Counterpoint Explained: Two Voices, Each Worth Listening To

Two melodies playing at the same time can either work together or fight each other. When they work together — each one interesting on its own, neither one swallowing the other — that is counterpoint. Learning how it works changes how you hear music and how you write it.

Two melodies versus melody plus accompaniment

Most music you play puts one strong melody on top and a supporting pattern underneath. The right hand sings; the left hand fills in the harmony. That texture is called homophony: one voice carries the tune, the rest supply the background.

Counterpoint is different. In a contrapuntal texture every voice is a melody. The bass line is not just a chord root — it has its own shape, rhythm, direction and high point. The same is true of any middle voices. Each line can stand alone and still makes sense when the others join it.

Counterpoint is the art of combining two or more independent melodic lines so that each one is worth listening to on its own.

That independence is the key. If you removed the lower voice from a hymn, you would have a melody. If you removed the upper voice, you would have a melody. Neither one is just an accompaniment to the other. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote hundreds of pieces in this way, and studying how he did it is still the standard training for composers and theory students today.

A quick test: cover the lower line and sing or play the upper one. Does it go somewhere interesting? Cover the upper and do the same with the lower. If both lines pass, the texture is probably contrapuntal. If one collapses into repeated notes and chord outlines, it is probably homophonic.

Homophony versus counterpoint. The quick test for counterpoint: cover each voice in turn and play or sing it alone. If both pass, the texture is contrapuntal.

Consonance and dissonance between voices

When two voices sound together, every vertical interval is either consonant — stable and restful — or dissonant — tense and asking to move. Getting that balance right is the core skill of counterpoint.

Traditional counterpoint divides the consonances into two groups:

• Perfect consonances: the unison (P1), the perfect fifth (P5), and the octave (P8). These are powerful but can sound hollow if used too often.
• Imperfect consonances: the major and minor third (M3, m3) and the major and minor sixth (M6, m6). These are warmer and more colorful. Counterpoint in the style of Palestrina and Bach favors them.

The dissonances — the second, fourth (above the bass), seventh and all augmented or diminished intervals — are allowed but must be treated carefully. In early training, a dissonance needs to be approached and left by step, usually resolving to the nearest consonance. The classic case is a suspension: one voice holds a note from the previous beat while the other moves, creating a clash that resolves when the held voice finally steps down.

A short two-voice passage with interval labels. P8 opens and closes; M6 and M3 fill the inside. Try playing each voice on its own: upper goes C4–A3–E3–C4 (a small arch), lower holds C3. Both pass the independence test.

The Two Lines, One Note at a Time worksheet labels every interval between the two voices, bar by bar. Working through it with a pencil before you play trains your eye to spot consonances and dissonances instantly.

The four types of motion

Two voices can move in four different ways relative to each other. These four motion types are the grammar of counterpoint: getting them right keeps the lines independent.

Parallel motion: both voices move in the same direction by the same size of interval. C–D in the lower voice against E–F in the upper voice is parallel motion by thirds. Parallel motion is not forbidden, but too much of it makes the lines sound like one thick melody instead of two separate ones.

Similar motion: both voices move in the same direction, but by different intervals. C–D in the lower voice against E–G in the upper voice (lower goes up a second, upper goes up a third) is similar motion. Similar motion is fine in moderation.

Contrary motion: one voice moves up while the other moves down. C–D in the lower voice against G–E in the upper (lower ascends, upper descends) is contrary motion. This is the most powerful tool for keeping lines independent. When voices move in opposite directions, neither one dominates.

Oblique motion: one voice stays on the same note while the other moves. The lower voice holds C while the upper goes from E to G is oblique motion. Oblique motion also preserves independence — the stationary voice is not pulling the moving one with it.

The worksheet Two Lines, One Note at a Time asks you to identify whether each approach to a perfect fifth or octave is by contrary motion — which is exactly what first-species rules require.

The four motion types. Contrary (↑↓) and oblique (→↑) are highlighted in cyan: they keep voices independent. Parallel and similar bind them together and must be used in moderation.

Why parallel fifths and octaves are avoided

Here is a rule you will meet early in any counterpoint class: no parallel perfect fifths, and no parallel octaves. That means two consecutive intervals of a perfect fifth in the same direction (such as C–G moving to D–A in both voices at once) are forbidden. The same applies to octaves.

The reason is not arbitrary. A perfect fifth and a perfect octave are so stable and so "pure" that when two voices move in parallel by those intervals, they fuse into one sound. The upper voice loses its independence — it starts to sound like a doubled version of the lower voice at a different pitch level, not a separate melody. The goal of counterpoint is two distinct voices, so this fusion destroys exactly what you are trying to achieve.

Parallel thirds and sixths, by contrast, are fine. Those intervals are imperfect consonances: they have a slight tension that keeps each voice sounding like its own line.

The same starting P5 (C4 over F3), two different continuations. Left: both voices rise by a step to another P5 — parallel fifths. Right: upper falls to B3 while lower rises to G3 — contrary motion to a M3. The rule applies equally to parallel octaves.

A close relative is the unequal fifth: a diminished fifth (like B–F) moving to a perfect fifth (C–G) in similar motion. Some traditions also restrict this. The key point is that the most powerful consonances — P5 and P8 — are the most dangerous when duplicated.

Species counterpoint: Fux's training system

In 1725, the Viennese composer and theorist Johann Joseph Fux published Gradus ad Parnassum (Steps to Parnassus), a teaching manual that organized the study of counterpoint into five species, each adding a new rhythmic challenge. Fux presented this as a series of dialogues between a master and a student, and the method is still the starting point for counterpoint study in most conservatories.

Each species is studied against a fixed slow melody called the cantus firmus (Latin for "fixed melody"), typically in whole notes. The student adds a second voice above or below it.

Fux's five species. Each adds a new rhythmic and harmonic challenge. The first species (highlighted) is where most students begin. All are studied against the cantus firmus — a slow melody in whole notes.

First species is one note against one note — both voices move in whole notes together. Every vertical interval must be consonant. This is the strictest species and the clearest way to study interval choices and motion types.

Second species puts two notes against each one of the cantus firmus — half notes against whole notes. The note on the strong beat must be consonant; the note on the weak beat may be a passing tone (a dissonant step between two consonances).

Third species uses four notes to one — quarter notes against whole notes. More passing tones become available, and the music starts to sound like a melody rather than a series of vertical checks.

Fourth species introduces suspensions: one voice is held over a bar line while the other changes, creating a dissonance on the strong beat that resolves by step downward on the weak beat. The 7–6 and 4–3 suspensions (the held note is a seventh or fourth above the bass, and it falls to a sixth or third) are the building blocks of expressive harmonic tension.

Fifth species, called florid counterpoint, mixes all four previous species freely. This is where the student begins to write actual music rather than exercises.

For a detailed look at how first-species rules work in practice — exact interval choices, how to open and close, how to find the high point — see the companion article First-Species Counterpoint: Writing an Independent Upper Line.

First species in detail: the rules at a glance

Because first species is the foundation, it is worth spending a moment on its core rules. These come directly from the worksheet Two Lines, One Note at a Time, which uses C major throughout.

• Begin and end on a perfect consonance (P8 in the outer voices, or a P5 or P8 at the unison in two-voice work). The final interval should be P8.
• Use imperfect consonances in the middle: m3, M3, m6 and M6 are preferred. P5 is allowed but needs contrary approach. P1 (unison) is best avoided until the final bar.
• No parallel perfect fifths or octaves between consecutive bars.
• Prefer contrary and oblique motion; use similar and parallel motion sparingly.
• Give the upper voice one clear high point in a bar different from the cantus high point. Two climaxes at once flatten the shape of both lines.
• Close M6–P8: the second-to-last bar's interval should be a major sixth, with both voices stepping to the final octave by contrary steps (lower D–C, upper B–C in C major).

Eight bars, one note against one note. Cantus (lower): C–D–F–E–G–F–D–C. Upper voice composed against it. Intervals by bar: P8 · P5 · M6 · m6 · M3 · M3 · M6 · P8. Upper high point D4 is in bar 3; cantus high point G3 is in bar 5. Close: D3→C3 and B3→C4, M6→P8 by contrary steps.

The Two Lines, One Note at a Time worksheet walks you through exactly this exercise in three checking passes: first the vertical intervals bar by bar, then the shape (high point, leaps), then the close. The Complete and Check the Counterpoint exercise then asks you to choose missing upper notes and check your work against the same policy.

The six core rules of first-species counterpoint in C major. These govern the simplest species; other methods and other keys add refinements.

Oblique motion: the stationary voice

Oblique motion deserves a closer look because it is easy to overlook as a tool. When one voice holds a note while the other moves, the held voice acts as a kind of anchor. The moving voice can go in any direction and the two lines remain distinct because there is no question of them fusing.

One common use is at the opening of a phrase, where the lower voice might hold a tonic note while the upper voice begins its journey. Another is at an internal cadence, where one voice prepares a landing while the other approaches it from above or below.

Oblique motion: the lower voice holds C3 while the upper moves from C4 (a P8 above) in bar 1 to E4 (a compound M3) in bar 2. With one voice stationary, there is no shared direction — no risk of parallel motion.

At the end of a phrase, oblique motion often appears just before the contrary-step close: the lower voice holds its penultimate note while the upper voice steps into position for the final octave. This is not a loophole — it is a standard cadential shape in species counterpoint.

Imitation: one voice copies another

So far both voices have been independent. Imitation is a step further: one voice copies the shape, rhythm or pitch of another, entering a few beats or bars later. The imitating voice is usually called the follower (or comes, Latin for companion); the leading voice is the leader (or dux, Latin for guide).

The simplest kind of imitation is a round or canon: the follower copies the leader exactly, in the same key, at the same pitch level, bar after bar. When you sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat in a group with staggered entries, you are singing a round. Every entry after the first is an exact copy of the first; they all keep going until everyone stops together.

The worksheet One Melody, Two Entrances shows this clearly. The leader plays a four-bar melody; the follower enters two bars later, copying every note and every beat. Bars 3 and 4 are the overlap: both voices play simultaneously, and every simultaneous pair forms a third (major or minor). That is not an accident — it means the melody was composed so that it sounds good against itself.

A six-bar canon at the unison. Bars 1–2: leader only. Bars 3–4: both voices (the overlap). Bars 5–6: follower only. Every note the follower plays in bars 3–4 forms a third (M3 or m3) with the simultaneous leader note. The melody is from the "One Melody, Two Entrances" worksheet.

The key lesson from canon writing is that the overlap is built into the melody itself. When you write a melody that you want to become a canon, you have to check how it sounds against its own delayed copy before you finalize it. This is why the Build a Canon: Copy, Overlap, Check worksheet asks you first to copy an existing melody correctly, then to compose a melody of your own that works in both roles.

For a fuller guide to writing your own two-voice canon from scratch — including how to design the leader melody so the overlap works — see Write a Two-Voice Canon: Your First Contrapuntal Composition, which is live on the blog.

A note on fugue

A fugue is a large-scale imitative form in which a short melody called the subject is introduced alone in one voice and then answered by other voices entering in turn, usually at a fifth above or fourth below. The imitation in a fugue is not exact the way a canon is: once all voices have entered, the music develops freely, with episodes and stretti alternating with full subject statements.

Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier contains 48 preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys. A single fugue subject — sometimes just four or five notes — generates ten or more minutes of fully independent voices. The difference between a fugue and a simple round is depth: a fugue develops and transforms its material; a round repeats it.

Counterpoint in the music of Bach

Bach is the master example because his counterpoint is everywhere, in every genre. The two-part inventions are explicitly pedagogical: Bach wrote them, as his title page says, as a guide for students to learn to play two independent voices clearly, and from that to have a foretaste of composition. Each invention is built from one or two short motives, repeated, inverted, and imitated between the hands.

The counterpoint in Bach's chorales is different — quarter notes, strong harmonic motion — but every inner voice still has its own shape, direction and climax. Voice leading in Bach's chorales remains a standard harmony exercise.

The key practical point: counterpoint is not a special technique used only in fugues. It runs through every genre Bach touched, from dances to fantasias to organ preludes. When you play a Bach minuet with both hands, you are practicing counterpoint whether you name it that or not.

First steps at the piano

You do not have to write an eight-part motet to study counterpoint. Here is a short sequence that works at the beginner-to-intermediate level:

1. Listen for two voices. Play any Bach Invention (No. 1 in C major is traditional) and follow one hand at a time, then follow both. Notice where the hands move in contrary motion, where one hand holds while the other moves.
2. Check intervals. Take the Two Lines, One Note at a Time worksheet and label every vertical interval before you play. The worksheet's check-in-three-passes format tells you exactly what to look for.
3. Write your own line. Try the Complete and Check the Counterpoint exercise: given a cantus in the lower voice and some notes in the upper, fill in the blanks and check every rule.
4. Try a canon. Work through One Melody, Two Entrances to understand how both voices work. Then try Build a Canon: Copy, Overlap, Check to compose your own overlap.

The whole sequence takes a few lessons rather than years. What changes quickly is your ear: once you can follow two independent voices at once, music sounds three-dimensional instead of flat.

Free worksheets for this lesson

• Two Lines, One Note at a Time — a first-species exercise with labeled intervals and a three-pass checking method.
• Complete and Check the Counterpoint — fill in missing upper notes and verify every interval rule.
• One Melody, Two Entrances — a two-voice canon at the unison with an entry-and-overlap timeline.
• Build a Canon: Copy, Overlap, Check — copy a follower, spot errors, and compose your own canonic melody.

A Tissimo counterpoint teacher can listen to your two-voice examples and point out exactly where the lines pull against each other — often a one-lesson fix that unlocks the whole texture. Find one at /music-teachers/instrument/counterpoint.

Sources

• Fux, Johann Joseph. Gradus ad Parnassum (1725), trans. Mann, Alfred. The Study of Counterpoint. Norton, 1965.
• Jeppesen, Knud. Counterpoint: The Polyphonic Vocal Style of the Sixteenth Century. Dover, 1992.
• Aldwell, Edward, Schachter, Carl, and Cadwallader, Allen. Harmony and Voice Leading, 4th ed. Cengage, 2010.
• Schoenberg, Arnold. Fundamentals of Musical Composition. Faber and Faber, 1967.
• Kennan, Kent. Counterpoint Based on Eighteenth-Century Practice, 4th ed. Prentice Hall, 1999.
• Bach, Johann Sebastian. Inventions and Sinfonias (BWV 772–801). Facsimile, Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, vol. 3.