Alphonse Nguyen

Counterpoint is when you have two or more melodies playing against each other. These melodies are usually individualized, which means they are independent from each other (e.g. having their own rhythm, motives, etc.). However, they are dependent on each other in terms of harmony and the overall sound of music. If done well, they drive the music forward and increase the complexity as well as the enjoyment of the piece.

But how do you write good counterpoint? Well, first you can avoid parallel fifths and octaves for the most part. You can also try to use contrary motion between the melodies. And if you’re keen enough, you can do your own research into the rules of species. However, I personally rely mainly on my own ear and instincts. If it sounds good enough to me, then that’s what counts.

I’m going to show you guys some examples of good counterpoint, and why it works. The first one will use Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 19 in Bb major again. Observe the right and left hands in the first two bars. Nothing too complex here, two simple melodies that sound pleasing and harmonically complete. The flow of the eighth notes balances with the steady beat of the quarter notes. Then in the fourth bar, the left hand uses the motive from the beginning of the piece to take over the original melody, while the right hand switches over to the original counterpoint. This is the phenomenon of invertible counterpoint.

In this next example from Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 in G minor (somewhere near the beginning), the counterpoint in the bass is a call-and-response imitation of the main melody. Then that counterpoint remains as the bass for the following melody. These two cases clearly show that Mozart knew how to use his counterpoint to connect everything together.

This last example is from my On Top of the World. The viola was the counterpoint to the piano, and for the most part it was kept simple with tied/dotted half notes and a few eighth notes. This works by virtue of the viola being a stringed instrument, able to sustain the sound without diminishment. The counterpoint often becomes ‘fancier’ near the end of a phrase in the main melody. Why? Well, this drives the music forward and prevents excessive cluttering (in addition, for cohesiveness, this ‘fanciness’ borrows the triplet motive from that main melody).