![]() If others in the the crowd join in then this is still a monophonic texture – they are all singing the same tune in unison. However, you will often hear monophonic singing in informal settings like contemporary sports matches where the crowd is singing in unison.įor example, if a person in the crowd gets excited and starts singing a well known tune then this is an example of a monophonic texture – a solo voice. We rarely hear entirely monophonic songs in the published contemporary musical scene. ![]() It is extraordinary how much emotion Debussy creates with just a solo melody line: Have a listen to this performance of Debussy’s “Syrinx” for solo flute. Some composers have written entire pieces of monophonic music for solo instruments. Monophony is the oldest type of music (it was the only type of music performed in Ancient Greece) and was the form of music used in early church plainchant and Gregorian Chant music. Have a look at this visual diagram of a monophonic texture (the blue line is the solo melody): The definition of monophonic music is taken from the Greek (mono-phonic), literally meaning “one sound”.Ī monophonic texture has a single line of melody without any harmony or any other form of accompaniment. Let’s start with the simplest musical texture to define and describe – monophonic. The 4 different textures that I am going to explain will help you describe what each of the different parts are contributing to the overall sound. Whilst this is technically true, it is a very basic description and we need to try to be a bit more detailed in the language we use to describe texture in music. People often struggle to find the right words to describe musical texture and so you will often hear people describing the texture of a piece of music as being “thin” if there are not very many instruments playing and “thick” if there are lots of instruments playing. In this lesson we will look at definitions and explanations for each musical texture in turn. There are four music textures that you need to understand: Partner Song Collections by Sally K.Musical Texture refers to how different layers of a piece of music are combined to produce the overall sound. Your students will enjoy finding new partners and making new friends as they sing! Your students can start learning how to read vocal lines!įurther challenge your singers by pairing them up in couples or smaller groups as they sing together, or organizing them in two circles. ![]() Consider highlighting Part I in yellow and Part II in green. These books give you a way to “bridge the gap” between unison singing and dealing with 2-part choral octavos. The other great plus to these publications lies in the fact that all offer reproducible student vocal pages, either in the publication or as PDF files on an enhanced CD. I’ve seen occasions where one entire grade/classroom learns Part I and another entire grade/classroom learns Part II-and they sing together for the first time just before the performance! Other directors may chose to teach half of the students Part I only and the other half Part II only. Teachers may chose to have all singers learn both parts, then divide the ensemble in two to sing together the final time through. I try to weave the two melodies in and around each other so that no collisions occur, but rather they play nicely with each other! Then, the challenge is to create a text that will overlap well, even sharing the same vowels or syllables on long-held notes. Then the two melodies are performed simultaneously, creating a challenge for singers and testing the ears of the listener to identify each melody, yet hear new harmonies as they unfold.Īs the arranger of several collections of partner songs, the joy is in finding appropriate melodies to which a strong counterline or countermelody can be written. Traditionally, we hear one melody in its entirety followed by another melody. There’s nothing more fun than a partner song, plus there’s no better way to develop independent two-part singing or to introduce harmony and polyphonic texture to your young and developing performers. The popular TV show Glee recently renamed it as a “mash-up.” But I personally prefer this simple yet descriptive title: “partner song.” “Two or more independent melodies are combined or juxtaposed, creating the ultimate mastery of counterpoint.”īack in the fifteenth century, this combination of melodies was known as a “quodlibet” (Latin for “what pleases”). Composer/Arranger, Clinician, and Choreographer
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