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Lesson 5a - Introduction to Counterpoint

Before you begin, please remember that this unit is not meant to be a formal introduction to counterpoint. Because this is primarily a tonal harmony course, we are briefly dipping into the study of counterpoint to introduce voice-leading in its simplest form. I highly encourage you to study counterpoint fully at a later time (if you have not already), because it will change for the better the the manner in which you listen to, study, and perform music.

To begin studying basic counterpoint, we need to establish the fundamental concepts of intervallic consonance, intervallic dissonance, and the types of contrapuntal motion.

Goals for this topic

From the following examples, determine:

  • which intervals are considered consonant and dissonant
    • which consonances are considered perfect and imperfect
  • what elements are necessary to create contrapuntal motion
  • a simple way to describe each of the four types of contrapuntal motion: parallel, contrary, static, and oblique

Consonant and dissonant intervals

The next two examples show an example of each possible perfect and imperfect consonance. All other intervals are considered dissonant. Make a list of perfect consonances, imperfect consonances, and dissonances. Do any of the dissonances surprise you? If so, discuss why.

Classifying types of contrapuntal motion

Conclusions

Consonant vs dissonant intervals

Consonant and Dissonant Intervals:

  • Perfect Consonance:
    • Perfect 5ths
    • Perfect Octave
    • Perfect Unison
    • (The perfect 4th was mentioned, but it was not in the examples.)
  • Imperfect Consonance:
    • Major 3rd
    • Minor 3rd
    • Major 6th
    • Minor 6th
  • Dissonance:
    • All other intervals, but the most common are:
      • Major 2nd
      • Minor 2nd
      • Perfect 4th
      • Augmented 4th
      • Diminished 5th
      • Major 7th
      • Minor 7th

Students familiar with modern music are often surprised to find that a perfect 4th is considered dissonant in this style. The first thing to understand is that the terms consonant and dissonant are subjective terms that are determined within a style. In this case, a perfect 4th undermines the melodic structure of tonality because it implies a weak inversion. Complete understanding of this idea requires a deeper knowledge of counterpoint and implied harmony, so at this point, I ask that you file this away for us to discuss when we get to tonal implications and usage of second inversion chords in Unit 7.

Contrapuntal motion

At its most basic, classifying contrapuntal motion is fairly simple to understand. When we compare two melodic lines, there are five types of possible motion:

  • parallel - two lines that move in the same direction and have the same interval size
  • similar - both lines move in the same direction but have different interval sizes
  • contrary - two lines that move in opposite directions
  • oblique - one line stays the same and the other line moves in any direction
  • static: neither line moves
    • static motion supercedes parallel motion

Each of these types of motion compares the direction of each line (i.e. ascending and descending) and the size of the interval.