Main Body
13 Texture
Learning goals for Chapter 13
In this chapter, we will learn:
- Some of the most common texture types in tonal music
- How to identify chords in various textures
In practice, chords can manifest in one of many different textures, and it is important to become adept at recognizing chords in any texture. The most common kinds of texture are outlined in Figure 13‑1.
Figure 13‑1. Common types of texture
Monophony
textures occur in music for solo, single-line instruments or voices, without accompaniment. Example 13‑1 shows a typical monophonic texture found in a chant composed by Hildegard von Bingen, a Benedictine nun.
Example 13‑1. Monophony: Hildegard von Bingen, “O virgo ac diadema”
Listen to the full track, performed by Voices of Ascension, on Spotify.
Read an English translation of the song text on the website for the International Society of Hildegard von Bingen Studies.
Learn about German Benedictine abbess, visionary, writer, and composer Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Ian D. Bent and revised by Marianne Pfau.
Example 13‑2 shows a different type of monophony, one in which chords may be implied. It uses , where more than one line is implied in the seemingly monophonic texture. Example 13‑3 provides a reduction of the implied chords from the compound melody structure of the excerpt.
Example 13‑2. Monophony with compound melody: J. S. Bach, Cello Suite in G Major, Minuet 2, mm. 1–4
Listen to the full track, performed by Yo-Yo Ma, on Spotify.
Learn about German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Christoph Wolff and Walter Emery.
Example 13‑3. Bach excerpt with analysis of implied chords
Homorhythmic textures
Recognizing chords in textures is fairly straightforward. Since all parts move in the same rhythm in homorhythmic textures, chords are aligned vertically. Example 13‑4 shows a chorale-style texture that is mostly homorhythmic. Notice how all of the syllables align, even with a few surface differences in rhythm. Example 13‑5 shows a blocked-chord texture that is fully homorhythmic.
Example 13‑4. Chorale style, mostly homorhythmic texture: J. S. Bach, “Jesu, Meine Freude,” mm. 1–6
Listen to the full track, performed by the Monteverdi Choir, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, on Spotify.
Read an English translation of the song text on the Bach Cantatas website.
Learn about German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Christoph Wolff and Walter Emery.
Example 13‑5. Blocked-chord homorhythmic texture: Franz Schubert, Six moments musicaux, op. 94, no. 2, mm. 1–5
Listen to the full track, performed by Alfred Brendel, on Spotify.
Learn about Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797–1828) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Maurice J. E. Brown and others.
Homophonic textures
textures feature accompanied melody. Homophonic textures can be homorhythmic (where the melody and accompaniment share the same rhythm), but they can also involve an accompaniment with a rhythmic structure different from that of the melody. Consequently, there are many different ways to realize homophonic texture.
When notes of a chord are played in succession rather than simultaneously, we say that the chord is . Arpeggiation is a common technique found in accompaniments. is a special type of arpeggiated pattern that is used in many Classical compositions. Example 13‑6 shows an excerpt that uses an Alberti bass pattern as an accompanimental texture. Here, the melody is presented in the right-hand part, and the Alberti bass appears in the left hand, where each chord is iterated in the following pattern: lowest note – highest note – middle note – highest note. Example 13‑7 shows an excerpt that uses arpeggiation, but not Alberti bass, in the left hand to accompany a melody played in the right hand.
Example 13‑6. Homophonic texture with Alberti bass: W. A. Mozart, K. 332, mvt. 2, mm. 1–6
Listen to the full track, performed by Maria João Pires, on Spotify.
Learn about Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Cliff Eisen and Stanley Sadie.
Example 13‑7. Homophonic texture with arpeggiation: Frederic Chopin, Nocturne no. 7 in C
minor, op. 27, no. 1, mm. 1–8
Listen to the full track, performed by Daniel Barenboim, on Spotify.
Learn about Polish composer Frederic Chopin (1810–1849) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Jim Samson.
Another textural possibility includes an “oom-pah” texture (shown in Example 13‑8), which alternates a bass note with a chord voiced in a higher register.
Example 13‑8. Homophonic “oom-pah” texture: Franz Schubert, “Auf dem Flusse,” mm. 1–10
Listen to the full track, performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore, on Spotify.
Read an English translation of the song text on lieder.net.
Learn about Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797–1828) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Maurice J. E. Brown and others.
Heterophony
textures involve all or most parts playing the same melody but embellished or varied in different ways simultaneously. Listen to a performance of the southeastern Chinese piece “Han Gong Qiu Yue” in Example 13‑9, which features a heterophonic texture.
Example 13‑9. Heterophonic texture in Chen Zhong performing “Han Gong Qiu Yue” (Autumn Moon at the Han Palace)
Polyphony
textures employ more than one independent part. In polyphonic music, all parts are generally equal in importance. The excerpt in Example 13‑10 demonstrates a polyphonic texture. A common type of polyphonic procedure is , which presents the same melody in all voices with staggered entrances. (such as “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”), , and are imitative pieces.
Example 13‑10. Polyphonic texture: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass, Kyrie, mm. 1–7
Listen to the full track, performed by the Oxford Camerata, on Spotify.
The song text in this example translates in English to “Lord, have mercy.”
Learn about Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Lewis Lockwood, Noel O’Regan, and Jessie Ann Owens.
Sometimes it can be challenging to recognize chords within polyphonic textures, since the melodic (horizontal) aspect of each line is just as powerful as the harmonic (vertical) aspect of the lines as they sound simultaneously. Melodic lines often use for embellishment and to achieve stepwise motion, which can make analysis difficult as well. The same difficulty can arise in the analysis of monophonic music with compound melody.
Video: T31 Intro to texture (14:41)
This lecture video presents four different texture types—monophonic, homorhythmic, homophonic, and polyphonic—as well as examples of each ranging from the Medieval era to the Romantic era.
Chords in various textures
EXERCISE 13-1 Analysis with figured bass in various textures
Listen to and study each excerpt. Identify the texture type that best describes each one. For each of the chords, provide an appropriate lead sheet symbol above the staff. Beneath the staff, provide the root, quality, bass note, and figured bass symbol. The first is done for you.
Worksheet example 13‑1. W. A. Mozart, Piano Sonata in C major, K. 545, mvt. 1, mm. 1–5
Learn about Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Cliff Eisen and Stanley Sadie.
Worksheet example 13‑2. Franz Schubert, Six moments musicaux, op. 94, no. 6, mm. 106–115
Learn about Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797–1828) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Maurice J. E. Brown and others.
For Worksheet example 13‑3, focus primarily on the left-hand part to determine the chords, since the right hand features some non-chord tones. In all excerpts, remember that the lowest note of a chord—not necessarily its first note—determines the inversion and appropriate figured bass symbol.
Worksheet example 13‑3. Frederic Chopin, Waltz in F minor, op. 70, no. 2, mm. 1–6
Listen to the full track, performed by Cyprien Katsaris, on Spotify.
Learn about Polish composer Frederic Chopin (1810–1849) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Jim Samson.
Worksheet example 13-4 features chromatic alterations to the chords presented within a tonal context, so add modifications to the figured bass symbols where appropriate.
Worksheet example 13‑4. Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Harpsichord Suite no. 2 in G minor, Courante, mm. 9–11[1]
Learn about French harpsichordist and composer Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665–1729) by reading this Oxford Music Online article, written by Catherine Cessac.
Supplemental resources for Chapter 13
Samuel Brady and Mark Gotham’s chapter on texture (Open Music Theory)
Robert Hutchinson’s chapter on texture
Danny Stevens’s chapter on texture (Foundations of Aural Skills)
- "Pièces de clavecin, Livre 1 (Jacquet de La Guerre, Elisabeth)" by Steve Wiberg is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 ↵
texture consisting of a single melody (no accompaniment)
single-line (monophonic) melody that implies more than one voice, usually through wide leaps
a type of texture where all parts use the same rhythm, or mostly the same rhythm
textures that feature a melody with an accompaniment
chords played one note at a time
special type of arpeggiated accompaniment where each chord is iterated in the following pattern: lowest note – highest note – middle note – highest note; used in European classical music
textures that feature all or most parts playing the same melody but embellished or varied simultaneously
textures that feature two or more independent parts, all generally equal in importance
textural device in which parts play the same melody with staggered entrances
imitative song in which the melody may be sung by more than one person with regularly staggered entrances to create harmony
imitative piece with two or more parts that uses the melody of the leading part in one or more successive following parts
compositional process using short musical subjects, alternating sections using strict imitation and episodic sections in free counterpoint
notes that do not belong in a given chord; for example, D would be a non-chord tone in relationship to a C major triad
