A vocal melody or counterpoint sung above the main melody; a high-pitched singing voice.
From Old French 'descant,' from Medieval Latin 'discantus,' combining 'dis-' (apart) with 'cantus' (song). The term refers to singing an independent melody with a main tune.
Medieval choirs invented 'discant' as a way to sing multiple melodies at once—it's literally 'dis-' (apart) plus 'cantus' (song), and this technique became the foundation of modern harmony and opera.
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