Editing Music (section)

=== Texture ===
{{Main|Texture (music)}}
Musical texture is the overall sound of a piece of music or song. The texture of a piece or song is determined by how the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic materials are combined in a composition, thus determining the overall nature of the sound in a piece. Texture is often described in regard to the density, or thickness, and range, or width, between lowest and highest pitches, in relative terms as well as more specifically distinguished according to the number of voices, or parts, and the relationship between these voices (see common types below). For example, a thick texture contains many 'layers' of instruments. One layer can be a string section or another brass. The thickness is affected by the amount and the richness of the instruments.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://viva.pressbooks.pub/openmusictheory/chapter/core-principles-of-orchestration/|title=Core Principles of Orchestration|first=Mark|last=Gotham|date=1 July 2021|via=viva.pressbooks.pub}}</ref> Texture is commonly described according to the number of and relationship between [[part (music)|parts]] or lines of music:
* [[monophony]]: a single [[melody]] (or "tune") with neither instrumental [[accompaniment]] nor a [[harmony part]]. A mother singing a [[lullaby]] to her baby would be an example.
* [[heterophony]]: two or more instruments or singers playing/singing the same melody, but with each performer slightly varying the rhythm or speed of the melody or adding different [[ornament (music)|ornaments]] to the melody. Two [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]] [[fiddler]]s playing the same [[traditional music|traditional]] fiddle tune together will typically each vary the melody by some degree and each add different ornaments.
* [[polyphony]]: multiple independent melody lines that interweave together, which are sung or played at the same time. [[Choir|Choral]] music written in the [[Renaissance music]] era was typically written in this style. A [[round (music)|round]], which is a song such as "[[Row, Row, Row Your Boat]]", which different groups of singers all start to sing at a different time, is an example of polyphony.
* [[homophony]]: a clear melody supported by [[chord (music)|chordal]] [[accompaniment]]. Most Western [[popular music]] songs from the 19th century onward are written in this texture.

Music that contains a large number of independent [[Part (music)|parts]] (e.g., a double concerto accompanied by 100 orchestral instruments with many interweaving melodic lines) is generally said to have a "thicker" or "denser" texture than a work with few parts (e.g., a solo [[flute]] melody accompanied by a single cello).