My Definition: How much musical "stuff" is present in a piece of music, or the layering of different sounds in music.
~Basically, texture describes how many melodies are happening within a piece at any given time.
There are four main types of texture in music: monophonic, homophonic, heterophonic, and polyphonic.
Monophonic Texture
The word monophony breaks down to mean literally "one sound." In monophonic texture, there is only one melody present. All the singers and musicians play the same melody - basically, everyone is in unison.
The classic nursery rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel" is a good example of what monophonic texture sounds like:
Homophonic Texture
The word homophony breaks down to mean "the same sound." Even though there isn't only one melody going on, you really only hear one general sound. That's because there is one main melody going on, with some other little sounds supporting it.There isn't necessarily only one melody going on, but you only hear the one main melody.
A beautiful example of homophonic texture is W.A. Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik":
A beautiful example of homophonic texture is W.A. Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik":
Heterophonic Texture
The word heterophony means "different sounds." There are multiple melodies going on, but, again, with one main melody. Heterophonic texture is like a novel - you have a main character supported by a whole cast of characters who serve to improve the story and accent the main character. Heterophony does exactly that, only with melodies instead of characters.
Most popular music today is heterophonic in texture, including my absolute favorite song, "Yellow" by Coldplay:
Polyphonic Texture
The word polyphony means "many sounds." In polyphonic texture, there really are many melodies going on at once. There is no main melody, because all of the melodies being played are pretty much equally important. It's like a good ensemble cast. However, it can be a little confusing to listen to at times, what with so much going on at the same time.
A good, classic example of polyphonic texture is J.S. Bach's "Toccata & Fugue in D-Minor":
A good, classic example of polyphonic texture is J.S. Bach's "Toccata & Fugue in D-Minor":
And there you have it - texture in its many forms!
