what is polyphonic texture

Polyphonic texture, also known as polyphony, is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice (monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony) . Polyphonic texture is the least popular of the three main formal textures, the other two being monophonic and homophonic texture. Polyphonic texture is the only one of the three main types of texture that has more than one melody being played at the same time. As its name implies, there are multiple musical ideas that draw your attention in different directions. Because of this, polyphony can often sound disordered or hard to follow. Some things that can change musical texture are the tempo, the type and number of instruments playing, the genre, and the style and structure of the harmonies, among others.