Homophony

What it means

Homophony, Greek for “same sound,” denotes a texture in which a melodic line is supported by chords or accompanying parts. One distinguishes two forms: melody with chordal accompaniment and chordal writing in which all voices move in the same rhythm, as in the four-part chorale.

Musical use

Homophony marks a large part of the music since the late Baroque: songs, chorales, dances, Classical symphonic movements, and most pop music follow this principle. It allows clear intelligibility of text and memorable melodies and is easier to hear than polyphony. In the 18th century it increasingly replaced the polyphonic style.

Homophony should be distinguished from monody, in which only one melody sounds, from polyphony, in which several equal melodies are combined, and from heterophony, in which variants of the same melody sound together. Mixed forms are frequent.

Performance practice

In a homophonic texture, play the melody prominently and the accompaniment with restraint. In chordal writing keep all voices in the same rhythm and pay attention to shared breathing and articulation.