Counterpoint as a principle of creativity: Extracting divergent modifiers from 'The Art of Fugue' by Johann Sebastian Bach

Abstract

The main message carried by this article is that counterpoint can be taken as a model approach for the introduction of contrasting elements, not only in musical composition but also in the generation of ideas in any domain of knowledge. We start by an interdisciplinary review about the power of opposite concepts as constituting elements in nature. This is followed by the description of the DIMAI model for creative thinking, which is founded upon the dual forces of convergent and divergent thinking modalities. The main body of our work is an extraction of divergent modifiers from the Contrapunctus composed by Bach and collected in the Art of Fugue, with simple examples of application to the diversified fields of education and computer science.