The present volume is intended and expected to cover more ground than its title implies.
In the author's mind it represents a course in Harmony, quite as much as in Counterpoint.
It owes its inception to the author's often expressed conviction that these two courses of study cannot be separated; and also to a constantly strengthening belief that the most rational, quickest and best way to acquire a thorough knowledge of the chords and their uses (the recognized purpose of the study of Harmony) is to begin with one part, to pass from that to two, from that to three, and thus gradually arrive at full four-part harmony.
For this reason, an extensive preparatory knowledge of Harmony is not at all necessary, though a general knowledge of the chords will facilitate the study of this book, and is therefore recommended.
Such general familiarity may be gained by the study of Part II of my " Material," or Chapters III to XXX of my " Tone-Relations."
The full four-part texture, when approached in this way, as systematized in these chapters, will have developed itself naturally into " Counterpoint "; and its acquisition will fully prepare the student to undertake the subsequent tasks in homophonic and polyphonic composition.
Playable Books