Elements of Music
Texture
▫ When you describe the texture of a piece of music, you
are describing how much is going on in the music at
any given moment.
▫ For example, texture can be thick or thin, or it may
have many or few layers.
▫ You may be only able to hear rhythm, or a melody line
with accompaniment, or it may have interweaving
melodies.
▫ There are many ways you can describe textures in
music, but the most important show the relationships
of melodies and harmonies.
Terminology
▫ Monophonic (unison)
 Monophonic music has only one melodic line –
absolutely NO harmony or accompaniment.
 Examples of monophonic music:
 One person whistling
 A group singing someone ‘Happy Birthday’ without
harmonies or instruments
 A solo instrument (like a trumpet) playing
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4NtSqZcT_4
Terminology…
▫ Homophonic (block chords)
 Homophonic music has one clear melodic line with all
other parts providing accompaniment or fill chords.
 Examples of homophonic music:
 A singer accompanied by a guitar picking or strumming
chords.
 A small jazz combo with a bass, a piano, and a drum set
providing the ‘rhythm’ background for a trumpet solo.
 A person playing the bagpipes (where the drones provide the
accompaniment.)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WxfjWnuEno
Terminology
▫ Polyphonic
(different sounds or voices)
 Polyphonic music has parts that weave in and out of each
other. There are more than one independent melody
occurring at the same time.
 Examples of homophonic music:
 A choir singing a round or canon (Row, Row, Row your
Boat.)
 Most pieces of music for a large instrumental group
(orchestra)
 Adding in a back-up singers or a second instrument playing
harmony opposite to the melody.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72eEBz2rGWU
How do you figure out the texture
of a song?
• Figure out the texture of the following pieces keeping in mind the following rules:
• That if there are a lot of instruments playing at once
the texture is thick.
• If there are only one or two instruments playing the
texture is thin.
• You can build up the texture from thin to thick, or
reduce it from thick to thin.
• Use the technical terms as much as possible.
• Jill Barber – “Oh My My”
• “Rhapsody in Blue” George Gershwin