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polytonal

American  
[pol-ee-tohn-l] / ˌpɒl iˈtoʊn l /

adjective

Music.
  1. marked by or using polytonality.


Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of polytonal

First recorded in 1920–25; poly- + tonal


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

It’s six minutes of deep-bottomed polytonal funk — topped with synthesizer jabs and horn lines, goaded by a hard-rock guitar riff — that veers between disenchanted verses and a conditionally optimistic chorus.

From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2024

The sparse acoustic guitar at the beginning is deceptive; soon she’s in a polytonal tangle of horns, guitars and cross-rhythms, living up to her admonishment: “Bite off as much as you can chew.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2023

Still, Mr. McDonald said that Milhaud’s polytonal score, with different keys scraping against each other at any one moment, could be rewarding when approached the right way.

From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2017

The players neatly sorted out the intricacies of Martinet's twelve-tone Variations and romped through Milhaud's dancy, polytonal Quartet No. 13.

From Time Magazine Archive

Best item: Plain Ole Blues, a cumulative band number to which the irrepressible Lizzie adds a polytonal obbligato.

From Time Magazine Archive

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