Manuscript paper made for counterpoint.
Most printable staff paper gives you an even field of lines and leaves the rest to you. Counterpoint is easier to think about when the paper already knows it is a two-voice exercise: a given line above, a blank staff below, one pair at a time. This page generates exactly that — clean, watermark-free, ready to print.
The layout
A given voice above, a blank staff below.
The page is built from pairs of staves. On the upper staff of each pair you place the given material — a cantus firmus, a melody to set, a bass to harmonise. The staff directly beneath it stays blank for the voice you add.
Because each pair is visually closed off, a single sheet becomes a series of separate counterpoint problems rather than one undivided wall of lines. That small thing makes a real difference when you are working through several exercises in a lesson, or marking a stack of them afterwards.
You decide how many pairs fit on the page, how dark the lines print, and how much margin to leave for fingerings, figures and corrections. The paper makes no assumption beyond the two-voice relationship, so it carries first species just as comfortably as free or invertible counterpoint.
Nothing is printed on the page but the staves themselves — no watermark, no logo, no footer. What you write is the only thing on the sheet.
What it is for
From first species to free counterpoint.
The same paper serves a wide range of contrapuntal work, whether you are teaching it, learning it, or composing with it.
Species counterpoint. Write a cantus firmus on the upper staff and work the species below — note against note, then two, three, four against one, and florid fifth species. One exercise per pair keeps the page legible.
Two-part writing and invertible counterpoint. Set two independent lines against each other and check the result by ear and on paper, with both voices always in view together.
Harmonisation exercises. Put a given melody or a figured bass on top and write the answering voice underneath — the paired staves frame the problem cleanly.
Modal and free counterpoint. Because nothing is pre-printed beyond the staves, modal exercises and freer contemporary counterpoint sit on the paper as naturally as strict tonal work.
Common questions.
What is a counterpoint worksheet?
It is manuscript paper laid out in pairs of staves: an upper staff for a given line — a cantus firmus, a melody, a bass — and a blank staff directly below it for the voice you add. The pairing keeps each exercise visually self-contained, so a page reads as a series of counterpoint problems rather than an undivided field of staves.
Can I use it for species counterpoint?
Yes — that is exactly what the paired layout is for. Write or paste a cantus firmus on the upper staff of each pair and work the species below it, one exercise per pair. It suits first through fifth species, two-part writing, modal counterpoint and free counterpoint equally well, because the paper makes no assumption beyond the two-voice relationship.
Is the paper really free and watermark-free?
Yes. Every page is free to download and print, and the paper itself stays deliberately blank — no logo, no watermark, no footer, no visible URL. Nothing on the page competes with the lines you are writing or the student is reading.
What sizes can I download, and how many pairs per page?
A4, B4 and A3, portrait or landscape. You choose the number of stave pairs, the line darkness and the margins, then download a ready-made PDF — or build a custom page with your own margins. A4 suits everyday lessons and single exercises; A3 gives room for longer exercises or more pairs at once.
Do you have a cantus firmus to write against?
Yes. The Cantus Firmus Generator produces correct modal cantus firmi you can read from on screen or print, then answer on this worksheet paper. The two tools are made to be used together.
Tools that work well together.
Cantus Firmus Generator
Generate a correct modal cantus firmus to write against, then answer it on this worksheet.
OpenAll manuscript paper
Every layout and size — blank staves, three- and four-part systems, notebook paper.
OpenOnline staff paper
Write notation directly in the browser when you would rather not print.
OpenOpen the tool and print your counterpoint paper.
Choose the size, the number of pairs and the margins, and download a clean PDF. It opens with the counterpoint layout already selected.
Open the counterpoint worksheet →