descant

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.

The Hynde storyline, which includes her messing around with songs on an acoustic guitar, runs as a kind of descant against the personal and professional noise of the Pistols.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2022

With no lines to address it, this extension of the theme of assumed privilege can only serve as a descant to the others, but sometimes that’s enough.

From New York Times • Apr. 11, 2018

A cascade of overlapping Rickenbacker, chorus and descant, prayer and polemic.

From Time • Nov. 15, 2011

On the one hand a piece of garage-rock r'n'b, on the other a platter of disorienting descant in which lines from the poem are picked up at random and repeated as a series of conflicting refrains.

From The Guardian • Sep. 16, 2010

Attention is naturally drawn to high notes, so a part that is higher than the melody is sometimes given a special name such as "descant."

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones