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Musical Texture

Refers to how many different layers of sound are heard at once, what kind of layers they

are (melody or harmony), and and how they are related to each other

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Musical Texture

Monophonic TextureMonophonic Texture– A single line of melody

without accompaniment

Singing or playing the same melodic line by more that one person (unison)(unison) adds texture to the monophonic melody

Polyphonic TexturePolyphonic Texture– Simultaneous

performance of two or more melodic lines of equal value

Polyphonic means having many sounds

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Musical Texture

The technique of combining different melodies together at one time is called counterpointcounterpoint

Often when counterpoint is used, the same

melodies are used by are started at different times ( i.e. Row, Row, Row your Boat)– This technique is called imitationimitation

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Polyphonic Texture In polyphony, several melodic lines

compete for our attention Polyphony adds dimension that is

comparable to perspective in painting:– Each line enhances and – heightens the expression – of the others

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Counterpoint

If many people talk at the same time it is confusing, but when many melodies are played or sung together, the sounds can be highly expressive

Counterpoint is the technique of

combining several melodic lines into a whole

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Polyphonic Texture

When music is polyphonic (more than one melody) it often contains imitation

The composer takes one melodic line and then repeats it in several different ways to achieve his result

The song “Row, row, row your boat” is an example of strict imitation

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Musical Texture

When we hear a single melody accompanied by chords, the texture is called homophonichomophonic

A composer can create variety and contrast in his/her music by changing textures

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Georges Bizet (1838-1875) Farandole from L`Arlesienne Suite No. 2 (1879)

– Two contrasting themes are heard in this piece– Many changes of texture contribute to the exciting mood

This piece contains two kinds of homophonic texture– In one the accompaniment and melody have the same rhythm– In the other the the rhythm of the accompaniment is different

This piece also has two kinds of polyphony: with and without imitation– The march theme is presented by the violins and then imitated by the violas– At the end of the piece, polyphony results when the march and dance themes are now

presented simultaneously Finally, monophonic texture is heard when the march them is played

by the strings in unison