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- Monophony. The first three types of musical texture go hand in hand and are common to most contemporary Western Music. We’ll start with monophony. A monophonic texture consists of a single melodic line.
- Polyphony. A polyphonic texture consists of two or more independent melodies coinciding. Polyphonic texture gets a bit muddled up in the industry, as the term is also used in conjunction with a type of synthesizer (polyphonic synths).
- Homophony. A homophonic texture consists of a central melodic line with additional voices or parts simultaneously serving as a harmonic accompaniment. An excellent example of this in pop songs is a vocal melody with additional harmonies.
- Heterophony. So far, we have discussed standard musical textures in Western music (a.k.a most contemporary music). The last musical texture to discuss is found if you study music history.
- Monophonic Texture
- Homophony
- Polyphonic Musical Texture
- Heterophony
- Summary of Musical Textures
- Composing Using Different Musical Textures
The definition of monophonic music is taken from the Greek (mono-phonic), literally meaning “one sound”. A monophonic texture has a single line of melody without any harmony or any other form of accompaniment. Have a look at this visual diagram of a monophonic texture (the blue line is the solo melody): Monophony is the oldest type of music (it was...
The definition of homophony comes from the Greek (homo-phonic), literally meaning “same-sounding”. You can see from the diagram below that an accompaniment (green shading) has been added underneath the melody (blue line)to form a homophonic texture: In a strictly homophonic texture, the parts or voices move “in step” with one another rather than ha...
The definition of polyphonic texture comes from the Greek (poly-phonic), literally meaning “many sounds”. It describes music where several parts or voices are combined together contrapuntally or in counterpoint. You can see on this diagram of a polyphonic texture the different parts weaving in and out as they perform distinct melodic lines that com...
Heterophony is a less common musical texture, but it is useful to understand it. Heterophonic music is where a melody is varied by an additional voice/part at the same time as the original melody is being played. Heterophonic textures can be found in a wide range of music from jazz, folk music to the gamelan from Indonesia. It can also be found in ...
Here is a diagram showing all 4 of the textures we have looked at. I hope it helps summarise the topic for you:
You do not have to choose one texture to use for the whole of a piece of music you are writing. Many composers choose to use different textures within one piece of music/song. This is a great way of bringing contrastinto a piece. Have a listen to this acapella version of “You Raise Me Up” by BYU Vocal Point. The arrangement starts with a solo voice...
Feb 19, 2024 · Summing up texture. Texture is one of those words that we often hear in relation to music. It can be confusing, because in other aspects of life, texture is defined by what we can feel with our hands, and music is not a physical object we can hold and touch. Instead, texture in music deals with the overall quality of sound in a piece of music.
- Hannah Gee
- Monophony / Monophonic Texture. In monophonic music, a single person plays or sings one melody or tune. This solo is free from any harmonic accompaniment.
- Homophony / Homophonic Texture. With homophonic music, you’ll have a melody and accompanying instruments. However, they are not independent melodic parts.
- Polyphony / Polyphonic Texture. The polyphonic texture describes many harmony possibilities within a single piece. To be considered polyphonic, music must feature two or more melodies.
- Heterophony / Heterophonic Texture. The heterophonic texture is uncommon in Western music. It is a characteristic of various musical styles, including bluegrass, “mountain music,” Cajun, and Zydeco.
Musical texture is the density of and interaction between a work’s different voices. Monophony is characterized by an unaccompanied melodic line. Heterophony is characterized by multiple variants of a single melodic line heard simultaneously. Homophony is characterized by multiple voices harmonically moving together at the same pace.
The word phonic means “relating to sound”. We can explain the type of combination ‘aka’ the texture of the music in the following ways. Monophonic Music Definition. Monophonic texture has a single line of music with no accompaniment. The word mono means “one”. It’s the most accessible type of musical texture to recognise as there ...
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A monophonic texture is characterized by a single unaccompanied melodic line of music. Monophony involves all instruments playing or singing in unison, making it the simplest and most exposed of all musical textures. The first movement of Cello Suite no. 1 in G Major (1717) by Johann Sebastian Bach is an example of a monophonic texture.
