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Texture
Texture refers
to the way melody and harmony (the horizontal and vertical) interact
and blend with each other in a musical composition. How many melodies
do you hear? Is the harmony the result of several melodies sounding
simultaneously, or is the harmony the result of accompanimental
chords only? The "thinnest" musical texture would involve
merely a single melody with no harmony whatsoever. As layers are
added to the music, it becomes "thicker." These are some
of the questions and ideas that are part of the study of musical
texture. Listen to the following three examples of different musical
textures:
  
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