Questions: Species Counterpoint

Question 1

In fourth species counterpoint, you are writing a suspension. On which beat does the dissonance occur, and what must happen next?

• A. The dissonance occurs on the weak beat and resolves upward by step on the strong beat
• B. The dissonance occurs on the strong beat (held over from the weak beat) and resolves downward by step
• C. The dissonance occurs on the strong beat and can resolve in any direction as long as it reaches a consonance
• D. The dissonance occurs on the weak beat and is immediately left by leap to a consonance

Answer: (B)

The suspension pattern has three stages: (1) preparation — the note is consonant on the weak beat; (2) suspension — the note is held over (tied) to the strong beat, where it is now dissonant against the cantus firmus; (3) resolution — the dissonance resolves downward by step to a consonance. The crucial points are that the dissonance must fall on the *strong* beat (not the weak beat), and resolution must be *downward* by step. This is the most common error: students who grasp that suspensions involve dissonance often misplace it on the weak beat, which is exactly backwards. The whole expressive power of the suspension comes from the dissonance landing on the metric accent.

Question 2

A student jumps directly to writing third species counterpoint without mastering first species. What is the most likely problem they will encounter?

• A. They will struggle with rhythmic notation since third species involves faster note values
• B. They will lack the internalized sense of consonance needed to use passing tones correctly — since passing tones exist to connect consonances, you must first know which intervals are consonant
• C. They will overuse consonances and fail to write enough passing tones
• D. They will be unable to write contrary motion since that skill is only developed in first species

Answer: (B)

First species is foundational not because its rules are the most important in isolation, but because mastering consonance in first species is what makes dissonance treatment in later species meaningful. Passing tones in second and third species are defined by their relationship to the consonances they connect — a passing tone is dissonant precisely because it moves between two consonant notes by step. If you don't have a deeply internalized ear for what consonance sounds and feels like in two-voice writing, you cannot reliably handle dissonances that depend on that framework. This is why Fux's method insists on mastery of each species before proceeding.

Question 3

Fifth species (florid) counterpoint is the closest the species method comes to free composition because it combines all previous species without fixed rhythmic patterns.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: True

In fifth species, the rhythmic constraint of earlier species — one note per cantus firmus note in first, two in second, four in third, syncopated notes in fourth — is lifted. The composer can freely mix note values and textures from any previous species, producing rhythmically flexible lines. This freedom, while still governed by the underlying rules about consonance, dissonance treatment, and motion, makes fifth species feel qualitatively different from the earlier species. It is not truly free composition — the rules still apply — but it is the point where the accumulated rules begin to feel like a style rather than a drill.

Question 4

Species counterpoint rules are largely identical to the harmonic voice-leading rules taught in four-part chorale writing.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

Species counterpoint and chorale voice-leading are related traditions that share some principles (prohibition of parallel fifths and octaves, preference for contrary motion, stepwise resolution of dissonance) but represent distinct approaches with different rules, priorities, and historical origins. Species counterpoint is a two-voice contrapuntal tradition derived from Renaissance polyphony and codified by Fux in 1725. Chorale voice-leading is a four-voice harmonic tradition derived from Bach's chorales and focused on harmonic progression. Rules that apply in one do not necessarily transfer to the other — for example, the specific suspension types permitted, the treatment of unisons, and the handling of the leading tone differ. Treating them as identical leads to systematic errors in both.

Question 5

What are the three stages of a suspension in fourth species counterpoint, and why must the dissonance fall on the strong beat rather than the weak beat?

Model answer: The three stages are: (1) preparation — the note is consonant on the weak beat before the suspension; (2) suspension — the same note is held (tied) over to the strong beat, where it is now dissonant against the cantus firmus; (3) resolution — the dissonance steps downward to a consonance on the following weak beat. The dissonance must fall on the strong beat because the metric accent is what gives the suspension its expressive tension. A dissonance on a weak beat is merely an unaccented passing tone; placed on the strong beat, the dissonance arrives with metric weight and demands resolution. The entire emotional character of the suspension — the sense of tension and release that defines Baroque and Renaissance expressive counterpoint — depends on this placement.

The suspension is perhaps the single most important expressive device in tonal counterpoint, and its power is entirely dependent on proper placement. This is why Fux devoted an entire species to suspensions rather than introducing them as a passing feature: learning to control the preparation-suspension-resolution cycle is the core skill that allows expressive dissonance. When students misplace the dissonance on the weak beat, they eliminate the tension entirely — the passage becomes bland and the pedagogical purpose is defeated.