quodlibet

A quodlibet (; Latin for "whatever you wish" from quod, "what" and libet, "pleases") is a musical composition that combines several different melodies—usually popular tunes—in counterpoint, and often in a light-hearted, humorous manner.

There are three main types of quodlibet: A catalogue quodlibet consists of a free setting of catalogue poetry (usually humorous lists of loosely related items). In a successive quodlibet, one voice has short musical quotations and textual quotations while the other voices provide homophonic accompaniment. In a simultaneous quodlibet, two or more pre-existing melodies are combined. The simultaneous quodlibet may be considered a historical antecedent to the modern-day musical mashup. Simultaneous quodlibets are found in elementary music classes, referred to as Partner Songs.