How do you learn species counterpoint?

Start with writing a small, four or six bar First Species counterpoint. Then move on to Second Species, and keep the same cantus firmus and just add more notes on the counterpoint voice. Do the same with Third Species, and then look to create dissonance in the first part of the bar for the Fourth Species.

Should I study counterpoint?

If you want to write anything where two or more musical lines work together, but sound independent then learning counterpoint is a must. No; each are separate. Harmony is vertical and treats tones as singular, sonorous entities. Counterpoint is horizontal, and indicates direction.

Is counterpoint used in modern music?

If we add this qualification from Wikipedia : “Counterpoint focuses on melodic interaction—only secondarily on the harmonies produced by that interaction”, I’d say that counterpoint is practically absent in modern popular music.

Are parallel thirds allowed?

Parallel 3rds, 6ths, 4ths, and even tritones are all OK. Unisons (two parts sharing the same note) count as a kind of octave. Thus, these two instances are also bad. Sometimes students start to see parallels when there aren’t any, because they get confused as to which notes belong to which voice.

Does Bach use counterpoint?

Bach is the master of counterpoint which is a setting of different melodic lines against each other. He does it very rigorously, especially in the fugues, of course; pieces where the different lines imitate each other.

Who invented counterpoint?

Johann Joseph Fux
Invented in the early 18th century by Johann Joseph Fux, species counterpoint was one of the two pillars of music composition training in the Northern European tradition (the other being the discipline of thoroughbass).

What is difference between harmony and counterpoint?

As nouns the difference between harmony and counterpoint is that harmony is agreement or accord while counterpoint is (music) a melody added to an existing one, especially one added to provide harmony whilst each retains its simultaneous identity; a composition consisting of such contrapuntal melodies.