More on Texture

Here are some short examples of various textures:

Imitative Polyphony
Example 1

Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 1 in D major, 3rd Movement
An example of a Canon/Round (like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"). Listen to how the melody is repeated in different instruments. Does the melody sound familiar?

Example 2
Click to open new window
Johann Sebastian Bach, Fugue in C Minor
In this example, each voice in the fugue is played by a different synthesizer sound


Non-Imitative Polyphony -- where you have simultaneous melodies
Example 1

Madonna, Cherish
Near the end of the record, a second melody appears and is heard through the end of the record as the chorus repeats

Example 2

John Phillip Sousa, Stars and Stripes Forever
The piccolo comes in with a counter-melody while the strings play the main melody


Changing Texture

Whitney Houston, I Will Always Love You
This record is primarily homophonic but it starts with a voice-only monophonic section and becomes homophonic when the instruments come in


Monophonic Texture

Janis Joplin, Mercedes Benz
An example of a monophonic record by a popular music artist. (You could argue that it's not monophonic because there's a hand-clapping or tapping sound accompanying her singing.)


Homophonic Texture
Click to open in a new window (8MB file. May take a while to download)
See if this mixer application makes it easier for you to hear how a popular song is arranged. Listen to some of the individual parts, then listen to the whole mix.

Instructor: John Meschi
Office: Room 204, Fine Arts Center
(516) 299-2105 (Office)
(516) 299-2474 Department
E-mail: jmeschi@liu.edu
Office hours by appointment