What is musical texture

Is it rough, is it smooth, or maybe cold, wet, dusty, or even metallic. But these words are not what we use to describe what is texture in music. So, what does texture in music mean? Texture in music refers to the number of musical lines and their density in a piece of music. In other words, texture in music is the relationship between the layers of sound or lines or voices. Texture in music can be described using several terms, but the simplest ones are in describing the density of the music.

The density, or the texture in music, in a piece of music with only a few instruments playing, could be described as light, thin, or even sparse. The density of a large group of instrument playing could be heavy, dense, think or even compact. The texture will depend on the number of instruments playing at any given time as well as how those instruments are being performed. When you are discussing, performing, or studying, what is texture in music, there are a few main points to consider.

When you are trying to work out the texture of a piece of music, one of the first things you will need to do is list the instruments performing in the music. There are a few ways to do this. You could listen for each instrument, you could watch a live performance of the music, or you could look at the musical score. Once you have listed the instruments, it will be easier to work out the overall texture if you work out the overall structure being used.

Then, try and list the instruments performing in each section. With your sections written down, it should be a less complicated process to discuss the role, range and register of each instrument in the music.

Knowing what each instrument is doing in each section, will also help you to determine other aspects of what is the texture in the music you are studying. There are four main roles that an instrument can perform in any section of a piece music. Please note that not every piece of music will have an instrument in each of these roles. Melody — this is defined as a series of pitches that form a tune.

The melody, or main melody, is the part that is most memorable and is often the part you sing along to in the music. Beat — an instrument that performs the beat is often a drum or percussion instrument.

The beat is defined as performing the underlying pulse of the music and helps the listener to hear the tempo of the music. Melodic Accompaniment — the melodic accompaniment is performed by any pitched instrument that is not performing the melody but plays along and supports the melody.

For example, if there was someone singing, and a guitar strumming the chords, then the guitar would be the melodic accompaniment and the melody would be sung by the vocalist. Rhythmic Accompaniment — these are any instrument that performs with and supports the beat. These could be like a tambourine or shaker that plays a rhythmic pattern to accompany the drum kit that is playing the beat.

Chords are polyphonic because they are made up of three or more individual notes that are combined to create a singular chord. You can even create polyphony with vocals. Polyphonic textures are often used as rhythm or support instruments in an arrangement. In a rock band setup, there is often a rhythm and lead guitarist, and the rhythm guitarist is adding polyphonic texture to the music. In other genres of music, this may be accomplished with a piano or synth pad.

This creates a rich, full sound that supports the monophonic texture created by any lead guitar parts, synths, etc. Most instrumental arrangements are combinations of monophonic and polyphonic textures. This combination is referred to as monody. Adding or removing these different textures or instruments at different times during a piece of music is a huge part of what creates dynamics in an arrangement. Some sections you will want to be quieter, others louder, and varying these textures can help you create that contrast.

As the song builds into its drop, more instruments are added. We get polyphonic synth chords and a bright monophonic lead melody played by the synths and guitar. This makes the drop feel huge! When those elements get removed for the second verse, it feels like a step down in dynamics, and the cycle repeats itself. This ebb and flow of adding and removing different textures will help you achieve the rich, dynamic sound you want in your production!

A homophonic texture consists of a main melodic line with additional voices or parts at the same time that serves as a harmonic accompaniment.

A good example of this in pop songs is a vocal melody with additional harmonies added to it. Each part is singing the same lyrics and has the same rhythm, but each part has a slightly different melody. These pieces are then combined to create one harmonically rich vocal sound. Texture comes in three kinds - unison, homophonic and polyphonic.

These are demonstrated using classical and contemporary examples, including the Beach Boys. Texture Texture describes how layers of sound within a piece of music interact. Example 7. This example features a very clear melody flute and accompaniment piano. Notice how the piano is never completely in rhythmic unison with the flute; however, it provides the role of accompaniment by filling out the texture harmonically. Example 8. Polyphony is characterized by multiple voices with separate melodic lines and rhythms.

In other words, each voice has their own independent melodic line, and the independent voices blend together to create harmonies. Example 9. Notice how each individual melodic line is independent, yet the voices create harmonies overall when heard together. Notice how there are three independent vocal layers, singing different melodies and rhythms, but working together to create new harmonies overall:.

Example Most musical works do not have a single texture; rather, there are often different textures throughout a composition. For example, you may have heard a work that opened with a solo voice or instrument, and later changed to a Melody and Accompaniment texture. There are many different possibilities! A musical texture indicating the special status of one melodic part usually the top-most which may or may not participate in rhythmic unison with the other parts. A musical texture which emphasizes the separateness of the parts involved.