A

David

Darling

polytonality

Polytonality is the use of two or more keys, or tonalities, played or sung at the same time. For example, the melody might be in the key of C major and the accompaniment in E major. Polytonality and polymodality play a significant role in music of the early- and mid-20th-century, especially in works of Debussy, Strauss, Ives, Bartók, and Milhaud.