Fugue in g minor

I'm obsessed with fugues, all I ever listened to in highschool (that was non-popular music) was Bach's WTC- it's quite amazing.

I would begin piece by piece: don't try to write the whole fugue out at once. Focus on the exposition:

How many voices (and thus, entries) do you want? I would recommend 2 (maybe 3), as it's easiest to work with at the beginning (I have yet to write a 4-voice fugue, they're quite impossible).

Write your subject, then transpose it up a 5th or down a 4th. This transposition will be your answer, which will be introduced by a second voice once the subject has bee stated.

Do not change the rhythm when you transpose it. You may change a few (very few) notes by a step or a half step to keep a certain level of consistency, but it should sound as almost identical to the subject.

Then, write a contrapuntal accompaniment to the answer: it should be rhythmically distinct and melodically different: it must almost be contrary to the subject and the answer.
This is your countersubject. So you have three basic building blocks so far that constitute the foundation of your fugue:

1. Subject
2. Answer (same as subject, transposed to the V)
3. Countersubject (contrapuntal accompaniment to the answer, different from the subject and answer).


So your first voice states the subject, and immediately states the countersubject when the second voice comes in. Then the second voice states the countersubject as the third voice comes in (if there is a third voice).

I'm sorry if this all sounds repetitive, but I'm trying to be as clear as possible. Perhaps you can start with this and post the beginning of the exposition, then we can work from there.

Here's a little fugue exposition I posted a while ago. Try to follow the structure:

It's in 3 voices.

1. Subject (m1-3)....Countersubject (m4-6).....2nd Countersubject (m7-9)


2................................................. .................2nd Answer (Basicall the subject, m 7-9)


3.............................Answer (m4-6)...............Countersubject (m7-9, transposed up a 5th)



There's no Coda betfore the 3rd statement of the subject (m7-9), as I think it's more authentic without a coda, and my 2nd countersubject kind of sucks. You should look for variety between the statement and countersubject.

Composing a good subject and countersubject is very important, as these will be the building blocks of your developmental section.

Hope this helps!
-Bolanos

Hello all!

I'm new to the forum, but with all this talk about fugue-writing, I thought I'd put in a plug for Giorgio Pacchioni's work (www.giorgiopacchioni.com). I learned counterpoint and fugue from him.

I'll leave you all with another (three-voice) fugue in g minor that I wrote just a couple of weeks ago. Not the best example as it lacks a consistent countersubject. When I write a four-voice fugue, it ultimately ends up as a concerto movement.

Cheers,
Mark

Hey Mark! Welcome to YoungComposers. Here's a hint: if you want some more feedback from your work, I suggest creating it's own thread in here and posting some of your pieces.

See ya 'round, hopefully

~Nico

I'm new to the forum, but with all this talk about fugue-writing, I thought I'd put in a plug for Giorgio Pacchioni's work (www.giorgiopacchioni.com). I learned counterpoint and fugue from him.

How did you go about studying under him?
If I could pick someone to study under (such things things as fugue/counterpoint) it would be him.

By the way, nice fugue. You should do as Nico said and put it in its own thread.

How did you go about studying under him?
If I could pick someone to study under (such things things as fugue/counterpoint) it would be him.

By the way, nice fugue. You should do as Nico said and put it in its own thread.

Thanks for the kind words. I'll probably post some things here from time to time (as I have time!). BTW, are mp3s ok, or are they too big?

Anyway, about Pacchioni, it wasn't really formal study, more like an ongoing back-and-forth exchange that I learned a lot from. Here's a little background on how I got into this.

I've been interested in baroque music since I was 8 or 9 and started writing little bourrees and minuets around that time. A couple of years later, I got a computer and notation software. Not being very proficient at the keyboard, it really helped because I could finally get a playback of what I was writing. So I started writing a set of concerti grossi. Shortly thereafter, I got an internet connection and found that there were others interested in writing this sort of music--and the first two I stumbled upon were Michael Starke and Giorgio Pacchioni.

By e-mail, I sent them samples of my work and they were very receptive (as bad as the music was!) and offered input. Pacchioni sent canonic exercises that I'd complete with sets of rules that I'd have to follow. I'd send them back finished and he'd mark them. With Starke, I'd send completed works or partly-finished ones and he'd send them back with suggestions for revisions and I found this very helpful as well.

I'm actually part of a new organization for people writing music in the baroque style (there's a post for it on the announcements page) and we review the work of prospective members. For those who aren't quite up to snuff but have the spirit of what we're looking for, we offer "conditional memberships" with constructive input and musical guidance.

Pacchioni seems very busy these days and it can take weeks to get a reply. We have another member who writes fugues that are positively glorious.