Music in Multiple Voices
So far we have concentrated on reading a single line, comparable to the voice
of a single singer. But from about the ninth century onward musicians have been
evolving interesting ways to make music with more than one voice. Some experiments
became agonizingly monotonous—for instance, when a voice was accompanied by a second
voice five notes below it. This was found intolerable and was banned by theorists,
and the art of counterpoint (note against note) developed, with guidelines to make
the combinations work in an interesting way.
Fortunately, we can jump a thousand years by turning a page. This chapter covers
reading and playing in more than one part, wiht some interesting solos to practice
at the end.
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