Texture Part = Voice = Line = Melodic Line Theory Things William Wieland

Monophony
(monophonic music)
1 melody (Doublings are allowed.) • Plainchant (e.g. Gregorian Chant)
• Bach’s Cello Suites (mostly monophonic)
• The opening bars of Sousa’s “Washington Post”
• Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time "6. Danse..."

Polyphony
(polyphonic music)
2 or more parts — imitative or nonimitative
(Polyphony and counterpoint are
  often used as synonyms.)
Most music you know and love

Counterpoint
(contrapuntal music)
2 or more independent parts which
follow the rules of counterpoint, the
art of combining different melodic lines
Much Renaissance and Baroque Music
  • Palestrina’s Motets
  • J.S. Bach’s Fugues

Homophony
(homophonic music)
features chords and a melodic line
  — Melody + Accompaniment prominent line + supporting chords Most Popular Music and Jazz
  — Homorhythmic music
    (hymn or chordal texture)
All parts have the same or nearly
the same rhythm.
• Handel’s Water Music "Hornpipe"
• Bernstein’s Mass "Almighty Father"
    (Some scholars include monophony in octaves as a type of homorhythmic music, e.g. the opening bars of Sousa’s “Washington Post”.)

Heterophony
(heterophonic music)
somewhat different versions of
the same melody performed
simultaneously
• Much Nonwestern Music
• Beethoven’s Violin Concerto (the solo melody and
 orchestral melody just after the soloist’s entrance)

Fugues begin monophonically and add imitative voices at regular intervals.

Penderecki's Threnody: To the Victims of Hiroshima showcases texture and dynamics rather than melody or harmony. — Dr. Wieland has a score.

Texture Song