What it is
In third species the counterpoint has four quarter notes against each note of the cantus. The line becomes fluid and almost instrumental; dissonances are more numerous but always controlled. Here you learn the neighbor note, the double passing note and the nota cambiata.
Rules
- First quarter note: always consonant.
- Second and fourth quarter notes: consonant or passing dissonances (by step in the same direction).
- Third quarter note: consonant; it may be dissonant only as a passing note, with the second and fourth consonant.
- Neighbor note: a dissonance that moves away by a step and returns to the starting note (C5–B4–C5); it is used on the second or fourth quarter note, preferably as a lower neighbor.
- Nota cambiata: a dissonance on the second quarter note that descends by step, leaps a third down to a consonance and rises by step (see the dedicated entry).
- Fifths and octaves: check the fourth quarter note and the first of the next bar, and the first quarter notes of consecutive bars.
- Beginning: you may start with a quarter rest.
- Cadence (counterpoint above in Dorian): G4 A4 B4 C#5 over E4, then D5. A4 is a passing fourth, C#5 the major sixth that opens out to the octave.
Example in D Dorian, counterpoint above
Cantus: D4 F4 E4 D4 G4 F4 A4 G4 F4 E4 D4
| Bar | Cantus | Quarter notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | D4 | rest A4 B4 C5 |
| 2 | F4 | D5 C5 A4 B4 |
| 3 | E4 | C5 D5 E5 C5 |
| 4 | D4 | B4 C5 D5 C5 |
| 5 | G4 | B4 C5 D5 E5 |
| 6 | F4 | F5 E5 D5 A4 |
| 7 | A4 | C5 D5 E5 C5 |
| 8 | G4 | B4 C5 D5 B4 |
| 9 | F4 | A4 B4 C5 A4 |
| 10 | E4 | G4 A4 B4 C#5 |
| 11 | D4 | D5 |
Analysis of the dissonances:
- Bar 1: C5 over D4 (seventh) passes from B4 to D5.
- Bar 2: B4 over F4 (augmented fourth) passes from A4 to C5.
- Bar 3: D5 over E4 (seventh) passes from C5 to E5.
- Bar 4: C5 over D4 twice, passing upward toward D5 and then downward toward B4.
- Bar 6: E5 over F4 (major seventh) passes from F5 to D5; the climax F5 is on the first quarter note.
- Bars 7–10: the fourths (D5 over A4, C5 over G4, A4 over E4) and the tritone B4 over F4 are all passing.
Typical figures
- Passing scale: four notes by step (B4 C5 D5 E5) connect two distant consonances.
- Neighbor note: D5 C5 D5, or D5 E5 D5, decorate a held note.
- Consonant arpeggio: A4 C5 E5 C5 over A4 outlines the triad; it should alternate with stepwise motion.
- Double passing note: two consecutive dissonances by step (on the second and third quarter notes), admitted by many modern textbooks if the line continues in the same direction.
Typical errors
- Dissonance on the first quarter note.
- Dissonance left by leap (except the nota cambiata).
- A line that keeps circling around the same three notes: the climax is missing.
- Fifths between the first quarter notes of two consecutive bars (A4 over D4, then D5 over G4 with a rising scale: an error of hidden fifths on the strong beats).
Modern application
- Bass lines and riffs: four notes per chord with passing and neighbor notes are the grammar of melodic bass lines (Motown, orchestral pop).
- Film strings and woodwinds: third-species figures over a slow pedal create movement without changing the harmony.
- A cappella choirs: instrumental voices (dum-dum, vocal basses) moving in quarter notes under a chorus are third species applied.
Related topics
Third-species counterpoint, nota cambiata, non-chord tones, modal second and fourth species.