Rules
- Freely mixes the previous species: whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, suspensions, and pairs of eighth notes on weak beats.
- Dissonances follow the rules of the species to which their note value belongs: passing and neighbor tones for short notes, preparation and resolution for tied notes.
- Suspensions can be ornamented (the resolution is anticipated by a neighbor tone or a leap of a third).
- Goal: a varied but coherent melody, with a rhythm that livens up and relaxes, a clear climax, and a cadence with a suspension.
Writing strategies
- Begin with long values and gradually increase the motion.
- Do not change rhythmic figure every bar: create small motives and repeat them.
- Make the points of greatest activity in the counterpoint coincide with the long notes of the cantus firmus.
Example in C major
Cantus firmus: C4 | E4 | F4 | D4 | C4. Counterpoint above:
- bar 1: whole note G4 (fifth);
- bar 2: half notes C5 B4 above E4 (sixth, fifth);
- bar 3: quarter notes A4 G4 A4 C5 above F4 (third, G4 a dissonant neighbor tone on a weak beat, third, fifth);
- bar 4: the C5 is tied over D4 and becomes a seventh (prepared suspension), which descends to B4 (sixth);
- bar 5: C5, the final octave. This is the 7–6–8 cadence.
From species to free counterpoint
Fifth species is the bridge to the free counterpoint studied in Berklee courses (Art of Counterpoint): two independent lines, each with its own rhythm, that together define the harmony.
Real-world example
Bach's Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C major, BWV 772, is florid counterpoint in practice: two voices that imitate each other, chase each other, and form consonances on the strong beats. In pop, Paul McCartney's bass line in “Something” (Beatles, 1969) is a good example of a florid countermelody to the vocal.