Imitative counterpoint

Imitative counterpoint is a contrapuntal technique in which one voice introduces a melodic idea that other voices repeat in turn, often at different pitches or times.

Subject (music): A principal melodic idea that supplies thematic material for a fugue or other contrapuntal composition. The subject is the idea passed from voice to voice in imitative counterpoint.
Melody: A sequence of musical pitches perceived as a coherent tune or line. Imitation transfers a recognizable melodic line between voices.
Round (music): A simple canon in which equal voices sing the same melody, entering successively at fixed intervals. Rounds make the staggered repetition of a melody especially easy to hear.
Homophony: A musical texture in which a principal melody is supported by accompanying harmony. Homophony foregrounds accompaniment rather than successive melodic imitation.
Answer (music): A transposed restatement of a fugue subject, usually entering after the subject in another voice. Fugal imitation commonly answers the opening subject in a different voice.
Voice (music): An individual melodic line in a multi-part composition, whether sung or played by an instrument. Each voice can introduce or repeat the imitated idea.
Invention (music): A short contrapuntal composition that develops a compact musical idea, often through imitation. Inventions use imitation to develop a theme without relying on a full fugue structure.
Polyphony: A musical texture in which two or more independent melodic lines sound simultaneously. Imitative counterpoint is a kind of polyphonic writing, though polyphony need not use imitation.
Entry (music): The point at which a voice or instrument begins its part or introduces thematic material. Staggered entries create the sequence of imitations across the voices.
Interval (music): The pitch distance between two notes, measured by their note names and sounding size. The interval between entries determines whether an imitation preserves or alters the subject's pitch level.

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