First Species Counter Point

Table of Contents

First Species Counter Point

Rules

  1. Opening harmonic interval (HI) ↦ 8 or U ↦ 5 If tonic in the lower voice
  2. Closing HI ↦ 6 ↗ 8 / 3 ↘ U / 10 ↘ 8 ↦ minor: raise the flat 7 and flat 6 (if the 6 is before the 7, cause we don’t want a 2aug)
  3. Write mostly contrary motion
  4. Avoid parallel 8 or 5 by parallel or contrary motion
  5. Approach perfect intervals by contrary motion OR similar motion (if one voice is going by a step)
  6. Don’t write more than 3 parallel imperfect consonances in a row
  7. Include a mix of perfect and imperfect consonances with more imperfect than perfect ones
  8. Avoid dissonant HI (including 4) and accidentals (other than at the closing)
  9. Avoid dissonant melodic intervals (MI) (e.g. 7M, 7m, 5dim, 4dim, 2aug, 2)
  10. Write leaps sparingly
  11. Don’t overlap or cross voices
  12. Don’t go around a note too much
  13. Aim for primarily step-wise motion with no more than 2 melodic skips or leaps in a row