Counterpoint
Independent melodic lines moving together, each complete and interlocking
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Counterpoint is several independent melodic lines moving at once, each complete on its own and interlocking with the others. Its core is not "nice harmony" but the independence and cooperation of lines: one rises while another falls, one rests while another moves.
Counterpoint and harmony are two sides of one thing: counterpoint cares about horizontal lines, harmony about the vertical result. Fugue, canon and motet are products of counterpoint; so are the counter-melody in a pop song and the inner voices of a string quartet. To judge counterpoint, hear each line alone, then hear them together.
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Sources
- 对位的定义、分类与species 教学法，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Counterpoint"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.