Polyphony meaning in music

We explain the basics of polyphony and how it works, polyphony meaning in music, with examples from well-known composers. The word polyphony comes from the Greek for 'many sounds', which gives you an instant clue as to how the term is used in relation to music. Polyphony is essentially a term used polyphony meaning in music describe the simultaneous use of two or more melodies or voices within a composition. This could be anything from a simple canon or round to something much more complex.

Fig 1: Baroque orchestra, Nuremburg: Ger. Polyphony is a musical texture that features two or more equally prominent melodic lines played at the same time. Each of these lines can be thought of as a melody in its own right -- one that could be sung, played, or listened to independently of the others. But it is the combination of the different strands, all interacting together, that creates polyphony. Fig 2: Four independent, simultaneous lines, forming a polyphonic texture.

Polyphony meaning in music

Within the context of the Western musical tradition, the term polyphony is usually used to refer to music of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Baroque forms such as fugue , which might be called polyphonic, are usually described instead as contrapuntal. This point-against-point conception is opposed to "successive composition", where voices were written in an order with each new voice fitting into the whole so far constructed, which was previously assumed. The term polyphony is also sometimes used more broadly, to describe any musical texture that is not monophonic. Such a perspective considers homophony as a sub-type of polyphony. Traditional non-professional polyphony has a wide, if uneven, distribution among the peoples of the world. It is believed that the origins of polyphony in traditional music vastly predate the emergence of polyphony in European professional music. Currently there are two contradictory approaches to the problem of the origins of vocal polyphony: the Cultural Model, and the Evolutionary Model. Although the exact origins of polyphony in the Western church traditions are unknown, the treatises Musica enchiriadis and Scolica enchiriadis , both dating from c. These treatises provided examples of two-voice note-against-note embellishments of chants using parallel octaves, fifths, and fourths. Rather than being fixed works, they indicated ways of improvising polyphony during performance. The Winchester Troper , from c.

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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'polyphony. Send us feedback about these examples. Accessed 2 Mar. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! See Definitions and Examples ».

Since poly- means "many", polyphonic music has "many voices". In polyphony, each part has its own melody, and they weave together in a web that may become very dense; a famous piece by Thomas Tallis, composed around , has 40 separate voice parts. Polyphony reached its height during the 16th century with Italian madrigals and the sacred music of such composers as Tallis, Palestrina, and Byrd. Usually when we speak of polyphony we're talking about music of Bach's time and earlier; but the principles remain the same today, and songwriters such as the Beatles have sometimes used polyphony as well. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'polyphonic. Send us feedback about these examples.

Polyphony meaning in music

But what is polyphony in music, exactly, and what importance does it have in the history of sound and composition? Read on to know more about polyphony in music, including its rich history and influence on musical history. Polyphony, also known as a counterpoint or contrapuntal music , is a formal musical texture that contains at least two or more lines of independent melody. Polyphony is often associated with Renaissance music and Baroque forms, such as fugue. The origins of polyphony are the subject of many debates. Although unknown, the oldest written examples of polyphony are the treatises Musica enchiriadis and Scolica enchiriadis , both of which date back to C. These treatises utilize two-voice note-against-note chant embellishments with parallel octaves, fifths, and fourths. Another example is the Winchester Troper , from C. D, the oldest known extant example of chant polyphony. Compared to monophony and homophony, polyphony is mostly improvised during the performance.

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More from Merriam-Webster on polyphony. There are almost no technological grounds to withhold wax tablets from the hands of composers of polyphony anytime from the eleventh to the fifteenth century. Your feedback will be reviewed. It can be differentiated between two-, three- and four-voice polyphony. These changes in texture not only illustrate the use of polyphony for musical contrast, but also effectively depict the sense of the text with its emphasis on flight and its invocation of the churning wheels of time: [Example 3: American fuguing tune Northfield "How long dear Saviour, O how long" ] How long, dear Saviour, O how long Shall this bright hour delay? Nova Science Publishers. Send us feedback about these examples. Finally, after creating incredible tension, the texture changes to what we call homophony , as we hear the melody again triumphantly on top, but with the other members of the orchestra in a supporting role. The presence of these accompanying parts does not challenge the overall description of the section or work as polyphonic. To top. Retrieved 14 November

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'polyphony. Send us feedback about these examples.

We explain the basics of polyphony and how it works, with examples from well-known composers. Europeans were surprised to find drone-based and dissonant polyphonic singing in Polynesia. Music in Human Evolution. In the second example, from a composition written in by Steve Reich, two echoing women's voices and an equally prominent percussion ensemble vie for attention over a series of sustained chords provided by accompanying strings. Polyphony is essentially a term used to describe the simultaneous use of two or more melodies or voices within a composition. In general, polyphony and newly composed pieces were restricted to the elite. Toggle limited content width. Who Asked the First Question? Polyphony in North American Indian music. Get Word of the Day daily email! Types of music. Word Lists. Essential British English. Archived from the original PDF on 7 March