Music Vocabulary

The way in which individual musical lines interact within a musical work - one can talk about the texture being dense, when a lot is 'going on', or use the terms monophonic, homophonic or polyphonic, for example, when discussing medieval works (Dolmetsch Online music dictionary)

A musical composition that has only a single melody line, regardless of the number of voices or instruments in the performance, and has no accompaniment (Dolmetsch Online music dictionary)

Music made in many parts, written in the contrapuntal style, where interest is spread through all the parts (Dolmetsch Online music dictionary)

Commonly used to mean music written in a chordal or familiar style (i.e. homophony), as opposed to music that is polyphonic (having many independent parts) or antiphonic (where musical lines alternate) (Dolmetsch Online music dictionary)

In short, music with one main melody supported by secondary accompaniment parts.

A short, repeating pattern (melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, movement) which is intended to be performed together with a melody (Dolmestch Online music dictionary)