Texture is a way of looking at the way all the pieces of a song come together. It has to do with the combination of instruments, voice. Basically, it looks at the combination of melody, harmony, and rhythm. Because it involves all these elements, it may be helpful to look at texture last.
The melody can be the tone of the music. As you analyze this aspect, you might want to take into consideration the notes she uses. It can also be useful to think about what emotions the music evokes. "No One" is a very emotional song, and the sounds are a little bit stretched to evoke feelings of longing.
It's also a very rhythmic song. There's repetition in the lyrics and the instruments. Try to think of why she might have wanted to create that repetition, or how the rhythm makes you feel.
All of these elements go into making a song. You might want to research what instruments are used in the song, to figure out how many layers of music there are. This, along with your analysis of the melody and rhythm, will help you determine the texture of the song.
Alicia Key's song No One is a great song to study because it offers many opportunities for analysis and close reading.
The melody of the song is simple, with a strong emphasis on percussion. Piano and drums can clearly be heard, with a brass section that comes in as well as other instruments that can be heard briefly. Alicia Key's voice fits beautifully over the percussion, and she is able to create the swells and dips that make it auditorily interesting.
The repetition in the melody creates a clear rhythm, which brings to mind a heartbeat. Both the piano and the drums work to create this effect. This serves to draw the listener in, and it also helps make the song sound more romantic.
Texture is the word that describes the way in which all the aspects of the song fit together. In No One, the texture is rather smooth, as there is little to no dissonance nor syncopation.
Further Reading
Let’s take a look at each of these categories, one at a time. Texture refers to the way that different musical parts fit together—the overall effect of the instrumentation, the distance between the highest and lowest notes between parts, and the way the harmonic and melodic components fit together.
In “No One,” we have four main different parts, with other parts coming in briefly—the rhythm/drums, the piano, Alicia’s vocals, and the brass section. At times, backup singers come in, and towards the end, a guitar strums. This texture has an overall simplicity that emphasizes Alicia’s vocals, making the vocal part the centerpiece of the song.
Rhythm refers to the timing and duration of notes, while meter, a related concept, refers to the pattern of stressed and unstressed notes. This song has a simple, driving, 4/4 meter—four quarter notes per measure with the first note of each...
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measure stressed or emphasized. Listen to the drum section, as well as the brass to hear this emphasis. The rhythm of Alicia’s vocals (mostly sung in quarter and eighth notes) fits neatly on top of this pattern, without much syncopation, or notes that fall off of the beat.
The melody—quite simply, the tune of the song— in the chorus hooks the listener by building higher and higher in pitch as Ms. Keys repeats the lyrics “no one.” In the verse, Alicia keeps to a simple melody, but ornaments many of the pitches with impressive vocal acrobatics that keep interest in the song, and add to the song’s overall soulful feeling.