Fugue Subject Notes

Things to think about:

Length of the subject
o Soggetto
Short medium length
No longer than 3 measures
Square-cut character
Features primarily one motivic idea
o Andamento
Longer
More flowing
Features 2 or more motivic ideas
Motivic features
o How many and what motives are there that might be fragmented off, and developed or sequenced in an
episode?
Rhythmic features
o Does it start on the beat, or on an offbeat?
o What are the striking rhythmic features that might peek through a dense texture?
Melodic features
o Contour
Where is the pitch climax point? There is usually only one.
o Range
Most do not exceed the range of an octave
o Senses of linearity
How do the important notes in the subject connect to one another, as the subject spins out, to
create stepwise lines?
o Mostly diatonic, or with strong chromatic features?
Harmonic implications
o Almost always start on the tonic note (though sometimes the dominant or mediant). They rarely start on
the leading tone or supertonic
o Should either outline a triadic harmony, or if there are multiple implied harmonies should leave room
for lots of harmonic reinterpretation
Endings
o What scale degree does the subject end on?
Its common to end on the 3rd scale degree(in WTC I and II)
In any case, you should think about how the ending of the subject will interact with the beginning
of the answer.
o Most subjects do not have a strong sense of conclusiveness, because the statement of the subject is meant
to kick off a form that focuses on continual development of its motives.

Other thoughts:
Subjects should not use Classical period phrase structures like period constructions
Dont just write random notes that belong to the key
o Create lines.
o Let harmonic thinking be in the background of what you are doing, so you dont accidentally make it
impossible to imply harmonies.
o
Exposition sections of a Fugue:

Things to think about:

Remember, the subject is announced in one of two forms:
o The Dux [Subject or leader] strongly implying the tonic harmony of the key of the fugue
o The Comes [Answer or follower] implying the dominant harmony / key with respect to the key of the
fugue
How many voices are there?
o There will need to be an entry of the subject for each voice
If 3 voices:
Dux Comes Dux
If 4 voices:
Dux Comes Dux Comes
What will be the order of entry for your voices?
o 3-voice
Common orders of entry:
S-A-B [1-2-3]
A-S-B [2-1-3]
o 4-voice
Common order:
S-A-T-B [1-2-3-4]
B-T-A-S [4-3-2-1]
A-S-B-T [2-1-4-3]
A-T-B-S [2-3-4-1]
T-A-S-B [3-2-1-4]
T-B-S-A [3-4-1-2]
The Answers
o What are the harmonic implications of the answers?
Usually implies the dominant
The harmony of the dominant (i.e., still in the home key, no modulation)
The key area of the dominant (i.e., an implied modulation)
o If so, you may need to write a bridge in order to cancel out the raised
leading tone (or other notes youve chromatically altered to suggest the
modulation) on your way back to the next Dux announcement of the
subject (which will appear in the home key).
Bridges often feature sequences (sometimes fragments of the
subject).
Their purpose is to modulate, and /or prepare the next entry of
the subject by means of some motivic / range transition.
o It is common, in fugues in minor keys, for Bach to use the minor form of
the dominant.
He does this so the answer doesnt suddenly shift out of the
minor mode of the fugue as a whole, which would seem like a
pretty weird choice, according to the style.
o What type of answers [comes] will you write?
Real: Both the contour and exact intervals are maintained.
If youve written a real answer, when you play the Subject and Answer on top of one
another, they should create parallel perfect 5ths throughout
Tonal: The contour is maintained, but some of the intervals may be changed in order to fit in
the implied harmony, or to sound good against the countersubject / free counterpoint.
o The first announcement of the subject is always unaccompanied by counterpoint
 Fugue Exposition (Cont.)

o Is there a countersubject, or free counterpoint against the answer (and subsequent announcement(s) of
the subject)?
Yes, Im writing a countersubject!
Remember: Countersubjects have certain qualities that free counterpoint doesnt:
o It is memorable, and has features that make it stand out (like the subject
does), though it doesnt outshine the subject.
o It will appear nearly every time the subject appears.
o It may, itself, also be developed / sequenced in subsequent episodes
throughout the fugue
o The Subject / Countersubject must be invertible this means it should
sound good whether the Subject or the Countersubject is the top voice.
No, Im writing free counterpoint!
Remember: Writing free counterpoint begins with analyzing the harmonic implications
of the passage you are writing against
Think back to your work with species counterpoint. The voice-leading, and treatment
of consonance and dissonance that we studied apply here, also.
o It is fine to write first species counterpoint against the subject, but more
often, you will want to use 5th species mixed counterpoint with various
durations, so as not to be monotonous, and to suggest independence of
voices
Remember that you can use some of the devices we have talked about:
o Voice exchanges [stimmetauschen]
o Fragments of the subject
o Sequences
o Scalar passages
o Common patterns (see the WTC I and II for examples)

General counterpoint writing tools to keep in mind:

Basic chord construction:
o When you are trying to figure out the harmonic implications of your subject
For a single note, what harmony could it imply if it was:
The root of the chord
The third of the chord
The fifth of the chord
The seventh of the chord
For two notes:
If they are spaced a third, fourth, or a fifth apart they can imply either a triad or a
seventh chord.
o Imagine what harmony is implied if the two notes that create a third as:
The root and third
The third and fifth
The fifth and seventh
o Imagine what harmony is implied if the two notes that create a fourth as:
The fifth and root of a triad or seventh chord
o Imagine what harmony is implied if the two notes that create a fifth as:
The root and fifth of a triad or seventh chord
If they are spaced a second or seventh apart, then they imply a 7th chord
o If they are a second apart, the top note is the root of a seventh chord, and
bottom note is its seventh. What chord is it?
o If they are spaced a seventh apart, the bottom note is the root, and the
top note is the seventh. What chord is it?
Writing counterpoint, general considerations [cont.]:

The phrase model and how to use harmonic functions correctly to write good harmonic progressions:
o TPDT
The voice-leading rules that you learned in Foundation Music Theory:
o No parallel perfect intervals!
o Avoid writing augmented / diminished intervals melodically, UNLESS:
They are implying an augmented or diminished harmony
You are trying to create a sense of chromatic weirdness a la Bach
o Dissonances should resolve down by step
Seconds, Sevenths, all diminished intervals (augmented intervals tend to resolve upwards)
o Dont skip / leap out of a dissonant interval
o Dont frustrate the leading tone in an outer voice
You can write non-chord tones (dissonances), including accented dissonances, provided you resolve them correctly
o Passing tones
o Neighbor notes [incomplete upper and lower NTs]
o Escape tones / changing tones
o Appoggiaturas
o Anticipations
o Suspensions
Remember treatment of dissonances and consonances in your species counterpoint work!

HERES A DIAGRAM!