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Looper's Delight
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For examples of counterpoint, you could listen to the band Yes and their song Roundabout. They do some things vocally that are very interesting in that song. But in that song, as in most popular music, the counterpoint is usually limited to four bar or eight bar phrases that are layered, adding one part at a time - just like in looping! Other examples: So This is Christmas by Paul McCartney, and even This is Me from the Disney movie Camp Rock, with Demi Levato and one of the Jonas Brothers. Maybe these aren't considered counterpoint in the traditional sense, but its the closest that pop music seems to get. One interesting way to compose melodies that are good for counterpoint is to try to have one melody pause on a longer note, while the other melody moves. For example, in 4/4 time, the first melody may have a half note on beats 3 and 4, and the second melody may be moving on eighth notes through those two beats. This works in both tonal and atonal melodies, because it is primarily a rhythmic device to keep the music moving with a constant eighth note pulse. One way to write a melody that can be sung in counterpoint as a canon, is to write a melody that follows a standard four bar chord progression, then continue the melody by writing the next four bars of the melody below or above the first in the same staff. When you are done with the first 12 bars of the melody you may need to do some editing. Try to make sure that the root of each measure's chord is present on the downbeat of that measure in at least one of the three parts. Recently, I have been enjoying singing some of Bach's canons and looping them in this way: I'll record the first line of the canon (sometimes quite long) and loop it, then I will record the second line using an octave drop at its entrance. It's a lot of fun! What I want to be able to do is record the first line of the canon, then use a delay effect, and octave drop on it so I don't have to record the second line at all - it will present itself when the first line is delayed and dropped. Or, is there some way to create a second track in Mobius that would present the melody from the first track but present it four measures later, and drop the octave on that second track? Peace, Michael Carlson (3x09) On Jun 9, 2012, at 7:11 AM, Ed Durbrow wrote: >> >> Is counterpoint used in modern songwriting, out of curiosity? > > Check out Jethro Tull as an exception. They spring to mind.