Comes
Comes (Latin “companion”, “comrade”) is the name for the second voice in a fugue, the one that takes up the subject of the first voice, the dux. It usually enters on the fifth degree, that is, a fifth higher or a fourth lower than the dux.
- Meaning
- the second voice to enter, answering the subject
- Word origin
- Latin comes, “companion” or “comrade”
- Entry note
- usually the fifth degree: a fifth above or a fourth below
- Counterpart
- dux, the first voice with the subject on the tonic
- Typical of
- fugue, also canon
The answer to the subject
A fugue begins with one voice alone presenting the subject, the dux. Then a second voice enters and brings the subject once more: the comes. It is the repetition of the fugue subject in the second voice. Both words are also used for the first and second voice to enter in other imitative pieces, such as a canon, but above all in the fugue.
Dux: the subject on C
An example subject of our own, not a quotation. It begins on the tonic, C, and has six notes.
Comes: the same subject a fifth higher
Every note lies exactly a fifth above the corresponding note of the dux: C becomes G, D becomes A, E becomes B. The steps between the notes stay the same size, which is why this is called a real answer.
Both voices together
In the first bar you hear only the dux, in the lower voice. In the second bar the comes enters in the upper voice with the subject (marked), while a countermelody sounds below.
Why the fifth degree
The comes typically enters on the fifth degree, a fifth above or a fourth below. In C major that is the note G. The third voice to enter then usually returns to the tonic and is often also called a dux.
Not every comes is an exact transposition of the subject. If the head of the subject has the fifth above the tonic in a stressed position, it is usually changed to a fourth in the comes. This is called a tonal answer. The reason is to preserve the identity of the key. In the example above it stays a real answer, in which every interval remains unchanged.
| Dux | Comes | |
|---|---|---|
| The word | Latin “leader” | Latin “companion” or “comrade” |
| Entry | first voice | second voice |
| Scale degree | tonic | usually the fifth degree: a fifth above or a fourth below |
| In the example above | begins on C | begins on G |
In the sheet music archive
Among the titles in the sheet music archive there is a single fugue, and at its beginning you can see the change from dux to comes: the first entry on C4 in bar 1, the second on G4 in bar 2.
Fugue in the archive
-
Fuge C-Dur Johann Sebastian Bach, from: The Well-Tempered Clavier I, No. 1, BWV 846 · piano · four voices · 2 pages
The time signature is 4/4, and the key signature has no sharps or flats. In bar 1, after an eighth rest, the lower of the two voices in the upper staff enters on C4, with three eighth notes rising by step. In bar 2, after a half rest and an eighth rest, the upper voice enters on G4, a fifth higher. That is the change from dux to comes.
Common mistakes
- Taking the comes for a new section: It brings no new subject, but the same subject in a second voice.
- Always expecting a fifth upward: Usually it is the fifth degree, but it can also be the fourth below, and a note in the head of the subject may be changed.
- Looking for the dux only at the beginning: Later entries of the subject on the tonic are often also called dux.
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Related terms
DuxFugaImitationCounterpointCanonDominantVoice / partUpper voice
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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