Hi Everyone,

In the French study of fugue, you are given a 'basse fuguée,' or completed bass line from a fugue, and you must realize the upper 3 voices. You will need to decode the fugue, and figure out the subject itself, any mutations, the counter subject, as well as repurpose any material you find in the bass part provided, so that the fugue 'writes itself,' because you have successfully uncovered all of its elements.

The advantage of this method is that the structure has already been provided (subject/response, counter subject, sequences, keys, cadences, phrases), and you can focus on hearing the fugue itself.  You will get accustomed to the norms of fugue composition: when/how to mutate the response, where to begin a modulation, and when/how to incorporate pedals & stretto.  Very importantly, you will figure out hands-on how to modulate between keys, which is one of  the hidden gems of fugue composition.  The French method is very difficult, but it is the only method to learning fugue that I have found that is objective in nature, because you are required to submit to an 18th century style, with clear norms & standards.

On the other hand, I think that there are limits to this type of study: you will not be composing, but you will writing, that is, your individual expression is forbidden, as you will be writing and decoding another composer's fugue.  Most importantly, the hardest part about fugue, the management of keys, has already been figured out: keys, cadences, phrases, as well as their proportions, so from an architectural point of view, though you will definitely grow a lot through this study, later when you try to compose your own fugue, in your own style, you may still feel 'lost.'

I feel very strongly that there is great promise in the French method of learning fugue, while recognizing that certain composers may feel that it is too strict, and would benefit from a more direct path, allowing them to compose in their own language, which I am currently investigating.  If you feel that this may apply to, you, you can watch The Hardest Part About Composing a Fugue, Ep. 1, on Youtube, in which I offer a strategy for composing the ending of your fugue.

For the time being, I have seen a large interest in the How the French Learn Fugue series on Youtube, so I will continue testing it out for 2025-2026, and will make a decision in Spring 2026 as to its future.

Best of luck with your fugues,
Barney (updated Nov 26th, 2025)