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Homophony
In music, homophony (/həˈmɒf(ə)niː, hoʊ-/;[1][2], Greek: ὁμόφωνος, homóphōnos, from ὁμός, homós, "same" and φωνή, phōnē, "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that provide the harmony.[3] One melody predominates while the other parts play either single notes or an elaborate accompaniment. This differentiation of roles contrasts with equal-voice polyphony (in which similar lines move with rhythmic and melodic independence to form an even texture) and monophony (in which all parts move in unison or octaves).[4] Historically, homophony and its differentiated roles for parts emerged in tandem with tonality, which gave distinct harmonic functions to the soprano, bass and inner voices.
A homophonic texture may be homorhythmic, which means that all parts have the same rhythm.[5][6] Chorale texture is another variant of homophony. The most common type of homophony is melody-dominated homophony, in which one voice, often the highest, plays a distinct melody, and the accompanying voices work together to articulate an underlying harmony.[7]
Initially, in Ancient Greece, homophony indicated music in which a single melody is performed by two or more voices in unison or octaves, i.e. monophony with multiple voices. Homophony as a term first appeared in English with Charles Burney in 1776, emphasizing the concord of harmonized melody.[8]
- ^ "Homophony". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
- ^ "Homophony". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on June 17, 2020.
- ^ Tubb, Monte [in Dutch] (Fall 1987). "Textural Constructions in Music". Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy. 1 (1): 201. Article 14. Archived from the original on March 7, 2024 – via Carolyn Wilson Digital Collections.
- ^ McKay, George Frederick (2005). Creative Orchestration. George Frederick McKay Music Publishing, Bainbridge Island, Washington. (Originally published by Allyn & Bacon, Boston 1963, 2nd ed. 1965).
- ^ Griffiths, Paul (2004). "homorhythm". The Penguin Companion to Classical Music. Penguin Group. p. 375. ISBN 978-0-14-051559-6. OCLC 61504797.
- ^ Randel, Don Michael (1999). "Homorhythmic". Written at Ithaca, New York. The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 305. ISBN 978-0-674-00084-1. OCLC 41951291.
- ^ Hyer, Brian. "Homophony", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed September 24, 2006) (Subscription required).
- ^ Todd Michel McComb, ed. "What is monophony, polyphony, homophony, monody etc.?" Early Music FAQ (accessed May 19, 2009). The Online Etymology Dictionary ([1] gives 1768 as the date of earliest usage of the word, but without reference.
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