Exemplar 1: Apprentice Piece

The only way to enter the guild is with an apprentice piece. An apprentice piece shall be a short piece in two-part counterpoint. It may be for solo guitar, as this model is, for solo keyboard, for two voices, or for two wind or string instruments. Each entry must contain the following: A PDF file of the score, a MIDI file of the music, and the $2.00 entry fee, which will be paid via PayPal only (I will absorb the PayPal fees that arise on my end).

The entry fee will be the first year of dues if you are admitted, and applicants have three tries to get it right without having to pay an additional $2.00. Applicants will also be entered in the Best of Ten Apprentice Pieces contest, which pays an award of ten dollars. Accepted Apprentice Pieces will be posted here for now, and permanently on the main site once that is up and running, so the PDF and MIDI files become the property of the site. That doesn't mean you can't use them for whatever you wish, just that the guild can use them in compilations if they end up Best of Ten winners (One of the main benefits of guild membership will be having your submitted pieces professionally recorded in guild compilations).

This exemplar is a two-voice Menuetto for solo guitar in B minor that does not even modulate. I wrote it when I was 29 and just getting decent with polyphony, so it should be no problem for a bright student to emulate. I put the MIDI file into iTunes and made an AAC version using the RealFont 2.1 Nylon Guitar 1 soundfont. I will perform that work for you as m4a files are too big to email easily. Here is the sound file:

Menuetto in B Minor

And here is the score:







There will be no descriptions or analysis required: For the Apprentice Piece, the music must speak for itself. If I do not admit the applicant to the guild, I will email back the reasons and suggest improvements or corrections. This is part of the immediate benefit: Counterpoint lessons with me for only $2.00. As I mentioned previously, the applicant will have three tries to get accepted with the original $2.00 entry fee.

The only requirements for applicants is that you be at least 18 years of age, that you have a PayPal account, and that you have the means to submit a PDF file of the score and a MIDI file of the music. It does not matter who you are or where you live.

In the spirit of gentlemanly competition: If you think you have what it takes, you'll have to prove it. This is a put your money where your mouth is kind of place, so just hit the donate button to get started.