polyphonic

adjective

poly·phon·ic ˌpä-lē-ˈfä-nik

variants or polyphonous

pə-ˈli-fə-nəs

Synonyms of polyphonic next

: of, relating to, or marked by polyphony

: being a polyphone

polyphonically

ˌpä-lē-ˈfä-ni-k(ə-)lē

adverb

or polyphonously

Did you know?

Since poly- means "many", polyphonic music has "many voices". In polyphony, each part has its own melody, and they weave together in a web that may become very dense; a famous piece by Thomas Tallis, composed around 1570, has 40 separate voice parts. Polyphony reached its height during the 16th century with Italian madrigals and the sacred music of such composers as Tallis, Palestrina, and Byrd. Usually when we speak of polyphony we're talking about music of Bach's time and earlier; but the principles remain the same today, and songwriters such as the Beatles have sometimes used polyphony as well.

Examples of polyphonic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Every character in this story gets their own voice — the novel’s polyphonic structure comprises 21 first-person chapters, a daisy chain of regret, anger, humor and self-loathing. —

Tomi Obaro, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024 At the heart of the exhibition is the collective creation of new vocal datasets—polyphonic AI models designed to handle and generate multiple distinct elements simultaneously. —

Nargess Banks, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024 Maria Arnal, the composer behind the film’s score, brought her polyphonic approach, collaborating closely with the director. —

Callum McLennan, Variety, 5 Sep. 2024 The interviews, some friendly, some contentious, give the novel a polyphonic feel, a sense that the discussions and arguments continue to this day. —

Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for polyphonic