In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony. It has most commonly been identified in Western music, developing strongly in the Renaissance, and also dominant in much of the common practice period, especially in Baroque music. The term comes from the Latin punctum contra punctum ("note against note"). The adjectival form contrapuntal shows this Latin source more transparently. In music, counterpoint is a texture involving the simultaneous sounding of separate melodies or lines against each other. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... In music, a register is the relative height or range of a note, set of pitches or pitch classes, melody, part, instrument or group of instruments. ... Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ... Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music. ... Western music is the genres of music originating in the Western world (Europe and its former colonies) including Western classical music, American Jazz, Country and Western, pop music and rock and roll. ... Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... In music the common practice period is a long period in western musical history spanning from before the classical era proper to today, dated, on the outside, as 1600-1900. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ...

General principles

In all eras, writing of music organized contrapuntally has been subject to rules, sometimes strict. By definition, chords occur when multiple notes sound simultaneously; however, chordal, harmonic, "vertical" features are considered secondary and almost incidental when counterpoint is the predominant textural element. Counterpoint focuses on melodic interaction rather than harmonic effects generated when melodic strands sound together. In the words of John Rahn: Typical fingering for a second inversion C major chord on a guitar. ... In music theory, an interval is the relationship between two notes or pitches, the lower and higher members of the interval. ...

"It is hard to write a beautiful song. It is harder to write several individually beautiful songs that, when sung simultaneously, sound as a more beautiful polyphonic whole. The internal structures that create each of the voices separately must contribute to the emergent structure of the polyphony, which in turn must reinforce and comment on the structures of the individual voices. The way that is accomplished in detail is...'counterpoint'."^[1]

The separation of harmony and counterpoint is not absolute. It is impossible to write simultaneous lines without producing harmony, and impossible to write harmony without linear activity. The composer who chooses to ignore one aspect in favour of the other still must face the fact that the listener cannot simply turn off harmonic or linear hearing at will; thus the composer risks creating annoying distractions unintendedly. Bach's counterpoint—often considered the most profound synthesis of the two dimensions ever achieved—is extremely rich harmonically and always clearly directed tonally, while the individual lines remain fascinating. “Bach” redirects here. ...

Development

Counterpoint was elaborated extensively in the Renaissance period, but composers of the Baroque period brought counterpoint to a kind of culmination, and it may be said that, broadly speaking, harmony then took over as the predominant organizing principle in musical composition. The Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach wrote most of his music incorporating counterpoint, and explicitly and systematically explored the full range of contrapuntal possibilities in such works as The Art of Fugue. Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. ... Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music. ... “Bach” redirects here. ... A portrait which may show Bach in 1750 The Art of Fugue or The Art of the Fugue (original German: Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV 1080, is an unfinished work by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. ...

Given the way terminology in music history has evolved, such music created from the Baroque period on is described as contrapuntal, while music from before Baroque times is called polyphonic. Hence, the earlier composer Josquin des Prez is said to have written polyphonic music. Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. ... Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ... 1611 woodcut of Josquin des Prez, copied from a now-lost oil painting done during his lifetime. ...

Homophony, by contrast with polyphony, features music in which chords or vertical intervals work with a single melody without much consideration of the melodic character of the added accompanying elements, or of their melodic interactions with the melody they accompany. As suggested above, most popular music written today is predominantly homophonic, its composition governed mainly by considerations of chord and harmony; but, while general tendencies can often be fairly strong one way or another, rather than describing a musical work in absolute terms as either polyphonic or homophonic, it is a question of degree. Homophony is a musical term that describes the texture of two or more instruments or parts moving together and using the same rhythm. ... Typical fingering for a second inversion C major chord on a guitar. ... In music theory, the term interval describes the difference in pitch between two notes. ...

The form or compositional genre known as fugue is perhaps the most complex contrapuntal convention. Other examples include the round (familiar in folk traditions) and the canon. In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred to as voices, irrespective of whether the work is vocal or instrumental. ... A round is a musical composition in which two or more voices sing exactly the same melody over and over again, but with each voice beginning at different times. ... In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e. ...

In musical composition, contrapuntal techniques are important for enabling composers to generate musical ironies that serve not only to intrigue listeners into listening more intently to the spinning out of complexities found within the texture of a polyphonic composition, but also to draw them all the more into hearing the working out of these figures and interactions of musical dialogue. A melodic fragment, heard alone, makes a particular impression; but when the fragment is heard simultaneously with other melodic ideas, or combined in unexpected ways with itself (as in a canon or fugue), greater depths of affective meaning are revealed. Through development of a musical idea, the fragments undergo a working out into something musically greater than sum of the parts, something conceptually more profound than a single pleasing melody. In music texture is the overall quality of sound of a piece, most often indicated by the number of voices in the music and to the relationship between these voices (see below). ... Musical development is the transformation and restatement of initial material, often contrasted with musical variation, with which it may be difficult to distinguish as a general process. ...

Excellent examples of counterpoint in jazz include Gerry Mulligan's Young Blood, Bill Holman's Invention for Guitar and Trumpet and his Theme and Variations, as well as recordings by Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer, Johnny Richards, and Jimmy Giuffre.^[2] Gerald Joseph Gerry Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996) was an American jazz musician, composer and arranger best known for his baritone saxophone playing. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 in Philadelphia – June 6, 1991 in Malibu, California), usually known by his stage name Stan Getz, was an American jazz musician. ... Robert Brookmeyer (born December 19, 1929) is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, and arranger. ... Johnny Richards was a jazz arranger in the mid-20th century United States. ... James Peter Giuffre (born in Dallas, Texas, 1921) is an American jazz saxophone and clarinet player. ...

Species counterpoint

Species counterpoint is a type of so-called strict counterpoint, developed as a pedagogical tool, in which a student progresses through several "species" of increasing complexity, always working a very plain given part in the cantus firmus (Latin for "fixed melody"). The student gradually attains the ability to write free counterpoint (that is, less rigorously constrained counterpoint, usually without a cantus firmus) according to the rules at the given time.^[3] The idea is at least as old as 1532, when Giovanni Lanfranco described a similar concept in his Scintille di musica. The late 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 in his Prattica di musica. Zacconi, unlike later theorists, included a few extra contrapuntal techniques as species, for example invertible counterpoint. In music, a cantus firmus (fixed song) is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition, often set apart by being played in long notes. ... Events May 16 - Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England. ... Giovanni Lanfranco (born: 26 January 1582, Parma, Italy - died: 30 November 1647, Rome) was an Italian baroque painter. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... San Marco in the evening. ... Gioseffe Zarlino (1517 - 4 February 1590) was an Italian musical theorist. ... Lodovico Zacconi (1555 - 1627) was an Italian composer and music theorist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. ... In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. ...

By far the most famous pedagogue to use the term, and the one who made it famous, was Johann Fux. In 1725 he published Gradus ad Parnassum (Steps to Parnassus), a work intended to help teach students how to compose, using counterpoint—specifically, the contrapuntal style as practised by Palestrina in the late 16th century—as the principal technique. As the basis for his simplified and often over-restrictive codification of Palestrina's practice (see General notes, below), Fux described five species: Johann Joseph Fux Johann Joseph Fux (German fyːks) (1660 – February 13, 1741) was an Austrian composer, music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era. ... Events February 8 - Catherine I became empress of Russia February 20 - The first reported case of white men scalping Native Americans takes place in New Hampshire colony. ... Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (between 3 February 1525 and 2 February 1526[1] - 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. ...

1. Note against note;
2. Two notes against one;
3. Four (extended by others to include three, or six, etc.) notes against one;
4. Notes offset against each other (as suspensions);
5. All the first four species together, as "florid" counterpoint.

A succession of later theorists imitated Fux's seminal work quite closely, but often with some small and idiosyncratic modifications in the rules. A good example is Luigi Cherubini.^[4] A nonchord tone, nonharmonic tone, or non-harmony note is a note in a piece of music which is not a part of the chord that is formed by the other notes sounding at the time. ... Portrait of Luigi Cherubini. ...

Considerations for all species

Students of species counterpoint usually practice writing counterpoint in all the modes except Locrian (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian and Aeolian). The following rules apply to melodic writing in each species, for each part: This article is about modes as used in music. ... The Locrian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. ... The Ionian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. ... Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales. ... Due to historical confusion, Phrygian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales. ... Due to historical confusion, Lydian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales. ... The Mixolydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. ... The Aeolian mode comprises a musical mode or diatonic scale. ...

1. The final must be approached by step. If the final is approached from below, the leading tone must be raised, except in the case of the Phrygian mode. Thus, in the Dorian mode on D, a C# is necessary at the cadence.
2. Permitted melodic intervals are the perfect fourth, fifth, and octave, as well as the major and minor second, major and minor third, and ascending minor sixth. When the ascending minor sixth is used it must be immediately followed by motion downwards.
3. If writing two skips in the same direction—something which must be done only rarely—the second must be smaller than the first, and the interval between the first and the third note may not be dissonant.
4. If writing a skip in one direction, it is best to proceed after the skip with motion in the other direction.
5. The interval of a tritone in three notes is to be avoided (for example, an ascending melodic motion F - A - B natural), as is the interval of a seventh in three notes.

And, in all species, the following rules apply concerning the combination of the parts: In music, a step is a linear or succesive interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees. ... In music theory, a leading-tone (called the leading-note outside the US) 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. ... In music, a step is a linear or succesive interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees. ... For other uses, see Tritone (disambiguation). ...

1. The counterpoint must begin and end on a perfect consonance.
2. Contrary motion should predominate.
3. Perfect consonances must be approached by oblique or contrary motion
4. Imperfect consonances may be approached by any type of motion
5. The interval of a tenth should not be exceeded between two adjacent parts, unless by necessity.
6. Build from the bass, upward.

Finally, in species counterpoint it is important to remember that the interval of the perfect fourth is usually considered a dissonance. In music, a consonance (Latin consonare, sounding together) is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance, which is considered unstable. ... In music theory, contrary motion is the general movement of two melodic lines or pitches in opposite directions. ...

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. The species is said to be expanded if any of the added notes are broken up (simply repeated).

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.) An interval of a fifth or larger is referred to as a "leap". In music, a step is a linear or succesive interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees. ...

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. Some are vague, and since good judgement and taste have been regarded by contrapuntists as more important than strict observance of mechanical rules, there are many more cautions than prohibitions. But some are closer to being mandatory, and are accepted by most authorities.

1. 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.
2. Use no unisons except at the beginning or end.
3. 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.
4. 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.)
5. Avoid moving in parallel thirds or sixths for very long.
6. Attempt to keep any two adjacent parts within a tenth of each other, unless an exceptionally pleasing line can be written by moving outside of that range.
7. Avoid having any two parts move in the same direction by skip.
8. Attempt to have as much contrary motion as possible.
9. Avoid dissonant intervals between any two parts: major or minor 2nd, major or minor 7th, any augmented or diminished interval, and perfect fourth (in many contexts).

In the following 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.) In the course of the development of classical music from the Renaissance to the Baroque period, a number of musical rules sprung up which, although harmless to our modern ears, were considered taboo in the classical age. ... In the course of the development of classical music from the Renaissance to the Baroque period, a number of musical rules sprung up which, although harmless to our modern ears, were considered taboo in the classical age. ... In music theory, contrary motion is the general movement of two melodic lines or pitches in opposite directions. ... Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales. ...

Short example of "First Species" counterpoint

Second species

In second species counterpoint, two notes in each of the added parts work against each longer note in the given part. The species is said to be expanded if one of these two shorter notes differs in length from the other.

Additional considerations in second species counterpoint are as follows, and are in addition to the considerations for first species:

1. It is permissible to begin on an upbeat, leaving a half-rest in the added voice.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Use caution with successive accented perfect fifths or octaves. They must not be used as part of a sequential pattern.

Short example of "Second Species" counterpoint

Third species

In third species counterpoint, four (or three, etc.) notes move against each longer note in the given part. As with second species, it is called expanded if the shorter notes vary in length among themselves.

Short example of "Third Species" counterpoint

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 with the note in the given part as it continues to sound. As before, fourth species counterpoint is said to be 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. In music, a consonance (Latin consonare, sounding together) is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance, which is considered unstable. ... In music, a consonance (Latin consonare, sounding together) is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance, which is considered unstable. ... In music, syncopation is when a stressing of a normally unstressed beat in a bar or failure to sound a tone on an accented beat occurs. ...

Short example of "Fourth Species" counterpoint

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, and the fourth and fifth bars are third and embellished fourth species.

Short example of "Florid" counterpoint

General notes

It is a common and pedantic misconception that counterpoint is defined by these five species, and therefore anything that does not follow the strict rules of the five species is not "proper" counterpoint. This is not true; although much contrapuntal music of the common practice period adheres to the spirit of the rules, and often to the letter of them, the exceptions are many. Fux's book and its concept of "species" was purely a method of teaching counterpoint, not a definitive or rigidly prescriptive set of rules for it. He arrived at his method of teaching (or so he believed, at least) by examining the works of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, an important late 16th-century composer who in Fux's time was held in the highest esteem as a contrapuntist. Works in the contrapuntal style of the 16th century—the "prima pratica" or "stile antico," as it was called by later composers—were often said by Fux's contemporaries to be in "Palestrina style." Indeed, Fux's treatise is a compendium of Palestrina's actual techniques, simplified and regularised for pedagogical use (and so permitting fewer liberties than occurred in actual practice). In music the common practice period is a long period in western musical history spanning from before the classical era proper to today, dated, on the outside, as 1600-1900. ... Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (between 3 February 1525 and 2 February 1526[1] - 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. ... Prima pratica, literally first practice, refers to early Baroque music which looks more to the style of Palestrina, or the style codified by Gioseffo Zarlino, than to more modern styles. ... Stile antico, literally ancient style, is a term which has been used to describe music from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries. ...

Contrapuntal derivations

Since the Renaissance period in European music, much music which is considered contrapuntal 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, and later, the canon and fugue (the contrapuntal form par excellence) all feature imitative counterpoint, which also frequently appears in choral works such as motets and madrigals. Imitative counterpoint has spawned a number of devices that composers have turned to in order to give their works both mathematical rigor and expressive range. Some of these devices include: Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 to 1600. ... The fantasia (also English: , German: , French: ) is a musical composition with its roots in the art of improvisation. ... A ricercar (or ricercare; the terms are interchangeable) is a type of late Renaissance and mostly early Baroque instrumental composition. ... In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e. ... In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred to as voices, irrespective of whether the work is vocal or instrumental. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In Western music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions. ... A madrigal is a setting for two or more voices of a secular text, often in Italian. ... ...

• Melodic inversion: 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 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 refers to the contrapuntal device whereby notes in an imitative voice sound backwards in relation to their order in the original.

• Retrograde inversion is where the imitative voice sounds notes both backwards and upside down.

• Augmentation is when in one of the parts in imitative counterpoint the notes are extended in duration compared to the rate at which they were sounded when introduced.

• Diminution is when in one of the parts in imitative counterpoint the notes are reduced in duration compared to the rate at which they were sounded when introduced.

In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. ... In music theory, the term interval describes the difference in pitch between two notes. ... Twelve-tone technique is a system of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg. ... In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. ... Categories: Wikipedia cleanup | Stub ... Biography Retrograde Inversion are young underground prog rock/funk band which formed in 2003 as part of the Live and Direct Youth Scheme. ... In music and music theory augmentation is the lengthening or widening of rhythms, melodies, intervals, chords. ... Diminution, from Italian diminuimento, is a musical term used to mean different things in the context of melodies and intervals or chords. ...

Dissonant counterpoint

Dissonant counterpoint was first theorized by Charles Seeger as "at first purely a school-room discipline," consisting of species counterpoint but with all the traditional rules reversed. First species counterpoint is required to 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 (Charles Seeger, "On Dissonant Counterpoint," Modern Music 7, no. 4 (June-July 1930): 25-26). Charles Seeger (Mexico City, Mexico, 1886 - 1979) was musicologist, composer, and teacher. ... The aspects of music are any characteristic, dimension, or element taken as a part or component of music. ...

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 Ruth Crawford-Seeger, Carl Ruggles, Henry Cowell, Henry Brant, Dane Rudhyar, Lou Harrison, Fartein Valen, and Arnold Schoenberg. Ruth Crawford-Seeger (July 3, 1901 in East Liverpool, Ohio - November 18, 1953 in Chevy Chase, Maryland), born Ruth Porter Crawford, was a modernist composer. ... American composer Charles Sprague Ruggles (March 11, 1876 - October 24, 1971), better known as Carl, wrote finely-crafted pieces using dissonant counterpoint, a term coined by Charles Seeger to describe Ruggles music. ... Henry Cowell (March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, musical theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. ... Henry Brant (born September 15, 1913) is a highly significant California-based composer of art music based on spatialization and limited aleatory. ... Dane Rudhyar (born Daniel Chennevière, March 23, 1895, in Paris - died September 13, 1985, in San Francisco) was a modernist composer and humanistic astrologer. ... Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 - February 2, 2003) was an American composer. ... Olav Fartein Valen (August 25, 1887 – December 14, 1952) was a Norwegian composer and musical theorist, notable for his work within atonal polyphonic music. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1948 Arnold Schoenberg (the anglicized form of Schönberg — Schoenberg changed the spelling officially when he left Germany and re-converted to Judaism in 1933; September 13, 1874 – July 13, 1951) was an Austrian and later American composer. ...

Counterpoint in popular music

• Counterpoint is common in musical theatre, especially in songs that try to compare or contrast two or more characters' views. Stephen Sondheim, for example, is famous for extensive use of counterpoint. In his dark operetta Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, many songs are written using contrapuntal techniques, most notably 'Kiss Me Quartet'. Other musical theatre composers use it as well: in Les Miserables, for example, the song One Day More features almost the entire main cast singing contrapuntal vocals at the same time. Irving Berlin also wrote counterpoint in American popular music, including on "You're Just in Love" and "Play a Simple Melody". There are also examples of counterpoint in the shows The Music Man (Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little and Goodnight Ladies) and La Cage Aux Folles (Cocktail Counterpoint), which has 7 parts sung first separately then together.

• Synth pop bands from the 1980s and onwards were especially fertile in use of counterpoint^{[citation needed]} where heavy programming allowed for new textures using intertwining horizontal lines. Composers of this type of counterpoint included Yazoo, Depeche Mode, Erasure and Ultravox.^{[citation needed]}

• Many Beach Boys songs employ, or partly employ, counterpoint. The vocal outro of the song God Only Knows is a famous example.

• Country songs feature counterpoint, such as the 2000 hit single I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack, where the country band Sons of the Desert sing a counterpoint chorus over top of Womack's main chorus.

• During the progressive rock era of the 1970s the counterpoint usage increased as many musicians were classically-trained. Counterpoint didn't become central to prog-rock, though Gentle Giant used it as a main composing technique.

• Many modern death metal, progressive metal, and black metal bands make use of counterpoint, often at a very high number of beats per minute. This often blurs the line between, and can be confused with, the playing of a solo over a rhythm section. Bands that utilize this kind of counterpoint include: Emperor, most prominently on the album Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise, Dissection, Nile, and Dream Theater.

Stephen Joshua Sondheim (b. ... Les Misérables is an 1862 novel by the famous French novelist Victor Hugo, set in the Parisian underworld. ... One Day More is a showstopper from the musical Les Miserables written by Claude-Michel Schönberg, and the lyrics by Herbet Kretzmer. ... Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most prodigious and famous American songwriters in history. ... Youre Just in Love is a popular song. ... Play a Simple Melody is a song from the 1914 musical, Watch Your Step, words and music by Irving Berlin. ... This article is about the stage musical. ... La Cage aux Folles is a Tony Award-winning musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and lyrics and music by Jerry Herman. ... The below article is about Yazoo the music band. ... Depeche Mode (pronounced ) are an electronic music group formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex, England. ... This article is about the a musical group Erasure. ... Ultravox (formerly Ultravox!) was one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the early 1980s. ... The Beach Boys, originally the Beech Boys, a small team of four brothers from the south of Poland, emigrated to America in the early 1950s in search of a fortune to be made in the Arizonian logging industry. When it soon became evident they had been the victims of... God Only Knows is the eighth track on the Pet Sounds album and one of the most widely recognized songs perfomed by American pop band The Beach Boys . ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... I Hope You Dance is a popular crossover song written by songwriter Tia Sillers and performed by country singer Lee Ann Womack. ... This biographical article needs additional references for verification. ... Sons of the Desert was an American country music band hailing from the state of Texas. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band, one of the most experimental of the 1970s. ... This article is about the musical genre. ... Progressive metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music which blends the powerful, guitar-driven sound of metal with the complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing of progressive rock. ... This article is about the musical genre. ... An emperorrefers to Nick Herringshaw, a title, empress may only indicate the wife of an emperor (empress consort. ... Dissected rat showing major organs. ... The Nile (Arabic: , transliteration: , Ancient Egyptian iteru, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. ... Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band comprising James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy. ...

In literature

Palestinian-American post-colonial critical theorist Edward Said, himself a pianist and music critic, wrote extensively about how literature could be contrapuntal. One of Aldous Huxley's well known novels is Point Counter-point. This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... In the humanities and social sciences, critical theory has two quite different meanings with different origins and histories, one originating in social theory and the other in literary criticism. ... Edward Wadie Saïd, Arabic: , , (1 November 1935 – 25 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American literary theorist and Palestinian activist. ...

See also

• Voice leading

In music, voice leading is the continuity between pitches or notes played successively in time. ...

Sources

1. ^ Rahn, John (2000). Music Inside Out: Going Too Far in Musical Essays, p. 177. ISBN 90-5701-332-0.
2. ^ Corozine, Vince (2002). Arranging Music for the Real World: Classical and Commercial Aspects, p. 34. ISBN 0-7866-4961-5.
3. ^ Jeppeson, Knud. Counterpoint: the polyphonic vocal style of the sixteenth century, English translation 1939, reprint by Dover, NY, 1992. ISBN 0-486-27036-X.
4. ^ Cherubini, Luigi, Cours de contrepoint et de fugue, Paris, 1835

External links

• An Introduction to Species Counterpoint
• ntoll.org: Species Counterpoint by Nicholas H. Tollervey
• Principles of Counterpoint by Alan Belkin
• Orima: The History of Experimental Music in Northern California: On Dissonant Counterpoint by David Nicholls from his American Experimental Music: 1890-1940
• Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary: Dissonant counterpoint examples and definition
• De-Mystifying Tonal Counterpoint or How to Overcome Your Fear of Composing Counterpoint Exercises by Christopher Dylan Bailey, composer at Columbia University
• Counterpointer:Software tutorial for the study of counterpointby Jeffrey Evans