2019.11.

21 Counterpoint Lesson Notes

History of Counterpoint
 Based primarily on the scholarly musings of Fux and his systems for emulating this style

Melodies
 Melodies have a high point
o Why?
o Makes it more memorable!
 Melodies don’t repeat notes (technically).
o Why might this be important as an ideal?
o It encourages variety and a challenge for writing against a c.f.
 Melodies don’t leap very far, and when they do it must be balanced by step wise motion
o Why?
 Melodies shouldn’t outline a tritone…no matter how devilish, because it is a difficult interval to sing.

e Big Takeaway for Melodies

 A melody must be singable, must be memorable, must be elegant.
 Leaps are necessary but dangerous. ey can cause a melody to sound triadic and make it difficult to sing.
It can also stop sounding like a melody and function more like chordal accompaniment.

Species I
 Note to note, only consonant intervals
o Why is this important in Species I?
o It allows for the practitioner to focus on the movement of the voices.
o Rhythm adds a complexity which makes it more than difficult to follow lines
o Later, Species I becomes a “checklist” for the rest of the species.
 Why are voice crossings so undesirable?
o ey make the voice direction ambiguous.
o ere are frequent voice crossings in Bach, what might we make of his decision to do this? Is he
just bad a counterpoint?
 Why avoid unison?
o Again, ambiguation

e Big Takeaway for Species I

 Parallel perfect intervals sound an awful like organum, which is the most interdependent musical art form
predating 16th century counterpoint.
 Contrary motion is the primary characteristic of independence, and parallel perfect consonance.
 If your counterpoint is below, you must start and end on an octave or unison. If it is above, it must start or
end on a perfect interval. is is because a perfect interval is the most stable interval available. It is so
 stable that it becomes the backbone of western harmony and is so strong that its sound is oen implied in
tonal counterpoint.

Species II
 It may seem things change, but they really don’t.
 Remember, Species I is the foundation or glue for the rest of the species. When you add a rhythmic
component, suddenly there are options.
 Why is dissonance okay in second species? What is the function of dissonance in second species?
 Why is leaping to a new highpoint on a downbeat undesirable? (hint: think more in terms of aesthetic
awareness)

e Big Takeaway for Species II

 Contrary motion becomes the backbone of melody writing and counterpoint. is is also very important
in tonal counterpoint, the result of orid 16th century counterpoint.
 Parallel perfect intervals are jarring and lack real independence of line. It is so strong that doing it on
successive down beats still sounds jarring.
 Creating a contrapunctus in this species provides two things:
o It continues to strengthen consonance on strong beats, providing stasis for the secondary note.
o It gives rise to forethought and proactive thinking which will become necessary both in future
counterpoint exercises as well as tonal counterpoint.

Species III
 e name of the game is liberty. ere are many similarities to tonal counterpoint in this species.
 Leaps are further important to avoid. Why is this?
o It has the tendency to create chordal structures
o e voice sounds less like a voice and more like an instrument (like a keyboard)
 Are the rst two rules different or the same?
o In what ways might they be similar?
o In what ways are they different?
 What is the bene t of ‘balancing’ the counterpoint on both sides of a P4?
 Where is consonance absolutely required?
o What is the big picture idea here? e balance of consonance and dissonance.
 Is dissonance required? What is the deeper dichotomy that arises from this question?
 How can we remember the fourth ‘rule’ without memorizing it? What is the deeper reason behind it?

e Big Takeaway for Species III

 Passing tones, neighbor tones, and special privileges are given to these contrapuncti to emphasize the
dichotomy of the consonant/dissonant ux in the big picture.
Species IV
 Why is it so important to introduce the concept of suspension later, rather than earlier?
 How can we prepare ourselves for the fourth species?
 What is going on in this species?
 What might too many repeats of the same suspension type might be undesirable? How could this
contribute to problematic writing from before? What other principles are similar to this? (hint:
moderation)
 How does a suspension deal with dissonance? How does it operate in relationship to the musical ear? How
does this relate to our understanding of tonal harmony today?

e Big Takeaway for Species IV

 Prepare for this species by rst writing in species one, then offsetting by half a measure to see what initial
‘options’ you might have. Use this as a guide.
 ere are only so many options regarding proper suspension types, but what is a way that we can
remember what they are without ‘memorizing’ them?

Species V
 Combinatorial
 What is the goal of this species? How does it relate to the previous four?
 What is actually being said about this species in terms of its importance in comparison to the previous
four?
 What is taking place with the rhythm? How does our understanding of dissonance and consonance
provide a bed of understanding for this species?
 What might happen if we ‘break’ one of the implied guidelines for this species?

e Big Takeaway for Species V

 Species V is the big takeaway from the other species. is is the goal.

Homework
1. Complete Nos. 3-4 in the 2019.11.22 Counterpoint Class Notes.
2. Find two examples of melodies, one bad and one good according to 16th century practice (melodies can be
popular/portions can be acceptable).