchy?

7. Why should countermelodies often cross chord boundaries rather than restart on each chord?

8. How can a countermelody generate reharmonization?

9. Why is a walking bass already a form of counterpoint?

10. What is the deepest lesson of Workshop 71?

Answers

1. When the main melody is active, the countermelody should usually simplify; when the melody is sparse or sustained, the secondary line may become more active.
2. Contrary motion means voices move in opposite directions; parallel/similar motion means they travel in the same general direction; oblique motion means one voice remains stationary while the other moves.
3. They provide rhythmic space where a secondary line can speak without competing for the listener’s attention.
4. Guide tones already trace harmonic meaning smoothly, so embellishing them creates a secondary melody that is both melodically coherent and harmonically useful.
5. Parallel thirds/sixths usually move as support tied closely to the lead line; a true countermelody has a more independent rhythm, contour, phrasing, and destination.
6. Keep the main melody generally higher and louder, allow the countermelody to enter after melody attacks or during gaps, and use contrasting articulation when helpful.
7. A melodic line is horizontal; letting it continue through chord changes creates continuity and avoids sounding like a new miniature phrase every time the chord symbol changes.
8. A compelling line such as A→A♭→G can suggest harmonies such as F→Fm→C, so the chord progression can be chosen to support the melodic motion rather than the other way around.
9. Walking bass is a continuous melodic line with its own contour and rhythm while simultaneously defining harmonic foundation beneath the lead melody.
10. A countermelody succeeds when it creates an independent musical thought that makes the main melody stronger, clearer, and more alive rather than competing with it.

The central lesson of Workshop 71 is:

The second voice should not ask, “How can I also be interesting?” It should ask, “What can I say here that makes the first voice mean more?”