Musical texture

thumb|A bar from Johann Sebastian Bach|J. S. Bach's [[Fugue No. 17 in A-flat, BWV 862, from The Well-Tempered Clavier (Part I), an example of counterpoint. The two voices (melodies) on each staff can be distinguished by the direction of the stems and beams.thumbthumb|Voice 1thumb|Voice 2thumb|Voice 3thumb|Voice 4]]

Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice (monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony).

thumb|right|400px|Homophony in Thomas Tallis|Tallis' "[[If Ye Love Me", composed in 1549. The soprano sings the melody (the primary line) while the lower voices fill out the harmony (as supporting lines). The rhythmic unison in all the parts makes this passage an example of homorhythm.File:If ye love me.ogg]] In music, homophony (;, Greek: , homóphōnos, from , homós, "same" and , phōnē, "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that provide the harmony. One melody predominates while the other parts play either single notes or an elaborat

thumb|right|Caccini, Le nuove musiche, 1601, title page

In music, heterophony is a type of texture characterized by the simultaneous variation of a single melodic line. Such a texture can be regarded as a kind of complex monophony in which there is only one basic melody, but realized at the same time in multiple voices, each of which plays the melody differently, either in a different rhythm or tempo, or with various embellishments and elaborations. The term was initially introduced into systematic musicology to denote a subcategory of polyphonic music, though is now regarded as a textural category in its own right.

way in which tempo, melody, and harmony are combined in a musical composition

section of a musical composition

Micropolyphony is a kind of polyphonic musical texture developed by György Ligeti, which consists of many lines of dense canons moving at different tempos or rhythms, thus resulting in tone clusters. According to David Cope, "micropolyphony resembles cluster chords, but differs in its use of moving rather than static lines"; it is "a simultaneity of different lines, rhythms, and timbres".

thumb|300px|Introduction to John Philip Sousa|Sousa's "Washington Post March", m. 1-7 features [[octave doubling and a homorhythmic texture.]]

concept in musical composition