polytonality
Multiple keys together
Polytonality is the simultaneous use of two or more musical keys.
A composer might layer a melody in C major over harmony in F-sharp major, creating deliberate harmonic tension.
The technique appears in twentieth-century classical music, particularly in works by Stravinsky and Milhaud.
When only two keys are used, the more specific term is bitonality.
Layering one element over another
- layeringForming successive strata
- simultaneityState of coexisting temporally
- keysLock-operating instruments
- tonalitiesMusical key qualities
chords · harmony · counterpoint · polyphony · texture · interplay · contrapuntal · modulation
Lack of harmony
- tensionStretched or strained state
- clashViolent disagreement or collision
- harshnessUnsparing quality or manner
- resolutionFormal decision or determination
ambiguity · instability · color · complexity · density · richness
- BartokHungarian 20th-century composer
- ProkofievTwentieth-century Russian composer
- serialismFixed-sequence composition technique
- twelve-toneSerialism using all pitches
Ravel · neoclassicism · primitivism · experimentalism · twentieth-century
Improvisational American music genre
- fusionJoining into unity
- orchestralFor a symphony ensemble
- balletClassical dance on pointe
- symphonyExtended composition for orchestra
superimposition
Layering one element over another
- layeringForming successive strata
- simultaneityState of coexisting temporally
- keysLock-operating instruments
tonalities · chords · harmony · counterpoint · polyphony · texture · interplay · contrapuntal · modulation · transposition
dissonance
Lack of harmony
- tensionStretched or strained state
- clashViolent disagreement or collision
- harshnessUnsparing quality or manner
resolution · ambiguity · instability · color · complexity · density · richness
Stravinsky
- BartokHungarian 20th-century composer
- ProkofievTwentieth-century Russian composer
- serialismFixed-sequence composition technique
Ravel · twelve-tone · neoclassicism · primitivism · experimentalism · twentieth-century
jazz
Improvisational American music genre
- fusionJoining into unity
- orchestralFor a symphony ensemble
- balletClassical dance on pointe