Introduction to Counterpoint
Updated: 2026-07-04Counterpoint is the art of combining several independent melodic lines sounding together — a polyphonic texture, as opposed to one main melody plus accompaniment.
Key takeaways
- Counterpoint is a polyphonic texture: several independent melodic lines sounding together.
- Species counterpoint trains you through five species of increasing complexity against a cantus firmus.
- The species: 1:1, 2:1, 4:1, syncopation (suspensions), and free ("florid").
- Every species follows the rule against parallels.
- Invention and fugue are imitative genres where a subject enters voice by voice.
What is species counterpoint?
It's a method for practicing a line against a cantus firmus, growing in complexity through five species. Species counterpoint is the classic training method: writing a line against a cantus firmus (a given melody), increasing in complexity through five "species":
| Species | Feature |
|---|---|
| First | Note against note (1 : 1) |
| Second | Two notes against one (2 : 1) |
| Third | Four notes against one (4 : 1) |
| Fourth | Syncopation — using suspensions |
| Fifth | Free ("florid") — a mix of all four above |
Each species trains a skill: from choosing consonant intervals, to independent motion, to handling dissonance — all while following the rule against parallels.
How do invention and fugue differ?
Both are imitative genres, but an invention is usually just two voices, while a fugue has several voices with a subject, answer, and countersubject. Counterpoint reaches its height in imitative genres:
- Invention: a short (usually two-voice) contrapuntal piece by Bach; the exposition presents a short subject, then the other voice imitates it.
- Fugue: a contrapuntal genre built on a subject that the voices enter one by one in imitation. The exposition has the subject in the tonic, the answer in the dominant, and often a countersubject alongside it. Episodes and further subject entries in various keys follow.
See Accompanimental Textures for polyphonic texture, and Melodic Analysis for how a subject is altered and developed.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cantus firmus? It's the given melody you write a line against in species counterpoint — the foundation for training each skill across the five species.
What's special about fourth species? Fourth species is the syncopated species, built on suspensions — it trains dissonance handling before you reach the free fifth species.
In a fugue, what is the "answer"? It's the subject restated in the dominant right after the subject enters in the tonic, often accompanied by a countersubject in the voice that stated the subject first.