Counterpoint

Counter-point, in Music, the art of adding to a melody one or more separate melodies, distinct in themselves from the original theme, but combining harmoniously with it. The rules of counterpoint are not so strictly observed in the present day as they used to be in the 16th century; but a knowledge of the art is, nevertheless, essential for every kind of polyphonic composition, and has been brought to great perfection by Mozart, Beethoven, and Wagner.