Homophonic texture refers to homophony which means “same sound” or “same tone”. It is a texture commonly found in music where a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh out the harmony. It is heard most in pop music, film music, jazz, rock, and most classical music. If you are getting confused, don’t worry, we will explain further what homophonic texture is in music.
Texture in Music
To understand what is texture in music, you have to understand that some music is written with ‘block’ chords while others have weaving parts around the tune. Some music, in fact, has no harmony at all. The texture is in essence, the overall quality of a piece of music. Think of it as the many layers of melody and harmony that can be heard simultaneously.
Homophonic Texture
Homophonic literally means “sounding together”. Homophonic music is played in block chords and is also sometimes called chordal music. You can find an example of homophonic texture at the end of “And the Glory of the Lord” from Handel’s Messiah.
Homophonic texture is similar to monophonic texture as there is one main melody being played, but it adds harmonies and accompaniment to the melody. Homophonic texture is where you can have multiple different notes playing, but they are all based around the same melody.
A musician playing the guitar while singing at the same time is an example of homophonic texture.
Homorhythmic Texture
In homorhythmic texture, the melody and harmony share the same rhythm and they can also be referred to as block chords since the notes of each chord are played all at once. It is notably found in choral music and hymns. Handel’s “Hallelujah” chorus and the opening of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” are great examples.
Melody-Dominated Texture
In melody-dominated texture, the melody is the main element and is supported by harmony. The harmony may not line up with the actual melody. It is basically one melody with many harmonies surrounding it. There are three potential styles of accompaniment with melody-dominated texture.
Block Chords: Block chords occur when all the notes of a chord are played simultaneously in one solid block. The only part of the music in block chords is the accompaniment and not necessarily the melody. Chopin’s “Prelude in E Minor” is a perfect example of block chord accompaniment.
Broken Chord Accompaniment: The chord played to accompany the melody is broken up and each note is played at separate times. You can find this in Chopin’s Prelude.
Alberti Bass Accompaniment: Each note of the chord is played at a different time, but the unique part is how the accompaniment is played. The lowest part of the chord is played first followed by the highest note, the middle note, and then the highest note again. The beginning of Mozart’s “Piano Sonata in C Major” is a great example of this.