Up To Your Ears Episode 06: Texture

Episode 06 Summary

0:00 - Intro

• If this is your first time listening, feel free to start with this episode if you'd like, but we'd recommend checking out some of our earlier episodes first
• • Melody
  • Harmony
  • Rhythm & Meter
  • Timbre
  • Dvorak's 9th Symphony (Exploring all of the above)
• Texture may be a slightly difficult episode to start on because it's a little more abstract

1:35- Defining Texture

• Texture tells you how many melodic lines are present and whether there are accompaniment lines supporting the melodic line(s)
• It's like a job board that tells you how many melodic roles and accompaniment roles are available for a given piece of music
• Garrett makes a comparison to a variety of fabric textures
• • music works the same way
• To make it even simpler, try using these words:
• • Thick or thin
  • Busy or sparse
• An even simpler definition: How much is going on in the music
• Texture doesn't tell you how many players there are… just how many melodic lines there are and whether they are accompanied

4:18 Texture Classifications

• Three common ones and one uncommon one
• Common:
• • Monophonic
  • Homophonic
  • Polyphonic
• Uncommon:
• • Heterophonic
• Don't be scared of these words!
  • Knowing that's what you don't like can help you either avoid music that won't appeal to you or help you develop an appreciation for it
• • You probably have favorite textures!
  • You probably have least favorite textures…

6:03 - Monophonic Texture (Monophony)

• Literal translation: "one sound"
• A single melodic line with no accompaniment
• • If you're unsure what a melody is, head to Episode 01!
• Monophonic doesn't necessarily mean solo
• • Texture doesn't tell you about the performance forces (number of performers, what they're performing on)
  • Can be achieved by a soloist or by a children's choir singing in unison
• Monophonic examples:
• • Singing in the shower without any accompaniment (no phone/bluetooth speaker/waterproof ukulele)
  • Coworkers singing "Happy Birthday" in unison
  • Played example: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (Monophonic)

8:57 - Homophonic Texture (Homophony)

• Not "Homophobic!"
• Literal translation: "same sound"
• Most popular texture used in most music
• One melodic line supported by any number of accompaniment lines
• • Accompaniment lines don't pull for your attention nearly as strong as the main melody does
  • If there were two competing lines, that would be a different texture
• Often you'll hear a simple melody with basic chords underneath
• • Played example: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (Homophonic)
• A lot of choir music is homophonic
• • One voice type will have the melody (often sopranos) and everyone else's lines will be slightly less interesting
  • Played example: "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (Soprano line)
  • Played example: "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (Alto line)
  • The alto line has less movement and interest (melodically) but it supports the soprano part
• A lot of choir music is also homorhythmic
• • When the lines use different notes but the same rhythms
  • They're on the same words at the same time, and they change to new words together
  • Played example: "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (Soprano and alto line together)
• Remember: Homophony can be achieved by a soloist, not just a group
• • A guitarist playing a melody and chords beneath it (or singing a melody and playing chords underneath it)
• This is the most popular texture in both popular styles and classical music
  • Doesn't pull your as much as polyphony
  • More substance than monophony
  • You can see all of your notes neatly organized in front of you on the score
  • Multiple melodic lines get a little hairier on paper
• • In Garrett's opinion, it's easier to listen to
  • It's easier to write

13:47 Polyphony

• Literal translation: "Many sounds"
• Multiple melodies happening at once
• If you've ever heard of a "countermelody…"
• • counter means "against," so it's a melody against another melody
• Both melodies compete for your attention
• • You have to pick your moment with this texture because it can be overwhelming!
  • Played example: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (Polyphonic)
• Polyphony is often saved for the end of pieces after homophony or monophony
• • to build tension or
  • to give a big ending where everything comes together
• Musical theater loves to use polyphony!
  • It doesn't annoy in that moment you because you've heard the tunes (and often the lyrics) before
  • If you try to listen to all the singers at once, it can overwhelm you
  • They often won't say anything that hasn't been said already
  • "One Day More" from Les Miserables
  • "Christmas Bells" from RENT
  • These each close Act I respectively
• • They'll play many different melodies throughout the musical
  • In key moments, they'll combine them
  • Two examples:
• There are a set of rules for how to write polyphony well:
  • Polyphony is the type of writing
  • Counterpoint refers to the rules of how to write it well
• • This is called counterpoint
  • Music majors learn these rules in rules
  • Adjective form: contrapuntal
  • For our purposes, you can think of them as the same thing

17:28 Heterophonic Texture (Heterophony)

• Literal translation: "Different Sound" (not that helpful, really)
• Popular in lots of Asian, Middle Eastern, and even Gaelic music
• When a melody is doubled but ornamented and changed up very slightly by one of the players
• Garrett brings up an example from "The Jerk" (a great movie!)
• Rare in both popular styles and classical styles
  • Link: https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/heterophony/
• • Debussy and Stravinsky took a whack at it
  • Sweetwater article recommends the "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" by The Chieftains
• Amanda calls upon musical theater to start using this texture more often

20:02 Considerations to make about texture

• Texture shifts multiple times in a single piece of music
  • Even in a 3 minute pop tune!
• • If you keep the same texture for too long, you get bored
• It takes a lot of practice to get good at identifying different textures
  • Garrett points out that a lot of bass lines in pop music are very melodic, so that's an example of a common musician texture argument
  • See: "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson
• • Music students often struggle to learn these classifications
  • Musicians sometimes argue about these classifications
  • Don't expect to master this in one day… but listening for texture differences can help you appreciate different pieces (especially longer ones)
• Types of music can have characteristic textures
  • Earliest type of jazz
  • Not all styles of jazz sound like Dixieland, but it's a very important style of jazz
• • Lullabys won't include really busy accompaniment parts or multiple melodies because that won't soothe babies
  • Rhythm guitar parts in rock music are another example of a characteristic texture
  • Dixieland jazz is characteristically polyphonic
• The inclusion of non-tonal percussion is not figured into texture
  • "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Benny Goodman features a very important drum texture, but there's no classification for it
  • One sustained low note under a melody that either never changes or changes very rarely
  • • Music featuring a drone can still be considered monophonic
    • Garrett's example is Amazing Grace on bagpipes (which you can simulate using a microwave… thanks, Joseph!)
• • Amanda calls this percussive erasure
  • Definite pitch instruments such as xylophone or vibraphone DO count towards texture
  • Another device that gets left out is a drone
• If at the end of the episode, you don't feel confident about the classification names, that's okay!
• • "Thick or thin," "Lots going on," or "Not much accompaniment" are all fine ways to describe texture
  • This is something to add to your toolkit when you want to describe music
  • You can also impress music majors at parties by using these words
• Listeners don't necessarily need to understand texture really deeply… just enough to appreciate composers and musicians
• • Like of a musician "rises out of the texture"
  • Or if someone "can't bend" (doesn't fit the texture)
• For everything texture tells you, there's a lot of stuff it doesn't tell you
  • Percussion
  • How many performers
  • What instruments
  • How they're playing their instruments
  • Dynamics (volume)
  • Timbre (tone color)
  • Much more!
  • Amanda compares this to gravity because everyone has sort of a practical knowledge of it, but not all of us can explain how it works in depth
• • Does not include:
  • Hopefully you see why performers, composers, and conductors need to know all about it

32:02 - Recap

• Texture tells us how many melodic lines there are in music and whether or not they are accompanied
• Three common classifications: Monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic
• One uncommon texture: heterophonic
• Textures usually shift in pieces of music multiple times

32:34 - Listening Recommendations:

• (32:48) Garrett's 1st Monophonic Example: "Die Easy" by Rag'n'Bone Man (2017)
• (33:47) Amanda's 1st Monophonic Example: "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran (2013) from the Hobbit soundtrack
• (34:48) Garrett's 1st Homophonic Example: "Taking Care of Business" Bachman Turner Overdrive (1974)
• (36:12) Amanda's 1st Homophonic Example (also homorhythmic): "Come and Get Your Love" Redbone (1973)
• (38:06) Garrett's 1st Polyphonic Example: "A Man's Gotta Do" from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)
• • Also we did realize it's Captain Hammer, not Hammer Man
  • Also also, her name is Felicia Day, and she's awesome
• (39:45) Amanda's 1st Polyphonic Example: "Tiger Rag" recorded by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (2009)
• • First recorded by the ODJB (Original Dixieland Jazz Band) in 1917
  • Louis Armstrong and His Allstars "Tiger Rag" is great, too (YouTube)
  • Amazing Bob Havens rendition of "Tiger Rag" (YouTube)
• (41:16) Garrett's 2nd Polyphony Example: "The Cleaner" from the Toy Story 2 soundtrack (Randy Newman, 1999)
• (43:33) Amanda's 2nd Polyphony Example: "Ave Maria… Virgo Serena" by Josquin des Prez (ca. 1475)

46:48 Listener Question from Michael M: What are our goals for the podcast and why did we start it?

• Garrett: Wants to support Amanda, wants to have fun, and misses talking about music
• Amanda: Thinks a lot of musicians are bad at talking about music and wants to help with that
• Amanda: Wants everyday people to be able to talk about their favorite music and why the love it just as intelligently as they can tell you about their favorite TV shows, sports teams, other hobbies, etc.
• Hopefully this podcast gets you interested in concerts you may not have gone to otherwise
• Hopefully it gets parents to encourage their kids to participate in music
  • Participating in something new helps create more well-rounded people

49:32 Sign-off

• Thanks for listening
• Have a great day!

Spotify Playlist

Special thanks to OpenMusicRevolution.com for our intro and outro music and to the guys at Better Podcasting for being such great guides to us.  Special thanks to you, our listeners, too!

Visit our Website!

Follow us on social media!

Instagram: @uptoyourearspodcast

Twitter @uptoyourears 

Email us!

uptoyourearspodcast@gmail.com