Loading…
Loading…
A systematic method of teaching counterpoint in five progressively complex "species," codified by Johann Joseph Fux in "Gradus ad Parnassum" (1725).
Species counterpoint is the compositional equivalent of scales and arpeggios — the fundamental training that underlies all contrapuntal writing. First species: note against note. Second: two notes against one. Third: four against one. Fourth: suspensions. Fifth: florid (free) counterpoint.
Fux's "Gradus ad Parnassum" — the textbook that trained Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and nearly every major composer for 300 years.
Species counterpoint is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
Browse the full dictionary →