• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Breaking Barlines

Online Music Theory Lessons: Turn Sound Into Skill

  • Home
  • Aron In the Classroom
  • Music Theory Lessons
  • Blog
  • About Aron Bernstein
  • FAQ

September 13, 2021 By Aron Bernstein 6 Comments

Weekly Music Theory Challenge 9/13/21

Show off your theory chops with my weekly challenge! You’ll find a new question here every Monday. Please comment to post your reply.

This week’s challenge:

This is from J. S. Bach’s Contrapunctus VII from Die kunst der fuge (The Art of Fugue). What rhythmic technique has he used in changing the melody in the top staff to the one in the bottom?

Listen to Audio

Reply to post your answer, and check back on Friday, September 17th to see if you’re right!

ANSWER for 9/13/21

This is a good example of diminution. All the note values on the top staff have been cut in half, resulting in the same melody on the bottom staff, but twice as fast. Bach’s ingenuity lies in fashioning a melody that works in counterpoint with a diminished version of itself. He never actually finished Contrapunctus, but the many fugues of this work show him at the pinnacle of his contrapuntal genius.

Want to Learn More?

With Breaking Barlines you learn music theory the right way: fun, useful, and with a personal touch! Have a look at the complete Breaking Barlines Course! Then sign up for a monthly subscription for full access to all video lessons, worksheets, and answer keys. New lessons are always being added, so stay tuned!

Spread the love

Filed Under: music theory challenge Tagged With: bach, breakingbarlines, classicalmusic, diminution, fugue, music, musiceducation, musiclessons, musictheory, musicvideo, popmusic, rhythm

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Andrew Seid says

    September 13, 2021 at 11:53 am

    diminution

    Reply
    • Aron Bernstein says

      September 21, 2021 at 8:04 am

      Diminution is the solution! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Raul Murciano, Jr. says

    September 14, 2021 at 4:40 pm

    Diminution

    Reply
    • Aron Bernstein says

      September 21, 2021 at 8:04 am

      Three cheers! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Katrina says

    September 15, 2021 at 11:51 am

    Diminution!

    Reply
    • Aron Bernstein says

      September 21, 2021 at 8:04 am

      🙂 You rock!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Don’t Miss Out

Get on the email list and we will let you know when new music theory lessons drop.

FREE LESSONS

* indicates required

Your privacy is important to us. We will not share your information with anyone.

Copyright © 2023 Breaking Barlines · WordPress Website by Waterlink Web