Texture

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

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

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

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

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

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’

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

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

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

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

Another term for ‘Harmonic/ Homophonic’ texture

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…

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Recitatives

narrator – tells the story, like a

Aria

– A tuneful song

Choruses

– Everyone sings watch?v=mmGC3iVIliw&f  eature=related Female opera stars called

Divas

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