Your favorite singer-songwriter croons tunes in monophony (with one voice). A rock band typically uses homophony to blast out anthems with one dominant voice accompanied by backup voices or instruments. But with polyphony, multiple melodies come together to form a harmony. The Greek origins of this word are pretty straightforward: “Poly” means “many” and “phone” means “sound.” Some recognizable examples of polyphony are from the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance: Think of Gregorian chants with many voices coming together as one. The term has more modern applications with electric instruments capable of producing multiple sounds and melodies at the same time.