Is counterpoint a necessary element of good music?

Filed in Free Lessons on June 04, 2009



In the past year, I have read a few authors in conservative church circles discussing counterpoint.  When evaluating a piece of music, they might have mentioned something like it "does not follow the normal rules of counterpoint."  I once read a church music philosophy statement that said that only music that follows the rules of counterpoint would be acceptable in their church.

Counterpoint is a term that refers to multiple independent melodies occurring at the same time in a song.  Music that contains counterpoint melodies is called contrapuntal.  Counterpoint is most often associated with the baroque era and Bach is widely considered the greatest master of counterpoint.

Contrapuntal music is hard to write and there is much that you can learn from studying it.  You can use counterpoint in your own music to make it more interesting and effective.  So I am certainly not against it and in fact, I admire writers that effectively use that element.

But counterpoint is not biblical in itself and it should not be elevated to that position.  There is no reason why all the music we write or perform needs to be contrapuntal.

So be wary if you hear people discuss church music in this way.  Counterpoint is not the golden standard that all music should be measured against nor is Bach the golden composer that all writers should be measured against.  While I do not question motives, this kind of perspective is extra-Biblical and incorrect.



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Randy Matthews
6/5/2009 10:54:32 AM

I wonder if the definition those guys are working with regarding counterpoint is more broad than yours and the traditional definition. I cannot believe anyone wants to sing much true counterpoint in church just because it is so difficult for most choirs. In fact, in all but the biggest churches, counterpoint is completely unfeasible.

That is why I wonder if they just mean well-written four part harmony which is counterpoint in some respects. Everyone sings the same words at the same time but each part is in itself a melody.

Also, I find it ironic that you are writing this because I hear counterpoint (lots of it) in your music. I don't in fact know of any other Christian pianist that uses it as naturally as you do. I wonder if you just do it without thinking about it and realize how much a feature it is of your music?

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Greg
6/5/2009 2:43:19 PM

Randy, perhaps you are right about the broader definition. There may be some counterpoint definition they are using that I do not know about.

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Jim Kook
6/5/2009 10:38:13 PM

I have seen what you are referring to. There is a guy who wrote something on a blog just this week with that kind of reference to counterpoint. Perhaps that is what triggered your post.

I have a question for you. Is music from the baroque period relevant to today and if not, should that even matter? What is the importance of music being relevant?

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