16th-Century Melodic Idioms and Their Use

---

I. General melody-writing considerations and melodic interval use

• Use mostly conjunct motion
• Skips must always be "balanced" by motion in the opposite direction preceeding and/or following the skip.
• All diatonic intervals are allowed with the following exceptions
  1. Perfect fourths, fifths, and octaves are all allowed but less common than seconds and thirds
  2. The only sixths that are allowed are ascending minor sixths
  3. Sevenths are difficult to sing, so they are forbidden
  4. Augmented and diminished intervals are not allowed
  5. The tritone is forbidden, and it is even avoided within the context of an ascending stepwise line (by the use of B-flat).
  6. Direct chromaticism is avoided (see the section on chromaticism).
• The larger the interval, the more rarely it occurs
• Larger leaps require more balancing
• Consecutive leaps in the same direction are rare, but their use is restricted to notes belonging to the same harmony (a triad), with the larger interval tending to be at the lower skip.

II. White-Note Idioms

• The cadential idiom, Clausula Vera ("true close") (always stepwise)
  • When the voice moves to the final from above (Scale degree 2-1), the notes will be on the strong beats (1,3,1 or 3,1,3).
  • When the voice moves to the final from below (Scale degree 1-7-1), the figure will be syncopated (1,2,4,1 or 3,4,2,3).
  • The two voices together create a suspension.
• Semibreve syncopation is extremely common.

III. Black-Note Rules and Idioms Containing Black Notes

The only allowed black notes are the semiminim and the fusa. The fusa is restricted largely to cadential use (see below).

• Semiminum Guidelines
  1. Use stepwise motion almost exclusively. Because black notes are quicker, it becomes much more difficult to manage leaps with the voice.
  2. Semiminima occur best in odd-number groups beginning on the weak half of the beat (as many as 9 semiminima allowed in a group).
  3. The High Note Rule: If there is a skip between semiminima (never larger than a third), the higher note of the pair must occur on the first half of the beat (regardless of what beat it is).
• Semiminum Idioms
  1. Passing Tones
  2. Neighbor Tones (upward or downward)
  3. The Portamento (the Anticipation)
     • Occurs only on the weak halves of the strong beats (1 and 3)
     • Always uses descending motion, never ascending motion.
  4. The Nota Cambiata
     • Always moves down a step, then leaps down a third.
     • The leap is always balanced, almost always by upward step
     • This is the only figure in 16th-century style where a voice leaps from a dissonance. (See The Types of Dissonance)

• Fusa Rules
  1. Fusas always appear in pairs, and usually at cadences.
  2. If a fusa moves by skip, it is wrong!!
  3. Fusas always appear on the weak half of the beat.
• Fusa Idioms
  1. Passing Tones (not very common)
  2. Neighbor Tones (common after suspensions and syncopations)

---

Return to 16th-Century Counterpoint Study Guide