Definition and examples of counterpoint.

[faa2010]

I apologize if I ask something that can be taught on basic 101, but I have seen the defintion many times everywhere and it's difficult for me to 100% understand it, but what is counterpoint?

Can you give me some examples for piano (maybe from Bach works)?

[dtmowns]

"In its most general aspect, counterpoint involves the writing of musical lines that sound very different and move independently from each other but sound harmonious when played simultaneously."

This is a good overview

Looks at almost any Bach work for an example of this (Fugues/Canons if you want to most obvious example)

[scottmcc]

furthermore, the difference between the two lines can be on any number of areas, such as harmonic, rhythmic, or phase.  a key example would be any of the bach fugues or inventions, as suggested above.  for instance, fugue 1 in C major, book 1.  the subject is first stated in the middle register, in the home key of C, and then the next entry is also in the same register but beginning on the dominant (G), and is nearly 180º out of phase, but because of the nature of the writing, both sound perfect and not at all discordant.  later in the piece, about halfway through we again see a statement of the subject in C, but this time with a different phase delay of only 2 notes before the entry on the dominant 1 octave below, and again, the writing is such that both sound perfect together.  (clearly this is only a very brief analysis of two little bits of this 4 part fugue)

for another very different example of counterpoint, look at the development section of Beethoven's Pastoral Sonata 1st Movement (op 28).  Here we see a fragment of the first theme, repeated in different registers and keys, but with the accompaniment changed from a steady quarter note pulse on the home key to a number of 8th note scale fragments.  is it counterpoint in the way Bach would have written it?  probably not, but it's still every bit as beautiful and every bit as contrapunctal.

make sense?

[daniloperusina]

Simply put, counterpoint is two different melodies played at the same time.

A simple example would be to play the melody of "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" in both hands, one octave apart. When your first hand reaches "little", your second hand starts with "Twinkle". This creates counterpoint. In this case it's the same melody, of course, but at different times. This type of counterpoint is called "Canon".

Basically, as long as you can deduct serveral thematic, melodic, or whatever, ideas going on simultaneously, you have counterpoint.

What's not considered counterpoint is:
chords, broken chords
parallell 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths etc
octave passages

You can of course have a melody in one hand, and a passage in 3rds in the other, and this could also constitute counterpoint.

The last movement of Mozart's Jupiter symphony, nr 41, is one of the most famous and celebrated masterpieces of counterpoint. It's one massive counterpoint from start to finish.