Presented by Johannes Fux in 1725, a pedagogical system for teaching counterpoint as it was practiced by Palestrina in the 16th century. The first three species are defined by the ratio of notes in the counterpoint to a note in the cantus firmus. First species is one note to each note of the cantus firmus (1:1); Second species is two notes to each note of the cantus firmus (2:1), Third species is four notes to each note of the cantus firmus (4:1). Fourth species involves using suspensions and syncopations. Fifth species, called florid counterpoint, is a combination of the other species.
Species counterpoint
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