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
Jordan Michelman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 July 2025
Canadian poetry is polyphonic, exploratory, and urgent.
—Literary Hub, 1 July 2025
The album is almost entirely instrumental, featuring a polyphonic blend of percussion, strings, keyboards, synths, and woodwinds, with André’s flute driving the downbeat.
—Ime Ekpo, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Walter, whose polyphonic sensibility first charmed me in Beautiful Ruins, has here made something salty, sinewy, and satisfying from fairly tough material.
—Emily Temple
may 27, Literary Hub, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for polyphonic
Cite this Entry
“Polyphonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polyphonic. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share