Fourth species

Question 1

What is 4th species counterpoint? [Prac Counterpoint 1]

Answer 1

Ligature.

Ties.

Question 2

What are the old rules of ligature? [Prac Counterpoint 1]

Answer 2

• Accented note can either be a consonance (C) or dissonance (D). The 2nd note must be a C.
• If the downbeat is a D, it must resolve by step.
• No note repetitions (don’t need to follow)

Question 3

When taking an old rules approach to ligature, what do you do if you can’t follow them? [Prac Counterpoint 1]

Answer 3

If you cant follow these rules, you can break one of the ligatures to get back on track. Don’t do this often

Question 4

What is the major difference with a new rules approach to ligature? [Prac Counterpoint 1]

Answer 4

Consonances or Dissonances allowed on every beat.

However, you can’t go from a Dissonance to another Dissonance. It needs to resolve (including across the barline for a ligature)

Question 5

So, how do you state the new rules approach to ligature simply? [Prac Counterpoint 1]

Answer 5

Cs or Ds can go anywhere, just can’t have 2 D’s in a row.