Monophonic texture in music
3 MAIN TYPES OF TEXTURE
- MONOPHONIC TEXTURE
- A characteristic of music that has only one voice, many voices in unison, or in octaves playing one single melody line.
Monophonic texture, many times having only one voice, can be considered a thin texture. It's not very common to find in popular songwriting. It sounds thin and it is easy to hear and listen to. Look below at the guitar TAB. This is considered monophonic texture because there is only one voice playing one thing.
Examples of monophonic texture
One guitar playing one melody line
2 guitars playing in unison
But even if you have 2 guitars playing in unison (playing the same melody), it is still considered monophonic.
Monophonic texture with drone
The next sample is the next step up in complexity. You find this a lot in Celtic music. It is a monophonic melody with a drone running behind it. A drone note is a note that's held, usually for a long time behind the melody.
Coming up with a monophonic voice is much like writing a motive or phrase. It's usually the place you start when beginning a song or composition.
Homophonic texture takes this one step further.