Theoretical Approaches to Heterophony

Abstract

Heterophony is one of the basic principles by which a multilinear texture comes about in the music of oral tradition. It can be found in many cultures both as a particular form of music making and as a component of more complex multipart practices. Heterophony is also a very intriguing topic for ethnomusicological investigation, especially if the researcher intends to describe this phenomenon at the theoretical level. The problems start with the very notion of ‘heterophony’, and in attempting to resolve them the researcher is faced with the ambiguity of such basic terms as polyphony, monophony, unison, etc. The reason why heterophonic music is especially difficult to describe using standard European terminology is that the phenomenon of heterophony, being intrinsically connected with oral and collective music creation, has no direct analogies in Western written music. The present article aims to interpret heterophony as a musical, social and psychological phenomenon, using and merging different approaches – music-analytical, anthropological and cognitive. The article also discusses the use of the ethnomusicological terminology connected with a musical texture – especially the umbrella terms for multilinear music – and searches for a more inclusive, yet differentiative and limiting definition of heterophony.