Editing Harmony Counterpoint (section)

== <span style="color: #FFFFFF;">Understanding</span> ==
Music is a balance of "Tension" and "Release."

'''The Vertical: Harmony''':
Chords are built from intervals. The most common is the '''Triad''' (Root, 3rd, and 5th).
* '''Tonic (I)''': The "Home" chord.
* '''Dominant (V)''': The chord with the most "Tension" that wants to go home to the Tonic.
Most Western music follows this cycle of leaving home (I -> IV), building tension (V), and returning home (I).

'''The Horizontal: Counterpoint''':
In counterpoint, we don't think about "chords" first; we think about "melodies."
* '''First Species''': One note against one note.
* '''Imitative Counterpoint''': One voice repeats a melody after another (like a "Round" or a "Fugue").
The challenge of counterpoint is ensuring that each line is interesting on its own, but also that they don't "clash" too much when played together.

'''The Rules of Voice Leading''': To make music sound "natural," we follow rules like:
1. Avoid "Parallel Fifths" (it makes the two lines sound like one, losing independence).
2. Move the shortest distance possible to the next note.
3. Resolve the "Leading Tone" (the 7th note of the scale) upward to the Tonic.
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