Consonant and dissonant
Unisons, 3rds, 5ths, 6ths and octaves are consonant, and so are the same intervals an octave higher (a 10th is a 3rd). 2nds, 4ths, 7ths and the tritone are dissonant. In two voices the 4th counts as a dissonance.
Species counterpoint, after Fux
Counterpoint, checked as you write.
Write a line and every note is checked against Fux's rules, with the reason. Fix it on the spot, then move on.
First stages freeNo account to startRules from the 1725 treatise
Two voices · one note eachRule broken
Parallel fifthsTwo voices, one gap.
For students
A few minutes, one exercise
- A clear next step. One trail, three exercises a stage.
- Every note explained. The first stages guide you note by note.
- Hear your two voices. On piano or strings.
- Progress that follows you. Streak and solved exercises on any device.
First stages are free, no account needed.
For teachers
Homework that marks itself
- Set it up in two minutes. Pick the species, the stage and how many exercises. Preview each one before you hand it out.
- Every rule marked, every time. Parallel fifths, unprepared dissonances, unrecovered leaps. Nothing waits for your pen.
- See where the class is stuck. The most common mistakes, ranked, so the lesson goes to what students got wrong.
- Answers while they write. A student placing a note at eleven at night gets the explanation at once.
- Your teaching stays yours. Choose live coaching or marking only, read each line and leave a note in your own words.
Teachers: your first semester is on us. Then $15 a month. See pricing for classes
Parnasso for teachersThe path
Always know what to practise next
Fux's course is a ladder where every species adds one idea to the last. Parnasso lays it out as one trail, three exercises a stage, from a single melody to three and four voices.
Pricing
Start free, pay when you need more species or a class
Free$0
Lessons, cantus firmus and first species
Solo$6 / month
Second to fifth species, three and four voices
Teacher$15 / month
A class of up to 40 students
Studio$35 / month
Up to 120 students
Semester prices are lower. See all plans
Where the rules come from
The rules are Fux's, not ours
Parnasso checks the rules of Gradus ad Parnassum (1725). When a note turns red, you see which rule it breaks and why, such as parallel fifths.
Questions
What is species counterpoint?
A step-by-step way of learning to write independent melodies that sound good together. Johann Joseph Fux set it out in 1725, and it moves from one note against one note to free, florid writing.
Do I need to know counterpoint already?
No. Every lesson comes with examples to hear, and the first stages explain each note as you write it.
Do I need an account?
Not to start. An account keeps your progress and streak on every device.
What does it cost?
Cantus firmus and first species are free. Second to fifth species and three and four voices are part of Solo, and students in a teacher's class get everything through the teacher's plan.
Who is it for?
Composition and music theory students, self-taught composers, and teachers who want exercises that mark themselves.
Write your first line.
Parnasso checks every note.
The first stages are free and need no account.
Parnasso for teachers
Counterpoint homework that marks itself.
Set an assignment in two clicks. Your students write it in the browser, every rule is checked as they go, and you see who is done and where the class got stuck.
18handed in
11all correct
6still writing
4not started
- Emma M.Handed in
- Lucas K.Handed in
- Lia P.Still writing
- Noah T.Not started
What you get back
Less marking, more teaching. Five things that change when counterpoint homework checks itself.
Marking
Every exercise marked, every rule, every time.
Parallel fifths, unprepared dissonances, leaps that are never recovered: Parnasso checks them all, as your students write. Nothing slips past, and nothing waits for your pen.
Parallel fifths Bars 4 and 5 both have a perfect fifth between the voices, and both voices move in the same direction. Change one of the notes.
Insight
Know where the class is stuck before the lesson.
See the mistakes most of your students made, ranked. Spend the lesson on what the class actually got wrong, not on what you guess.
- Parallel fifths18
- Leap not recovered13
- Unprepared dissonance9
- Repeated note4
For the next lesson Parallel fifths: bars 4 to 6 of exercise 3.
Preparation
A full assignment in two minutes.
Choose the species, the stage and how many exercises. Parnasso writes them, in the modes you pick, and you can open and play each one before you give it out.
First speciesContrary motion× 3
Second speciesPassing tones× 2
- 1Dorian, above
- 2Aeolian, below
- 3Ionian, above
- 4Dorian, above · 2 : 1
- 5Mixolydian, below · 2 : 1
Live coachingCheck onlyDue Fri 24 Oct
Practice
More practice, and answers while the student is still thinking.
A student placing a note at eleven at night gets the explanation at once, not at next week’s lesson. They try again right away, so more happens between lessons.
On papernext lesson
On Parnassoas each note is placed
11:42 pm · Lucas · bar 4 The 5th in bar 4 follows another 5th. Try a 3rd or a 6th above the cantus.
Control
Your teaching stays yours.
Choose live coaching or marking only after the student presses Check. Read each student’s line, exercise by exercise, and leave a note in your own words. Parnasso checks the rules; you keep the musical judgement.
12345
Your note to Lucas
Good line in bar 3. In 5, check the cadence: the leading tone needs to rise.
Ready to try it with your students?
What your students get
- Nothing to buy. Students in your class get every feature through your plan, for as long as the class runs.
- One sign-in. They join with the email you added, or with the code. No separate accounts to manage.
- Their work is saved. They can stop in the middle of an exercise and continue on another device.
- They keep practising. After the class, the lessons and first species stay open to them.
Simple pricing
Your first semester is on us: one class, up to 30 students, no card. After that, $15 a month or $45 a semester for up to 40 students across all your classes. Need more? Studio covers 120.
Questions teachers ask
Do my students need to pay?
No. Students in your class get everything while the class runs. They sign in with the email you added, or with your class code.
What do I need to start?
An email address and two minutes. Make an account, make a class, paste your students’ emails or share the invite link, and set a first assignment.
Can I write my own exercises?
Not yet. You choose the species, the stage and how many; Parnasso builds the exercises, and you can open and play each one before you give them out. Fux’s six cantus firmi are available in the practice room.
How is it marked?
The rules of counterpoint are checked by code, so a parallel fifth is always caught and never guessed. Parnasso also comments on the shape of the line. It does not replace your ear: use the results to decide what to talk about.
Who can see my students’ work?
Only you and the student. Work is stored in the student’s account and is deleted if they leave the class or you remove them.
Which levels does it cover?
Writing a cantus firmus, the five species in two voices, and counterpoint in three and four voices, in six modes.
Your next assignment, in two clicks.
The path
Routes in Fux's order: writing a cantus, the five species, then three and four voices. Every stage has three exercises: solve all three to open the next.
Write a line above the cantus
Instrument
Speed
Another exercise
New exercise
Species
Mode
Cantus
Voices
Dimmed options are included in Pro: the Solo, Teacher and Studio plans, or a teacher’s class. See the plans
Cantus in the
Your line goes
Clefs
Or open a friend's challenge
Keyboard shortcuts
Show allowed notesH
Note input on or offN
Write a note and move onA–G
Repeat the previous noteR
Choose a bar← →
Move note a step↑ ↓
Move note an octaveCtrl/⌘ + ↑ ↓
Eighth, quarter, half, whole3 4 5 6
Dotted note.
Tie over the barline (break a tie in fourth species)+ or T
Natural, sharp, flat7 8 9
Sharp, flat, natural= - 0
Remove note⌫
Undo, redoCtrl/⌘ + Z, + ⇧ Z
Play or stopSpace or P
Leave note inputEsc
Note values and accidentals follow Sibelius's keypad (3–6, 7 8 9) and Dorico's keys (= - 0); octave moves work as in Sibelius, Dorico and MuseScore.
Learn counterpoint
Five species, each a small step up from the one before, as Johann Joseph Fux set them out in Gradus ad Parnassum (1725). Start with the basics: they hold in every species.
Two lines, one given
You get a fixed melody, the cantus firmus: whole notes, mostly by step, starting and ending on the final of its mode. You write a second line above or below it. The rules on this page apply in every species; each species then adds its own.
Intervals
Begin on a perfect consonance
Above the cantus: unison, 5th or octave. Below it: unison or octave only, so the mode stays clear.
End on a unison or octave
And use the unison nowhere else: in the middle the two voices merge into one.
The cadence
Close with a major 6th opening to an octave (line above) or a minor 3rd closing to a unison (line below). In every mode except Phrygian this means raising the leading tone, here C to C♯.
Motion between the voices
No parallel 5ths or octaves
Two perfect intervals of the same size in a row, with both voices moving, make the voices lose their independence. Parallel 3rds and 6ths are fine.
No direct 5ths or octaves
Approach a perfect interval by contrary or oblique motion, never with both voices moving the same way.
Keep the voices apart and in order
The upper line normally stays above. Fux lets the counterpoint cross the cantus for a moment when that avoids a worse progression, so Parnasso marks it as a suggestion. Keep the voices within a 10th where you can.
The four rules of motion
Perfect to perfect: contrary or oblique motion only. Perfect to imperfect: any motion. Imperfect to perfect: contrary motion only. Imperfect to imperfect: any motion. Oblique motion is allowed with every progression.
The ottava battuta
An octave reached on the downbeat from a 10th, with both voices stepping towards each other, is called the battuta. Fux says the use or avoidance is up to you: "it is of little importance". Parnasso does not mark it.
Prefer contrary motion
More than three 3rds or 6ths in a row, or too many bare 5ths and octaves, make the two lines sound like one.
Shape of the line
Move mostly by step
Allowed leaps: 3rds, perfect 4ths and 5ths, the rising minor 6th and the octave. Avoid the tritone, 7ths and augmented intervals: they are hard to sing.
Recover from leaps
After a large leap, step back in the opposite direction. Avoid two leaps in the same direction.
One climax
Give the line one highest note, away from the cantus's high point, and keep its range singable: within a 10th.
Don't outline a tritone
When the line runs in one direction from F up to B (or down from B to F), the ear hears the tritone between its ends, even though every move is a step. Turn back before you reach it, or carry on past it.
One repeated note is allowed
The counterpoint may repeat a note occasionally, but the same note should not be repeated more than once (Fux). Parnasso suggests a change from the second repeat on.
The modes
Six church modes
Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Ionian, on several finals each. Stay inside the mode. The only chromatic note is the raised leading tone at the cadence; Phrygian never raises it. Fux leaves out the mode on B: it has no perfect 5th above the final, so it cannot end a piece.
More to learn9 notes
Count from the bass
If the cantus is on top, count intervals down from it.
Compound intervals
A 10th is a 3rd an octave higher. Write in neighbouring clefs so simple intervals stay easy to tell apart.
Why direct 5ths are banned
Fill in a skip of a 5th with passing notes and two 5ths in a row appear.
Why perfect at the ends
The start expresses perfection and the end relaxation. Imperfect consonances sound fuller, so they should outnumber the perfect ones.
Sharps and flats
Only the leading tone at the cadence, and to avoid mi against fa. Never decoration.
Skips into a unison
Poor, especially into a unison or into an octave from a distant consonance. Fux tolerates it only where the cantus forces it.
Stay in the mode
The counterpoint begins and ends in the cantus's mode: opening on G over a D cantus forces it out.
Fux's study plan
Every cantus in all six modes, line above and below, then the cantus in each voice. A year or two of practice before free composition.
Where cantus come from
Fux gives no rule beyond singability: take a chorale or invent one.
One line
Writing a cantus firmus
Before writing against a cantus, write one. A cantus firmus is a short, plain melody in whole notes: it sets out the mode, moves mostly by step and has a clear arc. Every species exercise starts from one.
Begin and end on the final
The first and last notes are the final of the mode, in the same octave. That is what makes the mode clear.
Approach the final by step
Usually from the note above. A step up from the leading tone below also works, but the cantus itself stays in the mode.
Mostly steps, a few leaps
One to three leaps give the line character. After a leap, step back the other way; never two leaps in a row.
One climax, a singable range
The highest note comes once, somewhere in the middle. Keep the whole line within about a 10th, with no repeated notes and nothing outside the mode.
What is a cantus firmus?
A cantus firmus is a single melody, usually in whole notes, that the other voices are written against. In Fux's method it begins and ends on the final, moves mostly by step, and has one highest note.
How long should a cantus firmus be?
Eight to twelve notes is usual. Shorter lines give too little shape, and longer ones are hard to keep coherent.
1 : 1
First species
One whole note against each note of the cantus. With no rhythm to hide behind, every interval counts. All the basics apply, plus two rules.
Every interval is consonant
No dissonances at all: each bar is a unison, 3rd, 5th, 6th or octave, or a compound of these.
Avoid repeated notes
With one note per bar, a repeated note stalls the line. Fux allows one repeat in the whole exercise, no more: move on, by step if you can.
More to learn3 notes
The leading tone
The 7th degree rises at the cadence in Dorian, Mixolydian and Aeolian. In Fux's cantus firmi the next to last note is the 2nd degree of the mode.
Number your intervals
Write the interval over each note and the bar numbers below, to prove each progression is deliberate.
Contrary first
Contrary and oblique motion make mistakes easier to avoid. Take more care with direct motion.
2 : 1
Second species
Two half notes against each cantus note. The line opens with a half rest and ends on a whole note. The second half of a bar can now carry a dissonance, if it passes.
Downbeats are consonant
The first half note of every bar follows the first-species rules for harmony.
Weak beats may pass
The second half may be dissonant only as a passing tone: reached by step and left by step in the same direction, filling in a 3rd.
Watch the downbeats
5ths or octaves on two downbeats in a row are heard as parallels, even with a note between them. A leap of a 4th or more around that note makes the ear forget the first downbeat, so the parallel no longer counts.
Three notes against one
Fux mentions triple time only briefly: three notes can stand against one. If all three move by step, the middle one may be dissonant; if one of them leaps, all three must be consonant. Parnasso has no exercises for it.
Keep moving
No repeated notes. The cadence sits on the last half note: a major 6th above, or minor 3rd below, then the final.
Avoid melodic sequences
Fux asks to avoid sequences (monotonia) as far as possible, in every species from here on. A figure of two or three moves that is simply repeated again and again makes the line monotonous: change its shape the second time. Parnasso suggests it.
More to learn5 notes
A skip to turn motion
A skip of a minor 6th or an octave can turn a direct approach into a contrary one.
A whole note near the end
It may stand in the next to last bar when two half notes cannot reach the cadence.
Phrygian cadence
The 5th is dissonant, so write a 6th in the next to last bar instead.
Plan the ending first
It is the hardest bar. Look one or two bars ahead before you write.
A half rest to open
The line may start with a half rest instead of a half note.
4 : 1
Third species
Four quarter notes against each cantus note, opening with a quarter rest. The downbeat is consonant; the other three quarters may be dissonant, handled in one of three ways.
Passing tone
On any of the three weak quarters: reached and left by step in the same direction.
Neighbour note
On the 2nd or 4th quarter: a step away from a consonance and straight back to it.
The cambiata
On the 2nd quarter: step down to the dissonance, leap a 3rd down to a consonance, then step up. The one dissonance in species counterpoint that is left by leap.
The rest still holds
No repeated notes, no parallels across the barline, no 5ths or octaves on successive downbeats.
More to learn6 notes
The five-quarter rule
1st and 3rd consonant; the 2nd may be dissonant; the 4th only if the 5th is consonant.
Filling a 3rd
If the 2nd and 4th quarters are consonant, the 3rd may be dissonant: it only fills in a 3rd.
Rests and eighths
A quarter rest may open the bar. No eighths yet: they belong to fifth species.
A 7th on the 2nd quarter
Fux accepts it in one old model because it is easier to sing. Most teachers avoid it.
A later rule
A leap from a strong to a weak quarter is hard to sing in the Palestrina style (Jeppesen). This is not Fux's rule.
Plan the next bar
Avoid melodic sequences, and plan the next bar before you write.
Ties
Fourth species
Half notes, shifted: each note is struck on the second half of the bar and tied over the barline into the next downbeat. When the cantus moves under the tie, you get a suspension.
The struck note is consonant
It resolves the last suspension and prepares the next one.
A dissonant tie resolves down by step
Above the cantus use 7–6, 4–3, 9–8 or 2–1. Below the cantus use 2–3. A 9–8 resolves onto a bare octave, so 7–6 and 4–3 are preferred.
Not after a unison or an octave
Fux forbids a 2–1 suspension that comes after a unison, and a 9–8 after an octave. Take the tie away and you hear two unisons or two octaves in a row. A 3rd or 10th leading into the 2nd or 9th is fine.
A tie in every bar you can
Fux asks for a tie in every bar where one is possible. Where none works, write plain half notes until a tie fits again, and never repeat the same note. The same ties may also be varied: two eighths on the 2nd and 4th beats, or the note struck again, keep the idea but liven the line.
A consonant tie is free
If the tied note is consonant against the new cantus note, the next note may step or leap.
The cadence
The classic 7–6 above (2–3 below), resolving to the octave or unison, with the leading tone raised.
Breaking the species
Sometimes no tie leads anywhere good: every suspension would make parallels or an unresolvable dissonance. Then Fux breaks the chain for one bar: the note is not tied, and the next bar starts with a fresh, consonant note, as in second species. Use it once at most. In Parnasso, select the note and press + to break or restore its tie.
More to learn5 notes
Resolve downwards
Fux leaves the case of an ascending tie for later.
No 7th with the cantus on top
It would resolve to an octave, which the masters never wrote.
Vary the tie figure
Avoid repeating the same tie figure bar after bar.
Pedal points
In three voices a tie over a pedal point may be dissonant throughout.
No sequences
Avoid sequences as far as possible.
Florid
Fifth species
All the species mixed, bar by bar: halves, quarters, a pair of eighths, and ties that make suspensions. Choose a rhythm for each bar, then write the notes.
Each note keeps its own rule
Struck downbeats are consonant. Dissonant halves pass; dissonant quarters pass, neighbour or form a cambiata; dissonant ties resolve down by step.
Eighths move by step
In and out, usually as a pair on the 2nd or 4th quarter of the bar.
Decorating a resolution
In florid counterpoint a suspension may be ornamented before it resolves: short consonant notes after the tie, most often a 3rd down and back up, as long as the step down arrives by beat 4.
Dotted notes
A dotted quarter and an eighth, or a dotted half and a quarter, give the line a lilt. Dotted notes start on a beat; the eighth after a dotted quarter moves by step. Press . to dot the selected note.
Vary the rhythm
The same rhythm three bars in a row sounds like a lower species. Let the line speed up and slow down.
Reach the downbeat by a tie or oblique motion
In florid counterpoint Fux likes to reach each downbeat with a tie or by oblique motion: it gives the greatest beauty and keeps the line out of trouble. A singable melodic line matters more than anything else in this species, and Fux tells his student to spend most time here.
Two quarters, then a plain half
Fux advises against two quarters at the start of a bar followed by a half note that is not tied on: the line seems to lag. Tie the half over the barline, or add more quarters. Parnasso suggests it.
More to learn4 notes
A rest for a note
A rest may stand in place of a note when the line has nowhere good to go.
Watch the downbeat
Every struck downbeat note is consonant.
The most valuable species
Fux says to work at it more than at any other.
Singable first
Mix the other species freely, but let the line stay singable.
3–4 voices
Three and four voices
After the five species in two voices, Fux adds voices. The cantus may sit in the bass, the middle or on top; the other voices move note against note, or one of them in a higher species. Every rule still holds between every pair of voices, and each chord is now heard from the bass.
Hear every chord from the bass
A 4th above the bass is a dissonance. Between two upper voices it is fine: in C–G–C the G and C make a 4th, but each is consonant with the bass.
Full chords
In the middle of the exercise, give each chord a 3rd (or a 6th) above the bass. Don't double the raised leading tone. A tritone between upper voices is allowed but tense.
The 6th over mi in the bass
When the bass has the third degree of the mode (B in Dorian, the "mi"), put a 6th above it, not a 5th: the 5th would be diminished. A 3rd and a 6th make the chord.
Spread and double
Put the 5th low and the 3rd high: a 3rd close to the bass sounds dull (Fux). Voices that sit close together sound fuller. Double the octave first; if a progression forbids that, double the 3rd, more rarely the 5th or 6th. In a suspension double the 2nd, not the 4th.
Build the triad first
On each downbeat use the full triad, a 3rd and a 5th above the bass, unless the melody or a parallel forbids it. Then take a 6th or an octave instead of the 5th. Prefer the version in which every voice moves smoothly and no note is doubled for no reason.
Full downbeats, lighter upbeats
The downbeat should carry a full chord; the upbeat may be thinner. In ties and quarters, give the note against the whole notes the consonances it would have if the tie were taken away.
Parallels between every pair
No parallel 5ths or octaves between any two voices. Direct 5ths and octaves matter most between the outer voices, when the top voice leaps.
First and last chords
The bass stands on the final. Above it: the octave and the 5th. Leave out the 3rd when you can; if the 5th would make parallels, take a major 3rd, never a minor one, which Fux finds too weak to end on.
The cadence
One voice rises from the raised leading tone to the final, as in two voices; when the bass is free, it often leaps from the 5th to the final.
A little more freedom
With more voices, a repeated note, a unison or a brief crossing is sometimes the best way through, and a hidden 5th or octave is tolerated between inner voices when the voice leading is otherwise good, more than between the outer ones. Use them sparingly; Parnasso marks them as suggestions, not errors. The more voices, the looser the rules.
One voice in a higher species
When one voice moves in halves, quarters, ties or florid rhythm, it follows that species' rules against every other voice; the rest move note against note.
More to learn13 notes
Rotate the cantus
Practise with the cantus in the top, the middle and the bottom voice.
Five lines
Stay within the five lines of the staff and prefer an octave to a unison.
Diminished 5th
It is wrong between any two voices, not only against the bass.
Half notes
One voice moves in halves and the others in wholes; each half note must be consonant with both whole notes.
A skip excuses 5ths
A half note may excuse two parallel 5ths by a skip of a 3rd, if that keeps the triad.
A rest hides a 5th
A rest in one voice can hide a hidden 5th between the others.
Quarter exercises
Give the first quarter the triad. If that fails, use the 2nd or 3rd quarter.
Four voices and unisons
Double the 3rd rather than writing a unison on a downbeat.
A 4th inside a tie
A 4th between inner voices acts like an imperfect consonance.
Dividing a whole note
Allowed in an accompanying voice when no other solution exists; Fux avoids it where he can.
Down, not up
A direct move into a perfect interval is easier to accept descending than ascending (Beethoven).
Phrygian is hardest
With no perfect 5th, the final chord and cadence need a different solution.
Beyond four voices
The rules loosen further. Fux ends the book here.
Pricing
For learners
Free
To start, and to learn the rules.
$0
Start practising
- Every lesson, with examples to hear
- First species in all six modes, unlimited
- Fux's six cantus firmi, or a new one each time
- The seven-stage first-species path
- Writing a cantus firmus
- Rule checking, hints and model answers
Solo
For learning on your own.
$6 / month
or $19 a semester
- Everything in Free
- Second, third, fourth and fifth species
- Three- and four-voice counterpoint, with the cantus in any voice
- Unlimited new exercises in every species
- Sixteen more stages on the path
For teachers
Teacher
For one teacher and a class.
$15 / month
or $45 a semester
Your first semester is on us: one class, up to 30 students, no card.
- Everything in Solo, for you and every student
- Up to 40 students across all your classes
- Students join with their email or a class code
- Assignments in two clicks: Parnasso writes the exercises
- Live coaching, or marking after the student checks
- A class view: who is done, and the mistakes most of the class makes
Studio
For a larger studio.
$35 / month
or $99 a semester
- Everything in Teacher
- Up to 120 students across all your classes
- A student in two of your classes uses one place
In a teacher's class? Your teacher's plan covers you. Sign in with the email your teacher added and everything opens for as long as the class runs.
School or conservatoire
Several teachers, more than 120 students, or an invoice for your department? Tell us what you need and we will put a plan together.
About Parnasso
A practice room for composers who learn on their own and have no teacher to mark their exercises.
Every exercise is short: a cantus firmus and a line to write against it. The rules of counterpoint are checked by code, so a parallel fifth is always caught and never guessed. On top of that, Parnasso comments on the shape of your line: its climax, its leaps, how independent it is from the cantus.
The name comes from Mount Parnassus, home of the Muses. In 1725 Johann Joseph Fux called his counterpoint textbook Gradus ad Parnassum, "steps to Parnassus": a climb toward mastery, one exercise at a time. That book taught Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Parnasso follows the same path, starting with counterpoint and climbing toward harmony and beyond.
- 1725Johann Joseph Fux publishes Gradus ad Parnassum, “steps to Parnassus”.
- AfterThe book trains composers including Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
- NowParnasso checks every rule of that method as you write, and explains it.
Who makes it
Parnasso is made by one person who wanted this tool to exist. (Placeholder: a short name and note will go here.)
Credits
Piano, cello and violin samples from tonejs-instruments (MIT licence). Playback by Tone.js. Notation engraved with VexFlow (MIT) in the Bravura music font (SIL Open Font License). The opening exercise uses Fux's Dorian cantus firmus.
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Keep your place on every device
An account is optional. Everything you do here is saved in this browser, so you can keep practising without one. An account adds:
- Your progress on every device. The streak and solved exercises follow you from phone to laptop.
- Classes. Join your teacher's class, or make one and set assignments.
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Privacy
Parnasso collects as little as it can. No ads, no tracking cookies, no selling of data.
What is stored in your browser
Your current exercise, preferences and record are kept in your browser's local storage, along with a random ID used for anonymous usage counts. You can clear them at any time by clearing this site's data.
What is stored on our servers
- If you sign in: your email address (and, if you continue with Google, the name and profile picture Google shares with us; we use them only to set up your account), the exercises you have solved and your current exercise, so they follow you to other devices.
- If you join a list (the Solo or Teacher lists, or MusicXML downloads): your email address and which list you joined.
- If you are in a class: your name and email as your teacher entered them, and your work on the class's assignments. Your teacher can see that work and leave you notes; no one else can. Leaving the class deletes your work in it.
- Challenge links: the exercise in the link and how many times it was opened and solved. Not who opened it.
- Usage counts: events such as "exercise solved" or "image downloaded", tied to a random browser ID. On your first visit in a session we also note the website that sent you here (its address only), any campaign tag in the link, your device type, browser, system, language and time zone. We never store your IP address. When you sign in, that random ID is linked to your account so we can see which visits became sign-ups; it is never shown to anyone else.
- Messages you send through the contact form.
Who processes it
Data is stored with Supabase in the European Union (Frankfurt). The site is served by Cloudflare. Sign-in emails are sent through our email provider.
Your choices
You can use Parnasso without an account. To see or delete what we hold about you, or to leave a list, write to us through the contact page and we will do it within 30 days.
Last updated 31 October 2026.
Terms of use
The short version: use Parnasso to learn, be kind with challenge links, and know that it is a beta.
The service
Parnasso is provided as it is, during a beta. Rule checking follows the common textbook rules of species counterpoint after Fux; teachers and textbooks differ on details, so treat its feedback as guidance, not a final grade.
Your work
The lines you write are yours. When you share a challenge link or image, you allow anyone with the link to see that exercise.
Accounts
Keep access to your email account safe: it is how you sign in. We may suspend accounts that abuse the service, for example by flooding challenge links or lists.
Paid plans
There are no paid plans yet. When there are, their price and terms will be shown before you pay.
Changes
We may update these terms as the service grows. The date below shows the latest version.
Last updated 18 October 2026.
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Contact
Found a wrong rule, a bug, or an idea for the next exercise? Tell us.