Learn about the characteristics of polyphonic texture in music

Have you ever enjoyed singing a round like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” or “Kookaburra?” If so, then you’ve experienced polyphony!

Polyphonic texture refers to two or more melodic lines that are heard at the same time. This style of music was common in the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods of Western music, but is not as common in popular music today. It can still be heard in children’s rounds and in musical theater ensemble numbers where each character has a separate melody sung together with the others.

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What is polyphony in music?

In the broadest sense, polyphony exists whenever more than one pitch is heard at the same time. The word literally means “many sounds.” Other musical textures can also be considered polyphonic, such as homophony, when a single melody is accompanied by harmony, and heterophony, where two voices are playing the same melody with different embellishments. However, most of the time polyphony refers to multiple melodic lines heard simultaneously.

What best describes a polyphonic texture?

Polyphonic texture has a delightful complexity. It’s exciting to hear different melodic lines played together to create a pleasing sound. When listening to a Bach fugue, it’s impressive to think that anyone had the ingenuity to figure out how to set a melody against various countermelodies to create such harmonious music. However, polyphony hasn’t always been in style. In the Neoclassical Period of the 18th Century, polyphonic texture was considered too complex. It was thought that too many melodic lines could be confusing to listeners, making it difficult for them to know what to focus on. In this period, homophony became the prevailing style, in which a single melody is featured and the accompaniment only exists to showcase it. Homophony remains the most common musical texture in modern styles today.

What is polyphonic vs homophonic texture?

Polyphonic texture usually means that more than one melodic line is heard simultaneously. Each voice, played by itself, would stand on its own. The melodic lines in polyphonic music are designed to work together as equals to create the overall effect of the piece.

Polyphony | Counterpoint

By contrast, when a piece has a homophonic texture, there is one main melodic voice. All the other sounds in the music are meant to accompany that one melody. Take out the main melody, and the rest of the music sounds incomplete. The other instrumental or vocal parts, when heard separately, don’t have the same interest and flow as the melody. However, because there are multiple instruments or voices producing different notes at the same time, homophony is technically a type of polyphony.

You can learn more about different textures in music here.

What are examples of a polyphonic texture in music?

There are two main types of polyphony: imitative and non-imitative. In imitative polyphony, a single melody is heard in more than one voice, with staggered entrances. The voices or instruments imitate each other. Some examples of imitative polyphony include rounds, canons, and fugues. As the different parts of the melodic line interact, they creates a polyphonic texture. Listen to this famous canon by Thomas Tallis and see if you can hear the melodic line echoing through the different vocal parts. This performance also has examples of multiple textures. It begins with monophony as a single voice performs solo. Then another singer joins, adding another melodic line to create polyphony. There’s a short, homophonic instrumental interlude before the choir returns with polyphony:

In non-imitative polyphony, each melodic line is different from the others. A modern example of this kind of polyphony is found in songs like “We Don’t Talk about Bruno” by Lin-Manuel Miranda. In this song, each of the characters sings a different melody on their own, and then at the end of the song they sing them all together. Other similar examples include “Tonight” from West Side Story, “One Day More” from Les Miserables, and “Defying Gravity” from Wicked. These songs from musical theater use a polyphonic climax for a dramatic finish that emphasizes the different goals and emotional states of the characters.

Many styles of polyphony are heard in traditional world music. Perhaps the oldest is a polyphony that consists of a single melody line with a drone. A drone is a note or a collection of notes that are sustained while the melody plays. Bagpipes are a good example of this kind of polyphony.

A more complex kind of traditional polyphony consists of two or more voices singing different tunes at the same time. In this traditional reaping song from Lithuania you can hear three different melodic lines sung together.

Learn to play polyphonic music on the piano

You can download the sheet music for these polyphonic piano pieces from the Hoffman Academy store!

Fughetta in E Minor by Domenico Zipoli – Intermediate level

Fugue in C Major by John Blow – Late Intermediate level

Two-Part Invention No. 9 in F Minor by J. S. Bach – Early Advanced level

The Cat’s Fugue by Domenico Scarlatti – Advanced level

Sonata in F by Domenico Scarlatti – Advanced Level

Fugue in C Major from the Well Tempered Clavier by J. S. Bach – Advanced level

Closing thoughts on polyphonic texture

From the entrancing sophistication of Bach’s greatest fugues to the simple delight of singing a round with friends, we hope you enjoy expanding your musical experience with polyphony.

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