MUSI201 Aural Skills 2

Counterpoint
Reading: Clendinning & Marvin: Chapter 10: Melodic and
Rhythmic Embellishment in Two-Voice Composition

Also highly recommended:

Clendinning & Marvin: Chapter 9: Connecting Intervals in
Note-to-Note Counterpoint
Counterpoint

Oxford Music Online:

Counterpoint: The ability, unique to mus., to say two things
at once comprehensibly. The term derives from the
expression punctus contra punctum, i.e. ‘point against
point’ or ‘note against note’. A single ‘part’ or ‘voice’ added
to another is called ‘a counterpoint’ to that other, but the
more common use of the word is that of the combination of
simultaneous parts or vv., each of significance in itself and
the whole resulting in a coherent texture.
Counterpoint

Clendinning & Marvin (p.166):

Counterpoint is created when two or more different
melodic lines are combined so that the lines form
harmonies, or when individual voices in a succession of
harmonies make good melodic lines. The process of
connecting harmonic and melodic intervals is called voice-
leading.
Counterpoint is a form of polyphonic writing

The rules of counterpoint dictate permissible intervals,

directions, contours, and other relationships between the
various (two or more) voices

Counterpoint writing does not “think” in terms of harmonic

progression

However, harmonic progression may be a consequence of

what is written – even if only implied
Species Counterpoint

The idea of species counterpoint has developed essentially

as a teaching mechanism

There are five species of counterpoint, each progressively

more involved than the previous, and each introducing new
rules for the relationships between parts

Cantus Firmus – “fixed song”

- often abbreviated to cantus, or CF / cf.

Each species of counterpoint adds another melodic line to

partner the cantus
Each species involves a particular temporal relationship
between the cantus and the added melody (or melodies)

A composition in counterpoint may have more than one

melodic line added, and each may have a different species
relationship to the cantus – for example, one voice may
have a first species relationship, and another a second
species relationship, or other configurations
Because we are not working or thinking in in harmonic
progression, we are not necessarily working in SATB
relationships, although we may be in some instances

Referring to parts in SATB terms can therefore become

ambiguous and potentially confusing, unless it is entirely
clear that those relationships are present (as they are in
Example 10.19 below, for example)

Accordingly it is generally preferable to refer to voices

according to their register position – upper, middle, lower,
etc
In a counterpoint composition, the cantus may be repeated
any number of times

In each repetition the cantus remains structurally the same,

although it may move between different voices (upper,
middle, lower) and it may move between octaves

We cannot “hear” the rules of counterpoint composition, but

we can learn to identify the various species according to the
temporal relationships at work

We can also learn to identify the cantus firmus in different

contexts
Note that for species purposes, the composition is always in
a ♮4 time signature, and the cantus firmus is always written in
semibreves – or one note to each bar ( )

The cantus firmus always begins and ends on the tonic

The Five Species

• First Species Counterpoint

In first species counterpoint the added voice moves in equal

tempo to the cantus firmus – in other words one semibreve
per bar ( )

First species is sometimes referred to as “note for note”, or

“note against note”

You can think of the voices as existing in a 1:1 relationship

• Second Species Counterpoint

In second species counterpoint the added voice moves at

twice the tempo of the cantus firmus – two minims per bar
( )

You can think of the added voice as existing in a 2:1

relationship to the cantus firmus

Note that on the stave, the second species voice usually

begins after a minim rest ( ), in order to help to
distinguish it from the cantus firmus
• Third Species Counterpoint

In third species counterpoint the added voice moves at four

times the tempo of the cantus firmus – four crotchets per
bar ( )

You can think of the added voice as existing in a 4:1

relationship to the cantus firmus

Note that on the stave, the third species voice usually

begins after a crotchet rest ( ), in order to help to
distinguish it from the cantus firmus
• Fourth Species Counterpoint

In fourth species counterpoint the added voice moves in

equal tempo to the cantus firmus, but it is offset by a minim,
such that it is written as two minims tied across the bar line
( )

The added voice is now syncopated against the cantus

firmus

On the stave, the fourth species voice necessarily begins

after a minim rest ( )
• Fifth Species Counterpoint

In fifth species counterpoint the added voice, or voices, may

exist in any combination of the above species, and may
include smaller durations than a crotchet

Fifth species is sometimes called “free” counterpoint, or

“florid” counterpoint
First Species Counterpoint
Clendinning & Marvin, p.167, Example 9.1
First Species Counterpoint
Clendinning & Marvin, p.168, Example 9.2
First Species Counterpoint
Clendinning & Marvin, p.171, Example 9.4
Second Species Counterpoint
Clendinning & Marvin, p.182, Example 10.1
Second Species Counterpoint
Clendinning & Marvin, p.187, Example 10.5
Third Species Counterpoint
Clendinning & Marvin, p.191, Example 10.8
Third Species Counterpoint
Clendinning & Marvin, p.195, Example 10.11
Fourth Species Counterpoint
Clendinning & Marvin, p.199, Example 10.15
Fourth Species Counterpoint
Clendinning & Marvin, p.200, Example 10.16
Fifth Species Counterpoint
Clendinning & Marvin, p.204, Example 10.19
Required Reading
Clendinning & Marvin: Chapter 10: Melodic and Rhythmic
Embellishment in Two-Voice Composition

Also highly recommended

Clendinning & Marvin: Chapter 9: Connecting Intervals in Note-to-
Note Counterpoint.

References and Further Reading

"Counterpoint." The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev.
Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e24
98.

Pankhurst, Tom. (2001). “A Brief Guide to Species Counterpoint.”

SchenkerGUIDE. Tom Pankhurst's Guide to Schenkerian
Analysis. http://www.schenkerguide.com/species1.html