polyphony
Interlocking musical voices
Polyphony is music with two or more independent melodic lines sounding simultaneously, as distinct from a single melody with accompaniment.
The term applies especially to Renaissance and Baroque choral music where voices weave separate but harmonizing parts: Bach's polyphony rewards repeated listening.
In literary criticism, polyphony describes narratives with multiple distinct voices or perspectives rather than a single authorial viewpoint.
Organized group of singers
- motetSacred polyphonic choral work
- madrigalUnaccompanied Renaissance choral composition
- cantataVocal work with instruments
- massQuantity of matter
requiem · oratorio · anthem · acapella · soprano · alto · tenor · bass
Contrapuntal musical form
- canonAccepted authoritative works
- imitationCopy of the original
- contrapuntalInterlocking independent melodies
- invertibleAble to be undone
augmentation · diminution · dissonance · resolution · suspension · species · Bach · Byrd
Stacked levels or coatings
- intricacyState of elaborate complexity
- densityMass-to-volume ratio
- interweavingCrossing strands alternately
- tapestryDecorative woven wall cloth
complexity · richness · depth · weave · fabric · interlace · voicing · stratification
Carnival concept scholar
- voicesSounds producing speech
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- narrativeAccount of events
- perspectivesAttitudes toward situations
Electronic sound-generating instrument
- sequencerOrders signals chronologically
- MIDIElectronic music data standard
- oscillatorCyclic signal generator
- layeringForming successive strata
patch · arpeggiator · voicing · stacking · unison · detuning · keyboard · sound-design
choir
Organized group of singers
- motetSacred polyphonic choral work
- madrigalUnaccompanied Renaissance choral composition
- cantataVocal work with instruments
mass · requiem · oratorio · anthem · acapella · soprano · alto · tenor · bass · ensemble
fugue
Contrapuntal musical form
- canonAccepted authoritative works
- imitationCopy of the original
- contrapuntalInterlocking independent melodies
invertible · augmentation · diminution · dissonance · resolution · suspension · species · Bach · Byrd · renaissance
layers
Stacked levels or coatings
- intricacyState of elaborate complexity
- densityMass-to-volume ratio
- interweavingCrossing strands alternately
tapestry · complexity · richness · depth · weave · fabric · interlace · voicing · stratification · thickness
Bakhtin
Carnival concept scholar
synthesizer
Electronic sound-generating instrument
- sequencerOrders signals chronologically
- MIDIElectronic music data standard
- oscillatorCyclic signal generator
layering · patch · arpeggiator · voicing · stacking · unison · detuning · keyboard · sound-design
- Liturgical MusicGregorian chant, plainchant, plainsong, hymn, psalm
- Albanian musicdef, tambura, traditional instruments, choral music, choral singing
- musicmusic, song, songs, singing, singer
- classical musicBach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms
- harmonyharmony, chord, chords, triad, triads
- vocal musicsong, vocals, soprano, tenor, alto
polyphonymonophony
Unaccompanied single melody
monody · unison · single voice · plainchant · Gregorian chant
polyphonycacophony
Harsh, clashing sounds
discord · dissonance · disharmony · clash · discordance