07:700:131 Lecture 4: Module 4, Part 3
Document Summary
Musical texture is the description of how many parts or layers a person hears in a piece of music. The number of instruments playing doesn"t effect as long as they are all playing the same melody. Not characterized by a great range or overt virtuoso. Earliest body of music was formal and tightly controlled and used for church and mass. There are problems with being able to handle various octaves. In singing, the members sing the same melody for the most part. Polyphony - two or more simultaneous melodies of roughly equivalent interest. Differences in range (soprano, alto, bass, and tenor) needed a tonal system that would support the various ranges of voices and instruments. Organum consisted of 2 melody lines at the intervals of 4 or. Organum purum is a polyphonic texture where there"s a strong sense of beat. Discant is a system where the metric and rhythmic aspects are tightly regulated.
