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- The textures of music
Polyphonic
Polyphonic music can also be called
polyphony ,
counterpoint , or
contrapuntal music. If more than one independent
melody is occurring at the same time, the music is polyphonic. (See
counterpoint .)
Examples of polyphony
-
Rounds, canons, and fugues are all polyphonic. (Even if there is only one melody, if different people are singing or playing it at different times, the parts sound independent.)
- Much Baroque music is contrapuntal, particularly the works of J.S. Bach.
- Most music for large instrumental groups such as bands or orchestras is contrapuntal at least some of the time.
- Music that is mostly homophonic can become temporarily polyphonic if an independent countermelody is added. Think of a favorite pop or gospel tune that, near the end, has the soloist "ad libbing" while the back-up singers repeat the refrain.
Heterophonic
A
heterophonic texture is rare in
Western music. In
heterophony , there is only one melody, but different variations of it are being sung or played at the same time.
- Heterophony can be heard in the Bluegrass, "mountain music", Cajun, and Zydeco traditions. Listen for the tune to be played by two instruments (say fiddle and banjo) at the same time, with each adding the
embellishments, ornaments , and flourishes that are characteristic of the instrument.
- Some Middle Eastern, South Asian, central Eurasian, and Native American music traditions include heterophony. Listen for traditional music (most modern-composed music, even from these cultures, has little or no heterophony) in which singers and/or instrumentalists perform the same melody at the same time, but give it different embellishments or ornaments.
Suggested listening
Monophony
- Any singer performing alone
- Any orchestral woodwind or brass instrument (flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, etc.) performing alone. Here is an
example from
James Romig's Sonnet 2, played by John McMurtery.
- A Bach unaccompanied cello suite
- Gregorian chant
- Most fife and drum music
- Long sections of "The People that Walked in Darkness" aria in Handel's "Messiah" are monophonic (the instruments are playing the same line as the voice). Apparently Handel associates monophony with "walking in darkness"!
- Monophony is very unusual in contemporary popular genres, but can be heard in Queen's "We Will Rock You."
Homophony
- A classic Scott Joplin rag such as "Maple Leaf Rag" or "The Entertainer"
- The "graduation march" section of Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance No. 1"
- The "March of the Toreadors" from Bizet's
Carmen
- No. 1 ("Granada") of Albeniz' Suite Espanola for guitar
- Most popular music genres strongly favor homophonic textures, whether featuring a solo singer, rapper, guitar solo, or several vocalists singing in harmony.
- The opening section of the "Overture" Of Handel's "Messiah" (The second section of the overture is polyphonic)
Polyphony
- Pachelbel's Canon
- Anything titled "fugue" or "invention"
- The final "Amen" chorus of Handel's "Messiah"
- The trio strain of Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever", with the famous piccolo countermelody
- The "One Day More" chorus from the musical "Les Miserables"
- The first movement of Holst's 1st Suite for Military Band
- Polyphony is rare in contemporary popular styles, but examples of counterpoint can be found, including the refrain of the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," the second through fourth verses of Simon and Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair/Canticle," the final refrain of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours," and the horn counterpoint in Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger's "Lavender Road."
Heterophony
- There is some heterophony (with some instruments playing more ornaments than others) in "Donulmez Aksamin" and in "Urfaliyim Ezelden" on the
Turkish Music page. You can also try simply searching for "heterophony" at YouTube or other sites with large collections of recordings.
- Here is an example featuring children
simultaneously singing three different children's songs that are set to the same tune: "Baa, Baa black sheep," "Twinkle, twinkle, little star," and "The Alphabet Song." The result is heterophonic.
- The performance of "Lonesome Valley" by the Fairfield Four on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack is quite heterophonic.
Questions & Answers
a general and ongoing rise in the level of prices in an economy
AI-Robot
What are the factors that affect demand for a commodity
differentiate between demand and supply
giving examples
differentiated between demand and supply using examples
Lambiv
how is the graph works?I don't fully understand
hi guys good evening to all
Lambiv
In economics, a perfect market refers to a theoretical construct where all participants have perfect information, goods are homogenous, there are no barriers to entry or exit, and prices are determined solely by supply and demand. It's an idealized model used for analysis,
Ezea
other things being equal
AI-Robot
When MP₁ becomes negative, TP start to decline.
Extuples Suppose that the short-run production function of certain cut-flower firm is given by: Q=4KL-0.6K2 - 0.112 •
Where is quantity of cut flower produced, I is labour input and K is fixed capital input (K-5). Determine the average product of lab
Kelo
Extuples Suppose that the short-run production function of certain cut-flower firm is given by: Q=4KL-0.6K2 - 0.112 •
Where is quantity of cut flower produced, I is labour input and K is fixed capital input (K-5). Determine the average product of labour (APL) and marginal product of labour (MPL)
Kelo
Can I ask you other question?
Shukri
What is different between quantity demand and demand?
Quantity demanded refers to the specific amount of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to purchase at a give price and within a specific time period. Demand, on the other hand, is a broader concept that encompasses the entire relationship between price and quantity demanded
Ezea
how do you save a country economic situation when it's falling apart
what is the difference between economic growth and development
Economic growth as an increase in the production and consumption of goods and services within an economy.but
Economic development as a broader concept that encompasses not only economic growth but also social & human well being.
Shukri
production function means
Jabir
What do you think is more important to focus on when considering inequality ?
any question about economics?
sir...I just want to ask one question... Define the term contract curve? if you are free please help me to find this answer 🙏
Asui
it is a curve that we get after connecting the pareto optimal combinations of two consumers after their mutually beneficial trade offs
Awais
thank you so much 👍 sir
Asui
In economics, the contract curve refers to the set of points in an Edgeworth box diagram where both parties involved in a trade cannot be made better off without making one of them worse off. It represents the Pareto efficient allocations of goods between two individuals or entities, where neither p
Cornelius
In economics, the contract curve refers to the set of points in an Edgeworth box diagram where both parties involved in a trade cannot be made better off without making one of them worse off. It represents the Pareto efficient allocations of goods between two individuals or entities,
Cornelius
Suppose a consumer consuming two commodities X and Y has
The following utility function u=X0.4 Y0.6. If the price of the X and Y are 2 and 3 respectively and income Constraint is birr 50.
A,Calculate quantities of x and y which maximize utility.
B,Calculate value of Lagrange multiplier.
C,Calculate quantities of X and Y consumed with a given price.
D,alculate optimum level of output .
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Source:
OpenStax, Music appreciation. OpenStax CNX. Mar 24, 2014 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11640/1.1
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