TEXTURE

How the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic materials are used to create the overall quality of the sound in
music (eg melody and accompaniment, homophonic, polyphonic, antiphonal, a cappella, monophonic, unison
etc).

A musical texture that is chordal.

Two or more different melodies playing at the same time commonly found Baroque music and Minimalism
Everyone singing or playing the same part

A clear melody over accompaniment (eg a pop song with a solo singer accompanied by a band) allowing the
soloist to be heard (as in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto)
A single note (usually the tonic or dominant) that is normally sustained or repeated in the bass and sounds
against changing harmonies in the other parts. An inverted pedal note is a sustained or repeated note in a
high register.
A leader plays or sings a melody and the rest of the group plays or sings in response found commonly in Blues
and African Music

One single melody

A harmonic effect or accompaniment where two notes are continuously sounded throughout most or all of a
piece.
Texture / Monophonic Unison / Homophonic / Polyphonic / Pedal / Call and Response / Melody and accompaniment / Drone
One instrument at a time being introduced. Often used in minimalism or contrapuntal/polyphonic textures

Unaccompanied singing

Musical ideas passed between different groups of instruments or voices commonly found in contrapuntal
textures of the Baroque music

A melody is played and then imitated after a short delay in another part. It creates a type of contrapuntal
texture found commonly in minimalism or Baroque music
A musical texture in which two identical melodies are played simultaneously, but one is a decoration of the
other commonly found in Minimalist Music

Layering / Imitation / Canon / Heterophonic / A capella