The principle
In four voices Fux repeats the species once more: one voice works in the species being studied, the other three (cantus included) in whole notes. The last step is florid counterpoint in four voices, in which several voices move with different rhythms. Later textbooks, up to the twentieth-century texts, also systematize mixed or combined counterpoint: different species in the different voices at the same time.
Second and third species in four voices
- The moving voice must respect the rules of passing notes against three stationary voices.
- On the downbeat the chord must be complete or nearly so: the moving voice can use the upbeat to add the missing note.
- Passing dissonances are easier to accept because the full harmony supports them; they remain forbidden on strong beats.
Fourth species in four voices
- The syncopation must be prepared as a consonance with all voices.
- On the downbeat the tied note may be dissonant with one or more voices; the resolution must be consonant with all.
- The 4–3 suspension above the bass is the most natural in a cadence. Example in D Dorian with the cantus in the tenor:
| Bar | Bass | Tenor (cantus) | Alto | Soprano |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | F2 | F3 | A3 | D4 (preparation: sixth above the bass) |
| 10 | A2 | E3 | A3 | D4 tied (fourth above the bass, seventh above the tenor) → C#4 |
| 11 | D2 | D3 | A3 | D4 |
- The bass leaps a fifth to the finalis (bassizans), the tenor descends by step: the hidden octave between tenor and bass is the typical freedom of this four-voice cadence.
Fifth species and mixed counterpoint
- A single florid voice over three slow voices is the basic exercise.
- In mixed counterpoint each voice has a species: for example bass in whole notes (cantus), tenor in half notes, alto in syncopations, soprano in quarter notes. The rules of each species apply to its own voice, and the consonance on the downbeat applies to all.
- Hierarchy of the downbeat: on the first beat the chord must be clean; on the weak beats passing notes pile up in different voices, but never two dissonances that clash with each other without both being passing in the same direction.
Working strategy
- Write the skeleton in four-voice first species.
- Decide the species of each voice and write the slowest moving voice (syncopations) first, then the faster ones.
- Check each quarter note vertically and every pair of voices on the strong beats.
- Sing each voice alone: if a line is clumsy, change its species or the skeleton.
Typical errors
- Several voices in parallel quarter notes: the florid texture becomes a block.
- A suspension that resolves onto a note already present in another voice at the unison or octave.
- Inner voices that constantly cross to make the numbers work.
- Constant density: in good florid writing the movement passes from one voice to another.
Modern application
- Orchestral arranging: mixed counterpoint is the model of a well-written texture: basses in long notes, violas in eighth notes, violins II in syncopations, violins I on the melody. Each section has a recognizable rhythm.
- Pop and gospel choirs: assigning each section of the choir a rhythmic role (long pad, syncopated response, countermelody) is mixed counterpoint applied.
- Production: the same logic applies to the instruments of a beat: kick and bass (whole and half notes), pads (syncopations), arpeggio (quarter notes): if everything moves together, the mix gets muddy.
Related topics
First species in four voices, four-part counterpoint, florid species in three voices, SATB writing, string arranging.