Counter 1st species exercise

Hello everyone

To warm up my warm my composition skills, I will be going counterpoint (species and such). You help will greatly apppericate. 

Below is first species 

Hi @Kvothe, 
I am not expert in counterpoint, so take my comments with a grain of salt. 

Most of your exercise would be technically correct, as it is mostly thirds and sixths.
I see you have an interval of a fourth in m.14. This interval, in classical counterpoint, would be considered a mistake (even though in other types of counterpoint it would be acceptable). 
So, strictly speaking, your counterpoint is not wrong. 
 
However, most times counterpoint is used as an exercise by setting up some rules and learning how to compose while sticking to them.
These rules can be really varied, but some of the common classical rules are: 
1. Using mostly third and sixths (up to three times in a row of the same interval at most)
2. Trying to make the melody move mostly by step, with occasional jumps (making the melody as melodic as possible).  
3. Contrasting  contour between melody and bass to some degree, where at times when one goes up, the other down, and vice versa.
4. Avoiding parallel fifths and octaves, having fifths only in contrary motion, etc. 

For example, in your exercises the melody is jumping around too often, which, in classical counterpoint, would be considered something to avoid.  
So, while your exercises are not wrong, I think you would benefit more by setting up some rules and following them, since using sixths and thirds without consideration of the melodic contour would be easy and, while technically correct, I am not sure it would help you as an exercise. 

Hope it helps and thank you for sharing your exercises!
 

Hi, there. Most of this looks pretty good. I echo a lot of @JorgeDavid's notes, particularly:

On 9/28/2025 at 9:08 PM, JorgeDavid said:

...since using sixths and thirds without consideration of the melodic contour would be easy and, while technically correct, I am not sure it would help you as an exercise...

I also noticed that m. 23 has both voices move above the highest note of m. 22 (voice overlap).

m. 32 also has a repeated note going into m. 33. One of these things that is, like, not really wrong, but feels like an augmentated second-species counterpoint, so we try to avoid them.

There's a 3-6 linear intervallic pattern (sequence) in the first exercise, which is one of those things that feels like it should be fine because it's not parallel imperfect consonances, but falls short in feeling like the voices are moving independently (the historical point of these exercises, arguably). 

Keep it up!