polyphony

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The term polyphony is sometimes used synonomously with counterpoint, and sometimes to distinguish medeival multi-voice music from that of the Renaissance and Baroque. monophonic, or consisting of only one voice, which was usually a liturgical chant.

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Definitions (5)

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  1. noun Music with two or more independent melodic parts sounded together.

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Examples (50)

  • In my edition of the 9th Symphony for two pianos, prepared for Schott, the possibility was offered to me of reducing the most essential parts of the orchestra-polyphony to ten fingers, and of handing over the chorus part to the second piano. —  Letters of Franz Liszt, Volume 2: "From Rome to the End"
  • A crowd of the young and elderly gathered beneath the sanctuary windows every evening to hear the sweet polyphony, as the purple sunset kissed the first of the night's stars. —  F ;SF; - vol 103 issue 01 - July 2002
  • This wasn't a problem of polyphony or note stealing, as I'm pretty sure I didn't hit the 25 voice limit. —  EM411.com
  • She's fond of polyphony, rhythmic and melodic complexity, extended improvisation, and she makes it known in her whirlwind performances that take the audience by storm. —  The Tech - MIT's Student Newspaper
  • The earliest known example of polyphony, discovered in a document called the "Winchester Troper," adds voices to the chant moving at parallel intervals, such as the fifth and octave, a practice called [[organum]]. —  Conservapedia - Recent changes [en]
 

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Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French polyphonie = Portuguese polyphonia, from New Latin polyphonia, from Greek πολυφωνία, variety of tones, from πολύφωνος, having many tones: see polyphonous.
 

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/ˈpɑlɪfoʊni/
by American Heritage

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