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Glite Dictionary
monophony

monophony

9.9
A single melody sung or played without any harmony
  • noun
  • /məˈnɑfəni/
  • Specialized
translation icon : monofonía
  • The choir performed a beautiful piece in monophony, allowing the melody to shine without any harmony.

Examples

  • Call-and-response or antiphonal singing in monophony, polyphony, and heterophony is commonly heard.

    Academic text (2015)

  • The counterpoint of their individual feelings and desires suddenly harmonized into perfect Gregorian monophony.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • During the concert, the singer showcased her skills with a solo that exemplified monophony perfectly.

  • In traditional folk music, monophony is often used to highlight the singer's voice above all else.

Synonyms

monophonic music
vsmonophony
  • Specialized
6.6

Music with a single melody and no harmony

is identical in meaning but differs as a different word form

Antonyms

polyphony
  • Specialized
1 8.6

Music with several different melodies heard at the same time

How Polyphonic

polyphony
  • Specialized
1 8.6
homophony
  • Specialized
9.6
monophony
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

monophony singular
monophonies plural

Morphology

monophony = mono + phon + y

The components 'mono' and 'phone' make the general idea of 'single sound/voice' recoverable, but the term is a specialized music-theory word.

Etymology

Monophony comes from mono- 'one' and -phony 'sound', so it means 'one sound'. The same 'phon' idea appears in symphony and telephone, and that's why monophony describes music with a single melody and no harmony.