Music
Texture
Some music is written with 'block' chords, some music has weaving parts around the tune, while some has no harmony at all. These are all examples of texture in music.
Music that has no chordal accompaniment, where different instruments or parts play or sing the same notes is described as in unison.
Here is an example of unison: a male choir singing a traditional Armenian hymn.
This literally means 'sounding together'. Homophonic music is played in block chords. Sometimes, homophonic music is called chordal music, it means the same thing.
Here is an example of music with a homophonic texture, written by Henry VIII.
This literally means 'different sounds or voices'. Polyphonic music has parts that weave in and out of each other. Sometimes this is called contrapuntal music - it means the same thing.
Polyphonic music may contain an element of imitation, where one voice or instrument copies what has just been played by another. (Think of a roundsong like London's Burning.)
Listen to this example of music that has a polyphonic texture, from JS Bach's Brandenburg Concertos.
A fugue is a special type of polyphonic texture. Fugues always begin with a tune that is played on a solo instrument/voice or by instruments/voices in unison. This tune is then played by all the other instruments or voices in turn but not necessarily at the same pitch.
Here is an example of a fugue. Notice how the solo starts the fugue tune and then the other voices join in one at a time.
A capella music is always for voices. It describes vocal music that has no instrumental accompaniment.
A capella music can be polyphonic, homophonic or unison - so you might see a piece of music described as 'homophonic a capella' or 'polyphonic a capella'.
The words 'a capella' in Italian mean 'In the style of the chapel'. This is because early music for the church was for unaccompanied voices.
Listen to this example of a capella singing - yodelling from Gabon in Africa.
This is a melody which can be sung or played on an instrument, with an accompaniment. A song with piano accompaniment falls into this category.
Here is an example of melody and accompaniment:
This texture is when a solo is heard which is immediately answered by another tune played or sung by a group. It is used a lot in popular music, jazz music and music from other cultures.
Here is an example of a call-and-response song from Latin America
Listen to this extract of music by Mozart that only uses the words 'Kyrie Eleison' and 'Christe Eleison' and comment on the textures voices and instruments you hear.
| Answers | Examiner's comments |
|---|---|
| Talvin: The music starts with just one instrument and one voice. The other voices and instruments then join in one at a time. At the end, all the instruments and voices play their own tune starting at different times. | GRADE F. Talvin has obviously heard that the voices have tunes starting at different times, but has not gone into enough detail about it. He didn't mention any instruments or voices by name and couldn't mention any of the textures by name either. |
| Sarah: The music starts with just the trombones and the bass voice. This type of texture is called 'unison'. The alto voice then joins in making the texture weave in and out. The voices sing Kyrie Eleison. A high voice then comes in singing a tune to the words 'Christe Eleison' which adds to the weaving style. There are timpani and strings in this piece. At the end, all the voices are weaving in and out of each other. | GRADE C. This is a good answer by Sarah. She has named one texture, unison. She heard that the music was 'weaving' but didn't use the proper word 'polyphonic'. She has also correctly identified one voice and an instrument. |
| Geeta: The music begins with the trombones and bass voices in unison. The voices sing the words 'Kyrie Eleison'. The alto voices then join in with faster notes singing the words 'Christe Eleison'. The texture is now polyphonic. The Soprano voices then sing the 1st tune (that the basses sang at first) to the words 'Kyrie Eleison' while the tenor voices sing the tune that the altos sang earlier to the words 'Christe Eleison'. The texture is still polyphonic. Timpani are heard to add emphasis to the bass part. Towards the end, all the voices sing both tunes to both sets of words in a polyphonic texture. Overall, the music has two tunes. The style is a fugue, where the tunes overlap each other. | GRADE A. Geeta has used the proper words to describe the textures and the voices/instruments used in this excerpt. She spotted that each set of words 'Kyrie Eleison' and 'Christe Eleison' has its own tune. Finally, she correctly identified the piece of music as being a fugue. |
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