DESCANT or DISCANT, a musical term much employed in earlier centuries, when it had various meanings. Thus it was at one time a term for any kind of polyphony and even for musi cal composition in general. In a more special sense it signified the addition of one part to another and was thus the earliest term for counterpoint. In part music it meant the upper part or voice, especially the soprano or melody, while it also signified at a later period an instrumental piece consisting of what would be called nowadays a theme with variations. In modern usage, how ever, descant means primarily the early art of counterpoint, with its various rules and theories and successive forms, as practised from the 12th century onwards. What was known as the descant clef was the C, or treble, clef, with the sign placed on the lowest line of the staff. (See CLEF. )