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This is a technique very common in musical theatre, when we may have a duet, or song for a number of singers to perform. We can also employ this technique when writing orchestral scores or instrumental works. A counter-melody (or countermelody) occurs when a secondary melody happens at the same time as a main melodic theme. In musical theatre, this technique can help facilitate conversation between characters, and enable the narrative to move forwards. More sophisticated counter-melodic writing may involve recalling themes from previous songs and combining these together into one song. For example, consider  “One Day More” from the musical “Les Miserable”.

Two tips for how to write effective counter-melodies:-

• • If the original melody is quite busy, write something which is slower with more sustained notes. The theme in “One Day More” is very simple, and allows space for the other more complex themes to work against it.

• • Consider composing the counter melody in a different register to the original melody. If the original is high in pitch, then write something that is lower. For example, if in an orchestral work, you have written a theme on the flute, try writing a counter-melody on the cello. The two parts will be much easier to distinguish than say, writing two different melodies for the flute and the violin.