In
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more
musical lines (or voices) which are
harmonically
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However, ...
interdependent yet independent in
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular re ...
and
melodic contour
Melodic motion is the quality of movement of a melody, including nearness or farness of successive pitches or notes in a melody. This may be described as conjunct or disjunct, stepwise, skipwise or no movement, respectively. See also contrapunta ...
. It has been most commonly identified in the
European classical tradition, strongly developing during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
and in much of the
common practice period
In European art music, the common-practice period is the era of the tonal system. Most of its features persisted from the mid-Baroque period through the Classical and Romantic periods, roughly from 1650 to 1900. There was much stylistic evoluti ...
, especially in the
Baroque period
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
. The term originates from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''punctus contra punctum'' meaning "point against point", i.e. "note against note".
In Western
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
, counterpoint is taught through a system of species (see below).
There are several different forms of counterpoint, including imitative counterpoint and free counterpoint. Imitative counterpoint involves the repetition of a main melodic idea across different vocal parts, with or without variation. Compositions written in free counterpoint often incorporate non-traditional harmonies and chords,
chromaticism and
dissonance.
General principles
The term "counterpoint" has been used to designate a voice or even an entire composition. Counterpoint focuses on melodic interaction—only secondarily on the harmonies produced by that interaction. In the words of
John Rahn
John Rahn, born on February 26, 1944, in New York City, is a music theorist, composer, bassoonist, and Professor of Music at the University of Washington School of Music, Seattle. A former student of Milton Babbitt and Benjamin Boretz, he was e ...
:
Work initiated by
Guerino Mazzola
Guerino Bruno Mazzola (born 1947) is a Swiss mathematician, musicologist, jazz pianist as well as a writer.
Education and career
Mazzola obtained his PhD in mathematics at University of Zürich in 1971 under the supervision of Herbert Groß and ...
(born 1947) has given counterpoint theory a mathematical foundation. In particular, Mazzola's model gives a structural (and not psychological) foundation of forbidden parallels of fifths and the dissonant fourth. Octavio Agustin has extended the model to
microtonal
Microtonal music or microtonality is the use in music of microtones— intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of t ...
contexts.
In counterpoint, the ''functional independence'' of voices is the prime concern. The violation of this principle leads to special effects, which are avoided in counterpoint. In organ registers, certain interval combinations and chords are activated by a single key so that playing a melody results in parallel voice leading. These voices, losing independence, are fused into one and the parallel chords are perceived as single tones with a new timbre. This effect is also used in orchestral arrangements; for instance, in
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
’s Bolero #5 the parallel parts of flutes, horn and celesta resemble the sound of an electric organ. In counterpoint, parallel voices are prohibited because they violate the homogeneity of musical texture when independent voices occasionally disappear turning into a new timbre quality and vice versa.
Development
Some examples of related compositional techniques include: the
round
Round or rounds may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere
* Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...
(familiar in folk traditions), the
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
, and perhaps the most complex contrapuntal convention: the
fugue. All of these are examples of
imitative counterpoint.
Examples from the repertoire
There are many examples of song melodies that are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. For example, "
Frère Jacques
"Frère Jacques" (, ), also known in English as "Brother John", is a nursery rhyme of French origin. The rhyme is traditionally sung in a round.
The song is about a friar who has overslept and is urged to wake up and sound the bell for the mat ...
" and "
Three Blind Mice
"Three Blind Mice" is an English-language nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number o ...
" combine euphoniously when sung together. A number of popular songs that share the same
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...
can also be sung together as counterpoint. A well-known pair of examples is "
My Way
"My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...
" combined with "
Life on Mars
The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...
".
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
's 3-part
Invention in F minor combines three independent melodies:
According to pianist
András Schiff, Bach's counterpoint influenced the composing of both
Mozart and
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
. In the
development section
Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th c ...
of the opening movement of Beethoven's
Piano Sonata in E minor, Beethoven demonstrates this influence by adding "a wonderful counterpoint" to one of the main themes.
A further example of fluid counterpoint in late Beethoven may be found in the first orchestral variation on the "
Ode to Joy
"Ode to Joy" (German language, German: , literally "To heJoy") is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller and published the following year in ''Thalia (magazine), Thalia''. A slightl ...
" theme in the last movement of Beethoven's
Symphony No. 9, bars 116–123. The famous theme is heard on the
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
s and
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
s, while "the
basses
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass ...
add a bass-line whose sheer unpredictability gives the impression that it is being spontaneously improvised. Meantime a solo
bassoon adds a counterpoint that has a similarly impromptu quality."
In the Prelude to
Richard Wagner's opera ''
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'', three themes from the opera are combined simultaneously. According to
Gordon Jacob
Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about ...
, "This is universally and justly acclaimed as an extraordinary feat of virtuosity." However,
Donald Tovey
Sir Donald Francis Tovey (17 July 187510 July 1940) was a British musical analyst, musicologist, writer on music, composer, conductor and pianist. He had been best known for his '' Essays in Musical Analysis'' and his editions of works by Bach ...
points out that here "the combination of themes ... unlike classical counterpoint, really do not of themselves combine into complete or euphonious harmony."
One spectacular example of 5-voice counterpoint can be found in the finale to Mozart's
Symphony No 41 ("Jupiter" Symphony). Here five tunes combine simultaneously in "a rich tapestry of dialogue":
See also
Invertible counterpoint
In music theory, an inversion is a type of change to intervals, chords, voices (in counterpoint), and melodies. In each of these cases, "inversion" has a distinct but related meaning. The concept of inversion also plays an important role in mu ...
.
Species counterpoint
![Counterpoint species 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Counterpoint_species_3.svg)
Species counterpoint was developed as a pedagogical tool in which students progress through several "species" of increasing complexity, with a very simple part that remains constant known as the
cantus firmus
In music, a ''cantus firmus'' ("fixed melody") is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.
The plural of this Latin term is , although the corrupt form ''canti firmi'' (resulting from the grammatically incorrect tre ...
(Latin for "fixed melody"). Species counterpoint generally offers less freedom to the composer than other types of counterpoint and therefore is called a "strict" counterpoint. The student gradually attains the ability to write ''free'' counterpoint (that is, less rigorously constrained counterpoint, usually without a cantus firmus) according to the given rules at the time. The idea is at least as old as 1532, when Giovanni Maria Lanfranco described a similar concept in his ''Scintille di musica'' (Brescia, 1533). The 16th-century
Venetian theorist
Zarlino elaborated on the idea in his influential ''Le institutioni harmoniche'', and it was first presented in a codified form in 1619 by
Lodovico Zacconi
Lodovico (or Ludovico) Zacconi (11 June 1555 – 23 March 1627) was an Italian composer and musical theorist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He worked as a singer, theologian, and writer on music in northern Italy and Austria; f ...
in his ''Prattica di musica''. Zacconi, unlike later theorists, included a few extra contrapuntal techniques, such as
invertible counterpoint
In music theory, an inversion is a type of change to intervals, chords, voices (in counterpoint), and melodies. In each of these cases, "inversion" has a distinct but related meaning. The concept of inversion also plays an important role in mu ...
.
![Fux-Gradus-ad-Parnassum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Fux-Gradus-ad-Parnassum.jpg)
In 1725
Johann Joseph Fux
Johann Joseph Fux (; – 13 February 1741) was an Austrian composer, music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era. His most enduring work is not a musical composition but his treatise on counterpoint, '' Gradus ad Parnassum'', which has ...
published ''
Gradus ad Parnassum
The Latin phrase ''gradus ad Parnassum'' means "steps to Parnassus". It is sometimes shortened to ''gradus''. The name ''Parnassus'' was used to denote the loftiest part of a mountain range in central Greece, a few kilometres north of Delphi, of wh ...
'' (Steps to Parnassus), in which he described five species:
#Note against note;
#Two notes against one;
#Four notes against one;
#Notes offset against each other (as
suspensions
In chemistry, a suspension is a heterogeneous mixture of a fluid that contains solid particles sufficiently large for sedimentation. The particles may be visible to the naked eye, usually must be larger than one micrometer, and will eventually ...
);
#All the first four species together, as "florid" counterpoint.
A succession of later theorists quite closely imitated Fux's seminal work, often with some small and idiosyncratic modifications in the rules. Many of Fux's rules concerning the purely linear construction of melodies have their origin in solfeggi. Concerning the common practice era, alterations to the melodic rules were introduced to enable the function of certain harmonic forms. The combination of these melodies produced the basic harmonic structure, the
figured bass
Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsi ...
.
Considerations for all species
The following rules apply to melodic writing in each species, for each part:
#The
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
note must be approached by
step
Step(s) or STEP may refer to:
Common meanings
* Stairs#Step, Steps, making a staircase
* Walking
* Dance move
* Military step, or march
** Marching
Arts Films and television
* Steps (TV series), ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong
* Step (film), ' ...
. If the final is approached from below, then the
leading tone
In music theory, a leading-tone (also called a subsemitone, and a leading-note in the UK) is a note or pitch which resolves or "leads" to a note one semitone higher or lower, being a lower and upper leading-tone, respectively. Typically, ''the ...
must be raised in a minor key (Dorian, Hypodorian, Aeolian, Hypoaeolian), but not in Phrygian or Hypophrygian mode. Thus, in the Dorian mode on D, a C is necessary at the
cadence
In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (199 ...
.
#Permitted melodic intervals are the perfect unison, fourth, fifth, and octave, as well as the major and minor second, major and minor third, and ascending minor sixth. The ascending minor sixth must be immediately followed by motion downwards.
#If writing two
skips in the same direction—something that must be only rarely done—the second must be smaller than the first, and the interval between the first and the third note may not be dissonant. The three notes should be from the same triad; if this is impossible, they should not outline more than one octave. In general, do not write more than two skips in the same direction.
#If writing a skip in one direction, it is best to proceed after the skip with step-wise motion in the other direction.
#The interval of a
tritone
In music theory, the tritone is defined as a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones (six semitones). For instance, the interval from F up to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be decomposed into the three adj ...
in three notes should be avoided (for example, an ascending melodic motion F–A–B) as is the interval of a seventh in three notes.
#There must be a climax or high point in the line countering the
cantus firmus
In music, a ''cantus firmus'' ("fixed melody") is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.
The plural of this Latin term is , although the corrupt form ''canti firmi'' (resulting from the grammatically incorrect tre ...
. This usually occurs somewhere in the middle of exercise and must occur on a strong beat.
#An outlining of a seventh is avoided within a single line moving in the same direction.
And, in all species, the following rules govern the combination of the parts:
#The counterpoint must begin and end on a perfect
consonance
In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unpl ...
.
#
Contrary motion should dominate.
#Perfect consonances must be approached by oblique or contrary motion.
#Imperfect consonances may be approached by any type of motion.
#The interval of a tenth should not be exceeded between two adjacent parts unless by necessity.
#Build from the bass, upward.
First species
In ''first species'' counterpoint, each note in every added part (parts being also referred to as ''lines'' or ''voices'') sounds against one note in the cantus firmus. Notes in all parts are sounded simultaneously, and move against each other simultaneously. Since all notes in First species counterpoint are whole notes, rhythmic independence is not available.
In the present context, a "step" is a melodic interval of a half or whole step. A "skip" is an interval of a third or fourth. (See
Steps and skips
In music, a step, or conjunct motion,Bonds, Mark Evan (2006). ''A History of Music in Western Culture'', p.123. 2nd ed. . is the difference in pitch between two consecutive notes of a musical scale. In other words, it is the interval between ...
.) An interval of a fifth or larger is referred to as a "leap".
A few further rules given by Fux, by study of the Palestrina style, and usually given in the works of later counterpoint pedagogues, are as follows.
#Begin and end on either the unison, octave, or fifth, unless the added part is underneath, in which case begin and end only on unison or octave.
#Use no unisons except at the beginning or end.
#Avoid
parallel fifths or octaves between any two parts; and avoid
"hidden" parallel fifths or octaves: that is, movement by
similar motion to a perfect fifth or octave, unless one part (sometimes restricted to the ''higher'' of the parts) moves by step.
#Avoid moving in parallel fourths. (In practice Palestrina and others frequently allowed themselves such progressions, especially if they do not involve the lowest of the parts.)
#Do not use an interval more than three times in a row.
#Attempt to use up to three parallel thirds or sixths in a row.
#Attempt to keep any two adjacent parts within a tenth of each other, unless an exceptionally pleasing line can be written by moving outside that range.
#Avoid having any two parts move in the same direction by skip.
#Attempt to have as much contrary motion as possible.
#Avoid dissonant intervals between any two parts: major or minor second, major or minor seventh, any augmented or diminished interval, and perfect fourth (in many contexts).
In the adjacent example in two parts, the cantus firmus is the lower part. (The same cantus firmus is used for later examples also. Each is in the
Dorian mode
Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different but interrelated subjects: one of the Ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' (characteristic melodic behaviour, or the scale structure associated with it); one of the medieval musical modes; or—mo ...
.)
Second species
In ''second species'' counterpoint, two notes in each of the added parts work against each longer note in the given part.
Additional considerations in second species counterpoint are as follows, and are in addition to the considerations for first species:
#It is permissible to begin on an upbeat, leaving a half-rest in the added voice.
#The accented beat must have only consonance (perfect or imperfect). The unaccented beat may have dissonance, but only as a passing tone, i.e. it must be approached and left by step in the same direction.
#Avoid the interval of the unison except at the beginning or end of the example, except that it may occur on the unaccented portion of the bar.
#Use caution with successive accented perfect fifths or octaves. They must not be used as part of a sequential pattern. The example shown is weak due to similar motion in the second measure in both voices. A good rule to follow: if one voice skips or jumps try to use step-wise motion in the other voice or at the very least contrary motion.
Third species
In ''third species'' counterpoint, four (or three, etc.) notes move against each longer note in the given part.
Three special figures are introduced into third species and later added to fifth species, and ultimately outside the restrictions of ''species writing''. There are three figures to consider: The ''nota
cambiata Cambiata, or ''nota cambiata'' (Italian for ''changed note''), has a number of different and related meanings in music. Generally it refers to a pattern in a homophonic or polyphonic (and usually contrapuntal) setting of a melody where a note is s ...
'', ''double neighbor tones'', and ''double passing tones''.
Double neighbor tones: the figure is prolonged over four beats and allows special dissonances. The upper and lower tones are prepared on beat 1 and resolved on beat 4. The fifth note or downbeat of the next measure should move by step in the same direction as the last two notes of the double neighbor figure. Lastly a double passing tone allows two dissonant passing tones in a row. The figure would consist of 4 notes moving in the same direction by step. The two notes that allow dissonance would be beat 2 and 3 or 3 and 4. The dissonant interval of a fourth would proceed into a diminished fifth and the next note would resolve at the interval of a sixth.
Fourth species
In ''fourth species'' counterpoint, some notes are sustained or ''suspended'' in an added part while notes move against them in the given part, often creating a
dissonance on the beat, followed by the suspended note then changing (and "catching up") to create a subsequent
consonance
In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unpl ...
with the note in the given part as it continues to sound. As before, fourth species counterpoint is called ''expanded'' when the added-part notes vary in length among themselves. The technique requires chains of notes sustained across the boundaries determined by beat, and so creates
syncopation. Also, it is important to note that a dissonant interval is allowed on beat 1 because of the syncopation created by the suspension. While it is not incorrect to start with a half note, it is also common to start 4th species with a half rest.
\relative c'
Short example of "fourth species" counterpoint
Fifth species (florid counterpoint)
In ''fifth species'' counterpoint, sometimes called ''florid counterpoint'', the other four species of counterpoint are combined within the added parts. In the example, the first and second bars are second species, the third bar is third species, the fourth and fifth bars are third and embellished fourth species, and the final bar is first species. In florid counterpoint it is important that no one species dominates the composition.
\relative c'
Short example of "Florid" counterpoint
Contrapuntal derivations
Since the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
period in European music, much contrapuntal music has been written in imitative counterpoint. In imitative counterpoint, two or more voices enter at different times, and (especially when entering) each voice repeats some version of the same melodic element. The
fantasia, the
ricercar
A ricercar ( , ) or ricercare ( , ) is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. The term ''ricercar'' derives from the Italian verb which means 'to search out; to seek'; many ricercars serve a preludial funct ...
, and later, the
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
and
fugue (the contrapuntal form ''par excellence'') all feature imitative counterpoint, which also frequently appears in
choral works such as
motets and
madrigals
A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the number ...
. Imitative counterpoint spawned a number of devices, including:
;
Melodic inversion
In music theory, an inversion is a type of change to intervals, chords, voices (in counterpoint), and melodies. In each of these cases, "inversion" has a distinct but related meaning. The concept of inversion also plays an important role in mu ...
: The inverse of a given fragment of melody is the fragment turned upside down—so if the original fragment has a rising major third (see
interval), the inverted fragment has a falling major (or perhaps minor) third, etc. (Compare, in
twelve-tone technique
The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer, who published his "law o ...
, the inversion of the tone row, which is the so-called prime series turned upside down.) (Note: in ''invertible counterpoint'', including ''double'' and ''triple counterpoint'', the term ''inversion'' is used in a different sense altogether. At least one pair of parts is switched, so that the one that was higher becomes lower. See
Inversion in counterpoint; it is not a kind of imitation, but a rearrangement of the parts.)
;
Retrograde: Whereby an imitative voice sounds the melody backwards in relation to the leading voice.
;
Retrograde inversion
Retrograde inversion is a musical term that literally means "backwards and upside down": "The inverse of the series is sounded in reverse order." Retrograde reverses the order of the motif's pitches: what was the first pitch becomes the last, and ...
: Where the imitative voice sounds the melody backwards and upside-down at once.
;
Augmentation: When in one of the parts in imitative counterpoint the note values are extended in duration compared to the rate at which they were sounded when introduced.
;
Diminution
In Western music and music theory, diminution (from Medieval Latin ''diminutio'', alteration of Latin ''deminutio'', decrease) has four distinct meanings. Diminution may be a form of embellishment in which a long note is divided into a series ...
: When in one of the parts in imitative counterpoint the note values are reduced in duration compared to the rate at which they were sounded when introduced.
Free counterpoint
Broadly speaking, due to the development of harmony, from the Baroque period on, most contrapuntal compositions were written in the style of free counterpoint. This means that the general focus of the composer had shifted away from how the intervals of added melodies related to a ''
cantus firmus
In music, a ''cantus firmus'' ("fixed melody") is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.
The plural of this Latin term is , although the corrupt form ''canti firmi'' (resulting from the grammatically incorrect tre ...
'', and more toward how they related to each other.
Nonetheless, according to
Kent Kennan: "....actual teaching in that fashion (free counterpoint) did not become widespread until the late nineteenth century." Young composers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, such as
Mozart,
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
, and
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
, were still educated in the style of "strict" counterpoint, but in practice, they would look for ways to expand on the traditional concepts of the subject.
Main features of free counterpoint:
# All forbidden chords, such as second-inversion, seventh, ninth etc., can be used freely as long as they resolve to a consonant triad
# Chromaticism is allowed
# The restrictions about rhythmic-placement of dissonance are removed. It is possible to use passing tones on the accented beat
# Appoggiatura is available: dissonance tones can be approached by leaps.
Linear counterpoint
Linear counterpoint is "a purely horizontal technique in which the integrity of the individual melodic lines is not sacrificed to harmonic considerations. "Its distinctive feature is rather the concept of melody, which served as the starting-point for the adherents of the 'new objectivity' when they set up linear counterpoint as an anti-type to the Romantic harmony." The voice parts move freely, irrespective of the effects their combined motions may create."
[Katz, Adele (1946). ''Challenge to Musical Tradition: A New Concept of Tonality'' (New York: A. A. Knopf), p. 340. Reprinted New York: Da Capo Press, 1972; reprinted n.p.: Katz Press, 2007, .] In other words, either "the domination of the horizontal (linear) aspects over the vertical"
[Ulrich, Homer (1962). ''Music: a Design for Listening'', second edition (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World), p. 438.] is featured or the "harmonic control of lines is rejected."
Associated with
neoclassicism,
the technique was first used in
Igor Stravinsky's ''
Octet
Octet may refer to:
Music
* Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble
** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments
*** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 compos ...
'' (1923),
inspired by
J. S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
and
Giovanni Palestrina. However, according to
Knud Jeppesen
Knud Jeppesen (15 August 1892 – 14 June 1974) was a Danish musicologist and composer. He was the leading scholar of the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, about whose life and music he wrote numerous studies.
Biography
Jeppesen demons ...
: "Bach's and Palestrina's points of departure are antipodal. Palestrina starts out from lines and arrives at chords; Bach's music grows out of an ideally harmonic background, against which the voices develop with a bold independence that is often breath-taking."
According to Cunningham, linear harmony is "a frequent approach in the 20th century...
n which linesare combined with almost careless abandon in the hopes that new 'chords' and 'progressions'...will result." It is possible with "any kind of line, diatonic or
duodecuple".
[Cunningham, Michael (2007). ''Technique for Composers'', p. 144. .]
Dissonant counterpoint
Dissonant counterpoint was originally theorized by
Charles Seeger
Charles Louis Seeger Jr. (December 14, 1886 – February 7, 1979) was an American musicologist, composer, teacher, and folklorist. He was the father of the American folk singers Pete Seeger (1919–2014), Peggy Seeger (b. 1935), and Mike Seeger ( ...
as "at first purely a school-room discipline," consisting of species counterpoint but with all the traditional rules reversed. First species counterpoint must be all dissonances, establishing "dissonance, rather than consonance, as the rule," and consonances are "resolved" through a skip, not step. He wrote that "the effect of this discipline" was "one of purification". Other
aspects of composition, such as rhythm, could be "dissonated" by applying the same principle.
Seeger was not the first to employ dissonant counterpoint, but was the first to theorize and promote it. Other composers who have used dissonant counterpoint, if not in the exact manner prescribed by Charles Seeger, include
Johanna Beyer,
John Cage,
Ruth Crawford-Seeger,
Vivian Fine,
Carl Ruggles
Carl Ruggles (born Charles Sprague Ruggles; March 11, 1876 – October 24, 1971) was an American composer, painter and teacher. His pieces employed "dissonant counterpoint", a term coined by fellow composer and musicologist Charles Seeger ...
,
Henry Cowell,
Carlos Chávez
Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez (13 June 1899 – 2 August 1978) was a Mexican composer, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influenced by nativ ...
,
John J. Becker,
Henry Brant
Henry Dreyfuss Brant (September 15, 1913 – April 26, 2008) was a Canadian-born American composer. An expert orchestrator with a flair for experimentation, many of Brant's works featured spatialization techniques.
Biography
Brant was born i ...
,
Lou Harrison
Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his for ...
,
Wallingford Riegger
Wallingford Constantine Riegger ( ; April 29, 1885 – April 2, 1961) was an American modernist composer and pianist, best known for his orchestral and modern dance music. He was born in Albany, Georgia, but spent most of his career in New York Ci ...
, and
Frank Wigglesworth.
[Spilker, John D.]
''"Substituting a New Order": Dissonant Counterpoint, Henry Cowell, and the network of ultra-modern composers''
, Ph.D. dissertation, Florida State University College of Music
The Florida State University College of Music, located in Tallahassee, Florida, is one of sixteen colleges comprising Florida State University. The college houses two Grammy winners, a former concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, a Pulitzer P ...
, 2010.
See also
*
Counter-melody
In music, a counter-melody (often countermelody) is a sequence of notes, perceived as a melody, written to be played simultaneously with a more prominent lead melody. In other words, it is a secondary melody played in counterpoint with the prima ...
*
Hauptstimme
In music, (German for ''primary voice'') or is the main voice, chief part; i.e., the contrapuntal or melodic line of primary importance, in opposition to . (German for ''secondary voice'') or is the secondary part; i.e., a secondary contr ...
*
Polyphony
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, ...
*
Polyrhythm
Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music ( cross-rhyt ...
*
Voice leading
Voice leading (or part writing) is the linear progression of individual melodic lines ( voices or parts) and their interaction with one another to create harmonies, typically in accordance with the principles of common-practice harmony and counte ...
References
Sources
*
*
Further reading
*Kurth, Ernst (1991). "Foundations of Linear Counterpoint". In ''Ernst Kurth: Selected Writings'', selected and translated by Lee Allen Rothfarb, foreword by Ian Bent, p. 37–95. Cambridge Studies in Music Theory and Analysis 2. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. Paperback reprint 2006. (cloth); (pbk)
*
*Prout, Ebenezer (1890). ''Counterpoint: Strict and Free''. London: Augener & Co.
*Spalding, Walter Raymond (1904). ''Tonal Counterpoint: Studies in Part-writing''. Boston, New York: A. P. Schmidt.
External links
An explanation and teach yourself method for Species Counterpointntoll.org: Species Counterpointby Nicholas H. Tollervey
by David Nicholls from his ''American Experimental Music: 1890–1940''
Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary: Dissonant counterpoint examples and definitionCounterpointer:Software tutorial for the study of counterpointby Jeffrey Evans
by Dan Brown, music critic from Cornell University, from his web book ''Why Bach?''
"contrapuntal—a collaborative arts project by Benjamin Skepper"Principles of Counterpoint by Alan Belkin
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