Composing a Two-Part Invention - Music Composition

Learn how to compose a two-part invention and deal with counterpoint and contrapuntal writing. This music composition lesson demonstrates how to add a second part to a given part in order to create an example of a two-part invention. The principles of writing counterpoint are explained, including working with points of imitation and writing with an awareness of the implied harmony. Other details are explained as a piece in Baroque style is created. This video will be useful to composers, to analysts, and to those wanting to understand contrapuntal writing.

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🕘 Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction to composing a two-part invention
1:32 - A look and listen through the given material
4:02 - The importance of harmony when writing counterpoint
5:23 - Finding the motifs and analysing the harmony
13:43 - Writing the other parts
28:13 - Playing the final piece

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[MusicMattersGB]

Learn Music Online - Check out our courses here!

[abdullahshahzad]

One of the best teachers of classical music. Really thankful for what you are doing 🙏

[robertmitchell]

man, that is revealing! at first, all i heard was, 'how dry i am...' and 'oh when the saints', but somehow you managed to elevate it into something worth listening to. it's magic.

[carlstenger]

Great video. A lot of information and technique in just 30 minutes. I'm going to have to watch this one several times to get all that theory firmly planted in my brain. Thanks so much!

[malcolmledger]

Love the reference to "O When the Saints, go marchin` in" in bar 8.

[jayducharme]

Once again, beautifully explained. I never used to think about chords when composing, and unsurprisingly my counterpoint was terrible and I couldn't figure out why. Ironically, decades ago I used to compose a lot of music on guitar using nothing but chords as a start. For some reason, when I switched to keyboard I forgot about chords. So this lesson has been a useful reminder.

[paulomtts]

Another great video. Whenever asked a music theory question, I always refer to this channel! Thanks so much Gareth!

[franciscoaragao]

What a marvelous musical instinct: he speaks in tune (20:36) to (20:42)

[iwright]

Many thanks again for your generosity in sharing your vast wealth of knowledge . Your videos are by far the best on you tube .
A good teacher explains clearly . I hope you don’t run out of subject matter ! All the best Gareth 👍

[emishi]

Thanks for the video, and you're looking great these days man!

[joyfulhuman]

Thank you very much for explaining this clearly.

[cubertuner]

Thank you Gareth this is so helpful ❤🙏🙏

[demonzblood]

Thank you so much! That was so much fun. I wrote down important points. I'm gonna compose my first Invention now, thanks to you!

[kkngd]

Thank you, I couldn't find a video quite like this one YouTube. This is a nice entry point into writing Baroque music, which I've been wanting to learn

[jeffbloom]

Very easy to follow, perfect "cadence" to your voice for listening and understanding!

[Dave-nmuk]

Really nice - very helpful. I'd have been tempted to put in some more faster runs - 16th notes, but this gets us going. I really think I'm going to try this.

[CarlosMartinez-grrp]

This is immensely helpful, your best video so far. It will help me at composing definitely.

[dwukMUSIC]

Fantastic video. Very useful. Thanks for sharing.

[christopherlord]

Very nicely done, Gareth. This idea of Baroque style is obviously one revised for equal temperament tuning, and I often say that the reason J.S. Bach has become so popular - much more so than in his own day - is that his harmony and melodic lines work so well in equal temperament. It makes other Baroque composers sound rather monotonous.

[GrimScarFayn]

I certainly enjoyed this lesson and will go over it a bit more. It was learning about fugues where all of the music theory finally clicked with me. Prior to that, I relied on E Locrian (added 5th) and an A Blues minor scale, so Baroque is a style/era that I favor.