Which of the following choices is the defining characteristic of polyphony? select one: the interrelation of melodic lines played in unison the independence and equality of concurrent melodic lines the sequential arrangement of separate melodic lines the presence of many melodic lines of music regardless of their relationship

The correct choice is ''The independence and equality of concurrent melodic lines''

Explanation:

The melody is the orderly and coherent linear succession of musical sounds of different height that form a structured unit with musical sense, independent of accompaniment. The Polyphony refers to a type of musical texture in which multiple different melodic voices simultaneously sound (which are independent of each other), occurs when there are several equally important voices. In this way, despite of the independence of each sound, the listener perceives them as a whole (as an equality of melodic lines) but which are independent of each other.