In music theory, contrary motion is the general movement of two melodic lines or pitches in opposite directions. For example, in one melodic line a note moving to another of a higher pitch, a second line in contrary motion would have this note moving to another of a lower pitch at the same time.
The concept of contrary motion is important in the analysis of musical themes. To create a variation of a certain theme, one technique is to subject the theme to make it move in contrary motion to the original.
Hence we speak of the intermediate as in a sense a contrary relatively to the extremes and of either extreme as a contrary relatively to the intermediate: for instance, the central note is low relatively-to the highest and high relatively to the lowest, and grey is light relatively to fl and dark relatively to white.
Motion in respect of Quantity has no name that includes both contraries, but it is called increase or decrease according as one or the other is designated: that is to say motion in the direction of complete magnitude is increase, motion in the contrary direction is decrease.
And wherever a pair of contraries admit of an intermediate, motions to that intermediate must be held to be in a sense motions to one or other of the contraries: for the intermediate serves as a contrary for the purposes of the motion, in whichever direction the change may be, e.g.
a motion from health and a motion to disease; or motions respectively from a contrary to the opposite contrary and from the latter to the former, e.
Since then change differs from motion (motion being change from a particular subject to a particular subject), it follows that contrarymotions are motions respectively from a contrary to the opposite contrary and from the latter to the former, e.
And wherever a pair of contraries admit of an intermediate, motions to that intermediate must be held to be in a sense motions to one or other of the contraries: for the intermediate serves as a contrary for the purposes of the motion, in whichever direction the change may be, e.
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