Originating from the Latin word unisŏnus, the term unison refers to something that has the same sound or pitch as another element. The concept can also be used to name the musical fragment with instruments or voices that sound in equal tones.
When two tones have the same pitch, even though they are perceived to come from different sources, they are tones in unison. Unison can be said to be a type of musical interval. Two instruments that play the same note at the same time sound in unison. This generates two notes that, although they are the same, can have different timbres, allowing you to tell them apart.
Suppose that with a guitar and a keyboard a certain melody is played. Both instruments sound simultaneously and in unison, but you can recognize and distinguish guitar notes on one side and keyboard notes on the other. It is common for all members of a choir to sing in unison. As explained above, this assumes that all the singers in the choir play the same notes. As an adverbial phrase, the expression “in unison” refers to what is expressed or done unanimously, without discrepancies or disagreements. For example: “When the mayor left the building, hundreds of people who were on the street booed him in unison and asked for his resignation”, “We will work in unison to solve this problem as soon as possible”, “Thousands of young people lived in unison to the legendary artist and showed his admiration.”
