homophony

Examples of Homophony

• Choral music in which the parts have mostly the same rhythms at the same time is homophonic.
• A singer accompanied by a guitar picking or strumming chords.
• A small jazz combo with a bass, a piano, and a drum set providing the “rhythm” background for a trumpet improvising a solo.

A homophone (/ˈhɒməfoʊn, ˈhoʊmə-/) is a word that is pronounced the same (to a varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. The two words may be spelled the same, for example rose (flower) and rose (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, as in rain, reign, and rein.

Homophony first appeared as one of the predominant textures in Western classical music during the Baroque period in the early 17th century, when composers began to commonly compose with vertical harmony in mind, the homophonic basso continuo becoming a definitive feature of the style.

The homophony of the Classical period featured predominant melody lines accompanied by relatively interesting and independent lines. In the case of a symphony or operatic ensemble, the texture might be described as homophony with multiple accompanying lines or polyphony with a predominant melodic line.

Homophony. A homophonic texture is characterized by having multiple voices moving together harmonically at the same pace. This is a very common texture. Many times, this takes the form of having a single melody that predominates, while other voices are used to fill out the harmonies.

Homophony is characterized by multiple voices harmonically moving together at the same pace. Polyphony is characterized by multiple voices with separate melodic lines and rhythms. Most music does not conform to a single texture; rather, it can move between them.

There are two main types of homophony: melody-and-accompaniment, and chorale-type (homorhythmic) homophony.

Homophony is a musical texture of several parts in which one melody predominates; the other parts may be either simple chords or a more elaborate accompaniment pattern.

Monophonic texture includes only a single melody line. If more than one musician plays the same melody together, this is called playing in unison. Polyphonic texture consists of two or more independent melody lines: Homophonic texture consist of a primary melody line with accompaniment.

Compared to the Baroque period, Classical music generally has a lighter, clearer texture, and is less complex. Baroque music is often polyphonic, while Classical is mainly homophonic.

Homophony. A homophonic texture is characterized by having multiple voices moving together harmonically at the same pace. This is a very common texture. Many times, this takes the form of having a single melody that predominates, while other voices are used to fill out the harmonies.

Examples of monophony include a choir singing in octaves, a solo singer performing an unaccompanied melody, or two instruments playing the same melody.