Cantus Firmus Guide

A well-constructed cantus reveals in embryo many of the characteristics of more highly developed musical organisms.

Instructions

Press a note box to hear it. Press and hold a note to select it or delete back to that note. Unmute the sound to listen as you compose.

Cantus Firmus Rules

There are a number of rules that the guide helps you follow. If you compose a complete cantus, it will turn green. To do that, you'll need to have:

• at least 8 notes,
• a climax (one note higher than all the others),
• end on tonic (return to the starting note),
• and approach the end by step (from one note above or below).