Melody, Texture & Counterpoint

Monophony

Pronounced muh-NOF-uh-nee

Definition

Monophony is a musical texture made of a single melodic line with no accompaniment, whether it is performed by one person or by many in unison or octaves.

Monophony is the simplest texture: a single melodic line with nothing accompanying it. There are no chords, no bass line and no second melody. One person singing alone, a solo flute, a tune whistled in the street: all are monophonic.

Two examples in 4/4, two bars each. The first is one treble staff with quarter notes D5, E5, F5, A5, then G5, F5, E5, D5. The second is a grand staff with the same right-hand tune and the left hand playing the same notes two octaves lower, D3 to D3. — Top: an original modal tune alone on one staff. Bottom: the same tune doubled two octaves lower in the left hand. It sounds fuller, but there is still only one melodic line, so the texture is still monophonic.

Many performers, still one line

Monophony is about the number of different lines, not the number of performers. A choir singing the same tune in unison is monophonic. So is a tune doubled at the octave, as when men and women sing a song together, because notes an octave apart sound like the same note in a different register. The second panel of the example doubles the tune two octaves lower: more sound, but still just one line.

Where you hear it

Gregorian chant and other early church chant, sung in unison.
Medieval songs, which were written down as single melodies; whether performers added instruments is still debated.
Folk songs, lullabies and work songs sung without accompaniment.
Solo instrumental music, such as a melody for unaccompanied flute or violin.
The opening of many pieces, where one instrument plays alone before the others join.

Some solo pieces are trickier: a single line that leaps between registers can suggest two lines or a chord, as in many Baroque works for unaccompanied violin or cello. Musicians call this implied polyphony.

Not the same as mono sound

A monophonic synthesizer can play only one note at a time, which matches this meaning. But mono in audio, short for monaural, means sound recorded on one channel instead of two (stereo): a different idea entirely.

Practice telling textures apart with Name the texture and Ear Training: One Line, Tune with Chords, or Two Independent Lines?.

Common questions

Is a choir singing in unison monophonic?

Yes. However many people sing, if they all sing the same melody, in unison or in octaves, there is only one line, so the texture is monophonic.