Sibelius as a Tool to Improve Student’s Ability of Making Counterpoint Melody

Abstract

As a subject for music students, counterpoint contributes to the ability to create a melody. The melody in counterpoint usually consists of two or more layers. In order to make a counterpoint melody, students must acknowledge the rules to construct the counterpoint melody. A good counterpoint melody involves two important things: the flow of the melody in a vertical and horizontal in vertical line (interval) and the musical texture of the melody. As a beginner in learning counterpoint, writing a counterpoint melody might be difficult at first. Learning counterpoint investigation was found that students spent a lot of their time following the counterpoint rules. They particularly did not focus on the musical sense of the counterpoint melody causing the melody loses its musical senses. Sibelius was used here as a tool to solve the problem. Sibelius is a music software which commonly used in writing musical scores. This study examined Sibelius in making a counterpoint melody in learning counterpoint. The data were gathered through observation and interviews with students during learning counterpoint course. The result showed that by using Sibelius, making counterpoint melody more efficient, and it helped student not only focused on the counterpoint rules but also the musical senses of the counterpoint melody. Furthermore, students also showed the improvement of their skills in making a counterpoint melody.