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Are you sleeping musical texture?

The song "Are You Sleeping, Brother John?" may take on a polyphonic texture by singing the song as a round. If there are two or more children singing the song, one child may sing "Are you sleeping, are you sleeping" and another child may begin singing the song when the first child begins to sing "Brother John?

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Video Transcript

Introduction

Think of your favorite song. Most likely you're thinking of the singer and the lyrics of the song or possibly the catchy drum beat. But what other instruments are involved that make the song sound the way it does? Why are background instruments important? The answer to these questions is texture.

Texture Definition

Believe it or not, you hear texture in music all the time. Generally, we think of texture as being a word reserved for describing tactile applications, like the shagginess of carpet or the fabric of your favorite shirt, or for visual applications, like the thickness of paint on a canvas. However, we can apply texture in an aural way as well. In music, texture refers to the interaction of melodies and harmonies within a song. These parts can be instruments, singers, or a combination of both. In general, the texture of music can be thin or thick, thin texture being music with few differing musical parts and thick texture being music with many differing musical parts. We can think of texture like a sandwich. The more ingredients you put on your sandwich, the more flavors you will taste in one bite. A grilled cheese sandwich might represent a thin texture, while a sub sandwich with ham, turkey, roast beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, and spices could represent a thick texture. Thin and thick textures are often woven throughout a song, and it is this weaving that helps create intensity and drive or calm and relaxation within a piece of music.

Three Specific Types of Texture

When we want to describe music more precisely, we can refer to three specific textures: monophony, polyphony, and homophony. The names of the textures were derived from Latin, with the prefixes giving structural implications and the suffix '-phony', meaning 'to sound.' This is not to be confused with the word 'phony,' meaning 'fake' or 'fraudulent.' Let's examine each to find their similarities and differences.

Monophony

Monophony is the thinnest of the three textures, with only one musical part in a song. The prefix 'mono' means 'one,' like a monocle or monorail, so it's easy to remember. In monophony, there are no background singers or instruments. Historically, monophony was the first texture. During the Medieval period, this was the only texture of music accepted by the church, as harmony was considered the work of the devil. The most well-known type of Medieval monophony is Gregorian chant. If you listen carefully, you can hear that, although there are multiple singers, they are all singing the same pitches in rhythm together. This is monophony because there is only a single line of music with no accompaniment. Another example is at the beginning of Beethoven's 'Fifth Symphony.' All violins, violas, cellos, and basses are playing the same tones and the same rhythms. You might have noticed that the violins are playing at a higher frequency than the cellos or basses, but because they are playing the same pitch, it is still considered monophony. Finally, you can often hear monophony at the beginning of sporting events, where soloists will sing the national anthem without background instruments.

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Polyphony

Eventually, singing the same thing as everyone else all the time became boring. Thus, polyphony was born. You probably know that 'poly' means 'many,' like a polygon has many sides, and since we know 'phony' means 'to sound,' we can immediately deduce a basic meaning of 'many sounds at the same time.' More specifically, polyphony is heard when two or more independent melodies are sung or played simultaneously. In polyphony, the pitches and rhythms of each musical part are different from one another. Because of this, we can say that polyphony is a much thicker texture than monophony. Think of a round, like 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat.' If you and your friend are singing the song as a round, you are singing two different parts at the same time. Many times, an instance of polyphony is achieved through singing, though it can occur between two or more instruments as well. This happens most often in orchestral or band music. A very common example often heard at wedding ceremonies is Pachelbel's 'Canon.' Part of the beauty of the song is the interplay between the four simultaneous melodies. Many classical trios and quartets also play with a polyphonic texture, at least some of the time. In Beethoven's 'String Quartet,' we hear the violin, viola, and cello playing individual yet complementary parts. More current examples include The Beach Boys, who often combine multiple melodies in the vocal parts of their songs, and in pop song divas who feel the need to improvise over the chorus of the song while the main melody continues along with her.

study.com - Texture in Music Types & Examples - Video & Lesson Transcript

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