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There's probably no more curious audio term than texture. Texture's use in describing the sound of an audio system is antithetical to the actual to the musical meaning. Over the years, reviewers have used the term density, density of orchestration, density of the mix, when they were actually talking about texture.
As defined by JGH in The Audio Glossary:
(1) A recognizable pattern or structure in reproduced sound, even if random in nature.
(2) A sensation that the energy continuum of reproduced sound is comprised of discrete particles, like the grain of a photograph.
In Music:
"Texture is the overall quality of sound of a piece, most often indicated by the number of voices in the music and the the relationship between these voices. A piece's texture may be further described using terms such as "thick" and "light," "rough" or "smooth." The perceived texture of a piece can be affected by the number and character of parts playing at once, the timbre of the instruments or voices playing these parts and the harmony, tempo and rhythms used. Musical texture can be used by composers to create drama and contrast by differences in the layers of sound, whether melody or harmony the relationships between these layers of sound, and how many layers there are."
From another source:
"In music, texture is how the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic materials are combined in a composition, thus determining the overall quality of the sound in a piece. Texture is often described in regard to the density, or thickness and range, or width, between lowest and highest pitches, in relative terms as well as more specifically distinguished according to the number of voices, or parts, and the relationships between these voices. For example, a thick texture contains many layers of instruments. The thickness also is affected by the amount and the richness of the instruments playing the piece. The thickness varies from light to thick.
In audio terms, texture runs the gamut from coarse (gritty, large or even boulder sized particles) to liquid (complete absence of grain). Of course over the years, these terms have taken on different negative connotations. In the days of old, solid state electronics were considered gritty and tubes were associated with liquid. But these terms often became associated with negative connotations. To wit, liquid was often associated with tube electronics and and a thick, almost muddy smoothness accompanied by a loss of information. Over time, either extreme tends to be deleterious to the listening experience. Gritty leads to listening fatigue while overly liquid leads to boredom.
As defined by JGH in The Audio Glossary:
(1) A recognizable pattern or structure in reproduced sound, even if random in nature.
(2) A sensation that the energy continuum of reproduced sound is comprised of discrete particles, like the grain of a photograph.
In Music:
"Texture is the overall quality of sound of a piece, most often indicated by the number of voices in the music and the the relationship between these voices. A piece's texture may be further described using terms such as "thick" and "light," "rough" or "smooth." The perceived texture of a piece can be affected by the number and character of parts playing at once, the timbre of the instruments or voices playing these parts and the harmony, tempo and rhythms used. Musical texture can be used by composers to create drama and contrast by differences in the layers of sound, whether melody or harmony the relationships between these layers of sound, and how many layers there are."
From another source:
"In music, texture is how the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic materials are combined in a composition, thus determining the overall quality of the sound in a piece. Texture is often described in regard to the density, or thickness and range, or width, between lowest and highest pitches, in relative terms as well as more specifically distinguished according to the number of voices, or parts, and the relationships between these voices. For example, a thick texture contains many layers of instruments. The thickness also is affected by the amount and the richness of the instruments playing the piece. The thickness varies from light to thick.
In audio terms, texture runs the gamut from coarse (gritty, large or even boulder sized particles) to liquid (complete absence of grain). Of course over the years, these terms have taken on different negative connotations. In the days of old, solid state electronics were considered gritty and tubes were associated with liquid. But these terms often became associated with negative connotations. To wit, liquid was often associated with tube electronics and and a thick, almost muddy smoothness accompanied by a loss of information. Over time, either extreme tends to be deleterious to the listening experience. Gritty leads to listening fatigue while overly liquid leads to boredom.
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