The melodic line in strict counterpoint: leaps, climax and compensation

Principle

In strict counterpoint every voice must be singable: it moves mostly by step, uses a few well-chosen leaps, and has a recognizable shape with a single climax. Fux does not separate melody from harmony: a good line makes it easier to avoid voice-leading errors.

Permitted leaps

• Permitted: second (major and minor), third (major and minor), perfect fourth, perfect fifth, perfect octave, ascending minor sixth.
• To avoid: major sixth, descending minor sixth, sevenths, augmented and diminished intervals (tritone included, both F–B and B–F), leaps larger than an octave.
• Chromaticism (C–C#) is not written in direct melodic succession in the strict style; the accidental is reached by leap or by step from another note.

Rules of shape

1. Predominantly stepwise motion: at least two thirds of the movements by step.
2. Compensation: after a large leap (a fourth or more) the line turns back by step in the opposite direction. Example: D4 leaps to A4, then G4 F4.
3. Consecutive leaps: two leaps in the same direction are allowed only if they outline a chord (D–F–A) and their sum does not exceed an octave; then return by step.
4. A single climax: the highest note appears only once, preferably in the middle section or at two thirds of the exercise, on a strong beat. The same applies, less strictly, to the lowest note.
5. Range: normally within a tenth; in cantus firmus lines within an octave or a tenth.
6. Repeated notes: rare in first species, excluded in second and third species.
7. Outlined tritone: avoid a phrase that begins on F and stops on B (or vice versa), even when passing through steps.
8. Sequences: avoid the mechanical repetition of a pattern (D E F, E F G, F G A) that makes the line predictable.

Analyzed example

First-species counterpoint in D Dorian: A4 D5 C5 D5 B4 A4 C5 E5 D5 C#5 D5.

• Leaps: A4–D5 (fourth up), D5–B4 (third down), A4–C5 (third up), C5–E5 (third up). No forbidden leaps.
• Climax: E5, only once, at the eighth bar out of eleven.
• Compensation: after the opening fourth the line descends by step (D5 C5); after the climax it descends by step to C#5 and rises to the finalis.
• Cadence: C#5–D5, leading tone rising.

A counterexample: A4 E5 A4 G4 B4 F5... contains a leap of a fifth and an immediate return of a fifth (zigzag line), and the tritone B4–F5: it should be rewritten.

The cantus firmus as a model

Fux's cantus lines are short (ten to fourteen notes), begin and end on the finalis, end with a descending step (2–1), have a single climax and few leaps. Studying them is the quickest way to understand what a balanced line means.

Typical errors

• Flat line: too many repeated notes or oscillations between two notes (A B A B) with no direction.
• Double climax: the same high note touched twice at different points weakens the climax.
• Uncompensated leap: after an ascending minor sixth the line keeps rising.
• Leap to the leading tone: the raised leading tone should preferably be reached by step.

Modern application

• Pop toplines: the rules of compensation and single climax are the same ones that make a chorus memorable; many famous hooks have a single peak, reached by leap and left by step.
• Film themes: a large leap followed by a stepwise descent is the heroic gesture par excellence (a leap of a fifth or sixth, then a descending scale).
• Choirs: inner lines sung by non-professional choristers must follow these rules even more strictly: small leaps, no tritones, few repeated notes without text.

Related topics

Cantus firmus, motivic analysis, first species, inner voices and hidden lines, SATB choral writing.