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Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom

Robert Hutchinson

Section 14.2 Chorale Texture

Chorale textures are those in which there is a chord for every (or nearly every) melody note. A familiar example of chorale texture is the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
Figure 14.2.1. Francis Scott Key and John Stafford Smith, “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814)
In the following example by Schubert, the melody at times moves in a slightly different rhythm that the chords below.
Figure 14.2.2. Franz Schubert, Winterreise, D.911, “Die Nebensonnen” (1828)
Chorale textures are also described as “homorhythmic” because all of the parts move in the same rhythm.
Figure 14.2.3. Jeff Bhasker, Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff, “Some Nights” (2011)
In the next section we will examine arpeggiated accompaniments.
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