QcCowboy

I don't think Sondheim is a good example here.
I admire his music, and am actually of the opinion that he is one of the great geniuses of the 20th century. I actually conducted the Canadian premiere of Into the Woods.. lots of fun!

However, this is neither here nor there.
Sondheim's music is a particular case in point - musical theatre.

First of all, I did not write these guidelines out as "rules". They are guidelines, tools, an aide to easing workflow.

They are also not aimed at anyone who is doing popular music. They are squarely aimed at those who wish to write concert music. (please, no arguments about what is concert and what is not... I think we all understand the generalisation I'm making)

I can think of many instances where the bass-to-melody principle will not apply (or at least, not in the same way): minimalism for instance.

Again, these are guidelines for people who intend to write concert music.
These guidelines also require a certain level of musical training. You should be able to read music with ease. If you cannot, then it is probably premature to start examining these guidelines. One needs to walk before one can run. This is not a question of elitism. I don't think I would give someone in their first year of German a book of guidelines to writing medieval germanic poetry.

You err, however, in saying that the bass "define(s) a point of reference... for the ear". A good bassline is as melodic as the soprano above it. Only in the most basic of music does the bass act purely as a harmonic drone. AGAIN, I'm sure you could find hundreds of examples to contradict this, but I will reiterate: these are guidelines for writing "concert music". They are not guidelines for writing exceptions to any rules. I love the Bolero, I think it's a wonderful piece of concert music, but I certainly would NOT want to write another one. One is quite enough.

If you don't feel that these guidelines have anything to offer you, then by all means, please ignore them. If you feel that I have erred in posting them, then please give me some sort of technical reason supporting your claim.

one last time: guidelines, tools, not rules. nothing absolute in what I wrote.