GCSE Texture What does texture mean Texture describes

GCSE Texture

What does texture mean? Texture describes how much is going on in the music at any one time It is about the different ways instruments and voices are combined in a piece of music

Harmonic/ Homophonic A texture that is essentially chordal It may also be described as ‘melody with accompaniment’ – melody is the most important, with other parts providing chordal accompaniment

Polyphonic/ Contrapuntal Consists of weaving together 2 or more equally important melodic lines, which fit together harmonically Exam Tip: Sounds ‘busy’!

Broken Chords Playing the notes of a chord separately, one after the other Provides a more gentle, flowing accompaniment to the melody

Imitative Imitate means to copy: A vocal/ instrumental part starts off playing a melody which is immediately copied by another part Usually just the first few notes is copied

Canonic A type of imitation – like a round where the imitating voice/ instrumental part repeats the entire melody, not just the opening e. g. ‘London’s Burning’

Layered Texture Music is made up of different layers of sound, which are all important in adding to the rich texture of the music e. g. African music

Unison All the instruments or voices playing or singing notes at the same pitch

Octaves A type of unison - if the instruments or parts play or sing notes an octave apart, this is called octaves Remember - to be in unison, the notes must be the same pitch

Single Melody Line An example of a monophonic texture A single melody line without any harmonies, although it may be played by more than one instrument or voice

Melody with Accompaniment Another term for ‘Harmonic/ Homophonic’ texture

Antiphonal A special kind of imitation – a musical phrase is ‘passed around’ between different groups of voices or instruments Often the groups are placed in different parts of the building or stage – creates a stereo effect Watch an example in the following video…

Sections in an Opera Recitatives – tells the story, like a narrator Aria – A tuneful song http: //www. youtube. com/ Choruses – Everyone sings watch? v=mm. GC 3 i. VIliw&f eature=related Female opera stars called Divas

Composition Task Compose and record a short piece of music on the keyboard, using 1 of the following textures: C: C, E and G Chords: G: G, B and D F: F, A and C