POINT, in music, a mark or note anciently used to distinguish the tones or sounds: hence we still call it simple counter-point, when a note of the lower part answers exactly to that of an upper; and figurative counter-point, when any note is syncopated, and one of the parts makes several notes or inflexions of the voice, while the other holds on one.
We still use a point, to raise the value of a note, and
and prolong its time by one half, e.g. a point added to a semibreve instead of two minims, make it equal to three; and so of the other notes. See the article TIME.