<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>What was (were) the model(s) for teaching musicianship, theory, and composition in previous centuries? Were they more individualized, as instrument and voice lessons are now? Or were there also large classes dedicated to the study of harmony and counterpoint, etc.? If the former, when did this model shift to classroom instruction, and would theory be better served by a return to some manner of individualized instruction as the norm?</div><div><br></div><div>Best,</div><div><br></div><div>Conor Cook<br>Sacred Music</div><div>LaSalle Catholic Parishes</div><div>LaSalle, IL USA</div><div>MA Music Theory, University of Minnesota, 2014</div><div>MMus Composing for Film and TV, Kingston University London, 2010</div><div>BM Theory/Comp, St. Olaf College, 2009<br><br></div><div><br>On Dec 15, 2014, at 5:35 AM, Giorgio Sanguinetti <<a href="mailto:giorgio_sanguinetti@fastwebnet.it">giorgio_sanguinetti@fastwebnet.it</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8">Dear Devin, Dear list: <div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">this discussion about continuo, figured bass and related issues drives me to spend a few words about the research on partimenti my colleagues and I have been doing for many years. </div><div class="">Figured, or unfigured bass (often called partimento) has been a major tool for teaching composition through improvisation at the keyboard during the 18th and 19th centuries in most parts of Europe. During the second half of the 19th century it disappeared, mostly replaced by vertical harmony (roman numerals- or function-based). There is today a growing interest in reviving partimento as a viable teaching tool in the current day curriculum, both in Europe and in North America. </div><div class="">During the last few years, several works went out on partimenti and related issues, including Robert Gjerdingen’s Music in the Galant style, my monograph The Art of Partimento, and more recently Lieven Strobbe’s Tonal Tools for keyboard players. From my experience, I can tell that teaching harmony and counterpoint using partimenti is very rewarding, from both the student’s and the teacher’s angle. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">All the best, </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Giorgio Sanguinetti</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""><div class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">Il giorno 15/dic/2014, alle ore 06:30, Devin Chaloux <<a href="mailto:devin.chaloux@gmail.com" class="">devin.chaloux@gmail.com</a>> ha scritto:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class="">Greetings Brian and list,<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I feel like this is a subject that comes up every once in a while with those of us active on Twitter. My sentiments are similar to yours. In many ways, I connected with figured bass quickly because I am a pianist. However, after teaching figured bass for several years now, it seems to be a laborious practice for many of our students (pianists and non-pianists combined).</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Questioning whether figured bass should continue to have a major role in the undergraduate theory curriculum is absolutely fair. It brings up a slew of other issues we should consider as we revise the curriculum:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">-Is there reason to be teaching keyboard-centric models of theory?</div><div class="">-Does the time spent teaching/practicing figured bass justify itself vs. using that time for other activities (say improvisation on one's own instrument)?</div><div class="">-Are there other ways to approach melody harmonization in classical and non-classical settings?</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">As I continue to think about these kinds of questions, I have shifted towards a preference for less figured bass. And when (not if!) the curriculum moves to incorporate more popular music styles, I am certain that figured bass will be one of the first casualties of the core curriculum. I imagine we'll still give it some attention, but any serious study of figured bass may be relegated to a course in 18th-century counterpoint.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Best,</div><div class="gmail_extra"><div class=""><div class="gmail_signature"><div class=""><b class=""><br class="">Devin Chaloux</b></div>
<div class=""><font size="1" class="">Indiana University</font></div><div class=""><font size="1" class="">Ph.D. in Music Theory (enrolled)</font></div><div class=""><font size="1" class="">University of Cincinnati - College-Conservatory of Music</font></div>
<div class=""><font size="1" class="">M.M. in Music Theory '12</font></div>
<div class=""><font size="1" class="">University of Connecticut</font></div>
<div class=""><font size="1" class="">B.M. in Music Theory '10</font></div>
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<br class=""><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 1:33 PM, hoffmaba . <span dir="ltr" class=""><<a href="mailto:hoffmaba@gmail.com" target="_blank" class="">hoffmaba@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr" class="">Hello,<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The past several years I have attempted to make classroom activities and assignments as practical as possible for future performers, educators, and ensemble directors. As a result, I find myself spending less and less time on realizing a figured bass. I still teach its history and its usefulness in modeling voice leading, but I have trouble justifying for myself the skill of turning figured-bass notation into voice leading. I realize this is still a performance practice in very specific performance situations, but as far as I'm aware, not beyond that.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">For those who feel that realizing a figured bass is an important part of a musical education, I would welcome any insight you have to offer since I feel uneasy about marginalizing such a widely-used portion of the curriculum. For those that spend little time on realizing a figured bass, I would welcome any thoughts you have as well. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Best,</div><div class="">Brian Hoffman</div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888" class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">-- <br class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class="">Dr. Brian D. Hoffman<div class="">Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Theory</div><div class="">Butler University </div></div></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><div class="">Giorgio Sanguinetti</div><div class="">via Giuseppe Avezzana, 6</div><div class="">00195 Roma</div><div class=""><a href="mailto:giorgio_sanguinetti@fastwebnet.it" class="">giorgio_sanguinetti@fastwebnet.it</a></div><div class="">tel. 06 32110265</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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