1.3 Atonality and serialism
9 min read•august 21, 2024
and revolutionized music in the early 20th century. These techniques abandoned traditional tonality, exploring new ways to organize sound. Composers like Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern developed methods that treated all 12 pitches equally, challenging listeners and performers alike.
Serialism expanded beyond pitch to include rhythm, dynamics, and timbre. This systematic approach influenced other arts, including literature and visual arts. Despite criticism, atonal and serial techniques left a lasting impact on modern music, shaping the course of 20th-century composition.
Origins of atonality
- Atonality emerged as a radical departure from traditional tonal systems in Western classical music during the early 20th century
- Represents a significant shift in compositional techniques and musical aesthetics within the broader context of in Music of the Modern Era
- Challenged established notions of harmony, melody, and musical structure, paving the way for new forms of musical expression
Late Romantic precursors
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- in Wagner's operas pushed the boundaries of traditional tonality
- Expanded use of and ambiguous tonal centers in works by Mahler and Strauss
- Debussy's whole-tone scales and foreshadowed atonal techniques
- Scriabin's mystic chord and experimental harmonies explored new sonorities
Schoenberg's early experiments
- Developed as a response to the perceived exhaustion of tonal possibilities
- Composed works like "Drei Klavierstücke" Op. 11 (1909) without a tonal center
- Explored new ways of organizing pitch material outside traditional major-minor system
- Emphasized expressive freedom and intuitive composition in early atonal works
Second Viennese School
- Consisted of and his pupils and
- Developed and refined atonal techniques in Vienna during the early 20th century
- Explored different approaches to atonality within the group
- Schoenberg focused on expressionism and later developed
- Berg incorporated elements of romanticism and tonality into his atonal works
- Webern pursued extreme concision and abstraction in his compositions
Principles of atonal music
- Atonal music fundamentally alters the traditional hierarchical relationships between pitches in Western music
- Represents a significant shift in compositional thinking within the Music of the Modern Era course
- Challenges listeners to engage with music in new ways, emphasizing different aspects of sound organization
Rejection of tonality
- Abandons the concept of a tonal center or key
- Avoids traditional chord progressions and cadences
- Treats all 12 pitches of the chromatic scale as equal
- Emphasizes non-traditional and dissonance
Pitch-class sets
- Groups of pitches used as building blocks for atonal compositions
- Organized based on intervallic content rather than tonal function
- Can be transposed and inverted to create varied musical material
- Analyzed using to identify structural relationships in atonal works
Intervallic relationships
- Focus on interval classes rather than specific pitches
- Emphasize dissonant intervals (tritones, minor seconds, major sevenths)
- Use of to create coherence in atonal compositions
- Explore new ways of creating musical tension and release without traditional harmony
Twelve-tone technique
- Developed by Arnold Schoenberg as a systematic approach to atonal composition
- Represents a significant milestone in the evolution of 20th-century compositional techniques
- Provides a structured framework for organizing pitch material in atonal music
Basic principles
- Uses all 12 pitches of the chromatic scale equally
- Organizes pitches into a fixed order called a tone row or series
- Avoids repetition of pitches until all 12 have been used
- Maintains the intervallic relationships of the original row throughout the composition
Row forms
- Original (O): the initial ordering of the 12 pitches
- Retrograde (R): the original row in reverse order
- Inversion (I): intervals of the original row flipped upside down
- Retrograde Inversion (RI): the inverted row in reverse order
- Transposition of row forms allows for 48 possible permutations
Combinatoriality
- Property of certain twelve-tone rows that allows for simultaneous use of multiple row forms
- Creates additional structural unity and coherence in twelve-tone compositions
- involves combining two six-note segments from different row forms
- Utilized extensively by Schoenberg and later serialist composers
Serialism beyond pitch
- Expansion of serial techniques to other musical parameters beyond pitch organization
- Represents the further development of systematic approaches to composition in the 20th century
- Explores new possibilities for structural organization and control in musical composition
Integral serialism
- Applies serial techniques to multiple musical parameters (rhythm, dynamics, articulation)
- Developed by composers like Milton Babbitt and Pierre Boulez
- Aims to create a unified and coherent musical structure across all aspects of composition
- Often results in highly complex and intellectually demanding works
Total serialism
- Extends to every aspect of musical composition
- Includes parameters such as timbre, register, and even formal structure
- Exemplified by works like Stockhausen's "" and Boulez's ""
- Represents the most extreme application of serial principles in music
Post-war developments
- Exploration of open form and aleatory techniques in serial composition
- Integration of electronic and tape music with serialist principles
- Influence of serialism on spectral music and other techniques
- Gradual move away from strict serialism towards more flexible approaches in late 20th century
Key composers and works
- Highlights the most influential figures in the development of atonal and serial music
- Provides context for understanding the evolution of these techniques within the Music of the Modern Era
- Offers specific examples of how atonal and serial principles were applied in practice
Schoenberg's atonal period
- "" (1912): pioneering work in free atonality and Sprechstimme technique
- "" (1909): monodrama exploring extreme expressionism and atonality
- Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16 (1909): showcases early atonal orchestral writing
- "Die glückliche Hand" (1913): atonal opera incorporating visual elements and symbolism
Berg's operas
- "" (1925): combines atonal techniques with traditional operatic forms
- "" (1935): uses twelve-tone technique while maintaining lyrical qualities
- Incorporates tonal references and quotations within atonal framework
- Demonstrates Berg's unique approach to integrating serialism with dramatic expression
Webern's concise style
- Developed extremely concentrated and aphoristic musical language
- Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 10 (1913): exemplifies Webern's focus on timbre and texture
- Symphony, Op. 21 (1928): applies twelve-tone technique to classical forms
- Variations for Piano, Op. 27 (1936): explores symmetry and palindromic structures in serialism
- Influenced later composers with his focus on individual sound events and sparse textures
Analytical approaches
- Examines various methods used to analyze and understand atonal and serial music
- Provides tools for deeper comprehension of compositional techniques in Music of the Modern Era
- Helps bridge the gap between theoretical concepts and practical musical analysis
Set theory
- Developed by Allen Forte to analyze pitch relationships in atonal music
- Uses to identify and compare musical structures
- Employs to categorize and relate different pitch collections
- Allows for analysis of large-scale organizational principles in atonal works
Pitch-class analysis
- Focuses on the relationships between pitch classes rather than specific pitches
- Uses modulo 12 arithmetic to represent pitch classes (0-11)
- Analyzes interval content and set-class membership of pitch collections
- Helps identify structural patterns and motivic relationships in atonal compositions
Transformational theory
- Developed by David Lewin to analyze musical relationships as transformations
- Focuses on the operations that connect musical objects rather than static structures
- Utilizes mathematical concepts such as group theory and transformational networks
- Provides insights into the dynamic processes underlying atonal and serial compositions
Impact on 20th-century music
- Explores the broader influence of atonality and serialism on musical development
- Contextualizes these techniques within the larger narrative of Music of the Modern Era
- Examines the lasting effects of atonal and serial approaches on subsequent generations of composers
Influence on modernism
- Shaped the aesthetic direction of avant-garde music in the early to mid-20th century
- Inspired new approaches to form, texture, and timbre in composition
- Influenced the development of electronic music and experimental techniques
- Contributed to the breakdown of traditional boundaries between consonance and dissonance
Reactions and criticisms
- Sparked debates about accessibility and emotional expression in modern music
- Led to the development of alternative approaches like neoclassicism and minimalism
- Criticized for perceived intellectualism and lack of connection with audiences
- Challenged performers and listeners to develop new skills and ways of engaging with music
Legacy in contemporary music
- Continued use of serial techniques in some contemporary classical compositions
- Integration of atonal elements in film scores and experimental popular music
- Influence on the development of spectral music and computer-assisted composition
- Lasting impact on approaches to pitch organization and musical structure in various genres
Atonality vs tonality
- Compares and contrasts the fundamental principles of atonal and tonal music
- Provides context for understanding the revolutionary nature of atonality in Music of the Modern Era
- Explores the different ways these systems organize and present musical material
Structural differences
- Tonal music organizes pitches around a central key or tonal center
- Atonal music avoids hierarchical pitch relationships and tonal centers
- Tonal harmony relies on functional chord progressions and cadences
- Atonal music explores non-traditional intervallic relationships and pitch organizations
- Form in tonal music often follows established structures (sonata, rondo)
- Atonal works may use more flexible or abstract formal concepts
Listener perception
- Tonal music often perceived as more familiar and accessible to general audiences
- Atonal music can challenge listeners' expectations and require different listening strategies
- Tonal works typically have clearer sense of tension and resolution
- Atonal pieces may focus on other aspects of music (timbre, texture) for coherence
- Perception of atonal music can change with repeated listening and familiarity
Performance challenges
- Atonal music often requires different approaches to intonation and pitch accuracy
- Performers must develop new strategies for memorization and understanding structure
- Rhythmic complexity in some atonal works presents unique ensemble challenges
- Interpretation of expressive elements may be less intuitive in atonal compositions
- Requires performers to communicate musical ideas without traditional tonal cues
Serialism in other arts
- Examines the influence of serial techniques beyond music in other artistic disciplines
- Demonstrates the broader cultural impact of serialist thinking in the 20th century
- Provides interdisciplinary context for understanding serialism within Music of the Modern Era
Literature and poetry
- Influenced experimental writers like James Joyce and Samuel Beckett
- Oulipo group used constrained writing techniques inspired by serialism
- Concrete poetry explored visual arrangements of text using serial-like processes
- William Burroughs' cut-up technique paralleled aleatory aspects of serial music
Visual arts
- Abstract expressionists like Wassily Kandinsky drew inspiration from atonal music
- Op Art utilized systematic approaches to color and form similar to serialism
- Conceptual artists like Sol LeWitt employed rule-based systems in their work
- Digital art and generative art often incorporate algorithmic processes related to serialism
Architecture
- Influenced modernist architects like Le Corbusier in their use of modular systems
- Parametric design in contemporary architecture shares conceptual links with serialism
- Exploration of mathematical relationships in architectural form echoes serial techniques
- Deconstructivist architecture challenged traditional hierarchies similar to atonal music
Teaching and learning atonality
- Addresses the pedagogical challenges and approaches to teaching atonal music
- Provides practical strategies for engaging with atonal and serial works
- Offers insights into developing the skills necessary for understanding and performing this repertoire
Ear training techniques
- Focused listening exercises to identify interval classes and pitch-class sets
- Practice in recognizing twelve-tone rows and their transformations
- Exercises in singing atonal melodies and identifying non-tonal pitch relationships
- Use of computer software and apps designed for atonal ear training
Composition exercises
- Writing short atonal pieces using specific interval classes or pitch-class sets
- Creating and manipulating twelve-tone rows to understand serial processes
- Experimenting with extending serial techniques to other musical parameters
- Collaborative composition projects exploring different aspects of atonality
Performance practice
- Strategies for accurate pitch production in atonal contexts
- Techniques for conveying musical structure without traditional tonal cues
- Approaches to interpreting dynamics and expression in atonal works
- Ensemble rehearsal techniques for coordinating complex atonal textures
- Study of historical recordings and performance traditions in atonal repertoire
Key Terms to Review (37)
Alban Berg: Alban Berg was an influential Austrian composer associated with the Second Viennese School, known for his unique blend of atonality and lyricism. His works reflect deep emotional expression and innovative techniques, placing him at the forefront of modernist music while exploring the boundaries of expressionism, serialism, and the evolution of classical music in the 20th century.
Analytical approaches: Analytical approaches refer to various methods used to examine and interpret musical compositions, structures, and styles. These approaches help listeners and scholars break down the complexities of music into understandable elements, allowing for a deeper appreciation of atonality and serialism, which challenge traditional notions of melody, harmony, and rhythm. By applying different analytical techniques, one can uncover the underlying frameworks that define modern music.
Anton Webern: Anton Webern was an Austrian composer and a key figure in the Second Viennese School, known for his pioneering work in atonality and serialism. His music embodies the ideals of Expressionism, characterized by emotional intensity and a focus on the human experience, while also advancing modernist techniques that challenged traditional musical forms and structures.
Arnold Schoenberg: Arnold Schoenberg was an influential Austrian composer, music theorist, and painter, known primarily for his development of atonality and the twelve-tone technique. His work is deeply connected to expressionism, emphasizing intense emotion and psychological depth, while also influencing movements like neoclassicism and modernism. As a pivotal figure among early 20th-century composers, his innovative ideas challenged traditional tonal structures and reshaped the landscape of classical music.
Atonality: Atonality refers to music that lacks a tonal center or key, meaning it does not adhere to traditional harmonic structures. This concept emerged prominently in the early 20th century, signaling a departure from the established norms of tonality and opening new avenues for expression in music. Atonality is closely linked to various movements such as Expressionism and Modernism, reflecting a desire to convey intense emotions and break free from conventional musical constraints.
Avant-garde: Avant-garde refers to innovative, experimental, and unconventional ideas or practices in the arts and culture that push the boundaries of what is considered mainstream. It often seeks to challenge traditional norms and provoke thought, encouraging a re-evaluation of established standards in art, music, and other creative expressions. This concept is closely linked with movements that embraced new forms and techniques, reflecting the spirit of change and exploration.
Chromatic Harmony: Chromatic harmony refers to the use of notes outside the traditional diatonic scale to create more complex and richer harmonic textures. This concept allows for greater emotional expression and innovation in music, often leading to surprising modulations and unusual chord progressions. It is particularly significant in the development of atonality and serialism, where the boundaries of tonal music are pushed further, leading composers to explore new ways of organizing pitch relationships.
Combinatoriality: Combinatoriality refers to a compositional technique where a fixed set of elements is combined in various ways to create musical material. This concept is especially significant in atonality and serialism, where composers manipulate sets of pitches or rhythmic values to generate new ideas while maintaining a connection to the original set. It allows for endless variation and exploration within a defined framework, enabling composers to create complex textures and structures.
Dissonance: Dissonance refers to a combination of tones that create a sense of tension or instability, often leading to a feeling of unresolved conflict in music. This concept is central to various musical styles, as it challenges traditional harmonic structures and evokes emotional responses. Dissonance is often resolved into consonance, but in many modern genres, it plays a crucial role in expressing complex feelings and ideas, pushing the boundaries of conventional music.
Erwartung: Erwartung, meaning 'expectation' in German, refers to a key concept in expressionist music and is often associated with a heightened emotional state. It embodies the intense inner feelings and psychological experiences that composers aimed to convey, making it central to understanding the emotional depth of works from this period. In the context of atonality and serialism, erwartung reflects the departure from traditional harmonic structures, emphasizing subjective experience over conventional musical forms. As a significant aspect of modernism in classical music, it captures the essence of the transformative artistic movements that sought to break free from established norms and express the complexities of human emotion.
Extended Techniques: Extended techniques refer to unconventional methods of sound production on traditional instruments, pushing the boundaries of how they are typically played. These techniques allow composers and performers to create new sounds and textures, leading to innovative musical expressions that challenge listeners’ perceptions of music. This approach has become significant in various musical movements and genres, allowing for a broader exploration of timbre and sonic possibilities.
Free atonality: Free atonality refers to a musical style that completely rejects traditional tonal centers, allowing composers to use dissonance without the need for resolution or adherence to a specific key. This approach promotes emotional expression and a sense of freedom in composition, often reflecting the complexities and anxieties of the modern world. It connects deeply with expressionism, emphasizing subjective emotional experiences, and lays the groundwork for later developments in atonality and serialism, where structure and organization began to emerge in the absence of tonality.
Hexachordal Combinatoriality: Hexachordal combinatoriality refers to a compositional technique where hexachords, which are six-note aggregates, are combined and permuted to create new musical material. This method allows composers to explore different organizational possibilities within a limited pitch set, often resulting in complex textures and relationships between musical lines. In atonality and serialism, hexachordal combinatoriality becomes an essential tool for generating themes and developing motifs while avoiding traditional tonal constraints.
Indeterminacy: Indeterminacy refers to a concept in music where certain elements of a composition are left to chance or are not precisely defined, allowing for variability in performance and interpretation. This approach encourages performers to make choices that can lead to different outcomes each time a piece is played, promoting a sense of spontaneity and creativity. Indeterminacy contrasts with more traditional forms of composition that specify every detail, emphasizing the role of the performer in shaping the final result.
Integral serialism: Integral serialism is a compositional technique that extends the principles of serialism beyond pitch to organize various musical elements such as rhythm, dynamics, and timbre. This method aims to create a cohesive and systematic approach to composition, where every aspect of the music is determined by predetermined series or sequences, fostering a sense of unity and structure in atonal music.
Interval Cycles: Interval cycles are specific patterns of intervals that repeat at regular distances within a musical context. This concept plays a vital role in the construction of atonal music and serialism, as it creates a structured framework for composers to develop their ideas while avoiding traditional tonal hierarchies. By employing interval cycles, composers can generate complex musical material that remains coherent despite the absence of a tonal center.
Intervallic relationships: Intervallic relationships refer to the distance between two pitches, measured in terms of intervals such as seconds, thirds, fourths, and so on. These relationships play a crucial role in shaping the structure and organization of musical ideas, particularly in atonality and serialism, where traditional tonal frameworks are often discarded in favor of more complex and unconventional approaches to pitch organization.
Kreuzspiel: Kreuzspiel is a contemporary musical composition technique created by the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen in 1951, where performers are required to interact and react to each other in a highly structured yet improvisational manner. This approach emphasizes the use of atonality and serialism, as it incorporates elements of chance and individual interpretation within a framework of predetermined musical materials.
Lulu: Lulu is an opera composed by Alban Berg that is significant for its innovative use of atonality and serialism. The opera is based on Frank Wedekind's plays 'Erdgeist' and 'Die Büchse der Pandora', portraying the life of a seductive woman named Lulu who ultimately leads to her own downfall. The work exemplifies the techniques of atonality and serialism that characterize much of 20th-century music, particularly in its complex harmonic structures and the absence of a traditional tonal center.
Modernism: Modernism is a cultural movement that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized by a deliberate break from traditional forms and a search for new artistic expressions reflecting the complexities of modern life. This movement influenced various art forms, including literature, visual arts, and music, driving innovation in style and technique while challenging established norms and conventions.
Non-functional harmony: Non-functional harmony refers to a harmonic structure that does not adhere to traditional rules of chord progressions and resolutions, where chords do not serve a clear tonal function or lead to a specific resolution. This approach allows composers to create music that emphasizes color, texture, and atmosphere over traditional tonal relationships, leading to innovative and expressive musical experiences. Non-functional harmony can be seen as a shift away from conventional harmonic practices, allowing for greater freedom and exploration in composition.
Pierrot Lunaire: Pierrot Lunaire is a melodrama composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1912 that incorporates both music and spoken text, embodying the characteristics of expressionism. The work consists of 21 short movements, using a unique technique called Sprechstimme, which blurs the lines between singing and speaking, reflecting deep emotional states and psychological themes often associated with expressionist art.
Pitch Class: Pitch class refers to a group of all pitches that are a whole number of octaves apart, meaning they share the same letter name. This concept is crucial in understanding atonality and serialism, as it allows composers to organize sounds beyond traditional tonal hierarchies, focusing on the relationships and structures among these pitches rather than their specific octaves.
Pitch-class sets: Pitch-class sets are collections of pitches that are considered equivalent regardless of octave, serving as a foundational concept in atonality and serialism. They help to organize and analyze music that does not adhere to traditional tonal hierarchies, allowing composers to explore new musical landscapes by focusing on relationships between pitches rather than conventional scales or keys. This approach fundamentally changes how music is constructed and perceived in the modern era.
Post-war developments: Post-war developments refer to the significant shifts and changes in music that occurred after World War II, as composers sought new methods of expression and innovative techniques. This period saw the emergence of various movements, such as atonality and serialism, which aimed to break free from traditional tonal systems and explore new sonic possibilities. These changes reflected broader societal transformations and influenced a diverse range of musical styles and practices.
Post-World War I Music: Post-World War I music refers to the body of musical works and styles that emerged in the aftermath of World War I, reflecting the social, political, and emotional upheaval of the time. This period was characterized by significant experimentation in musical language, marked by the rise of atonality and the development of serialism, which challenged traditional tonal systems and embraced new forms of expression. Composers sought to break away from established norms, exploring dissonance, unconventional structures, and innovative techniques as a response to the traumatic experiences of the war and its aftermath.
Row Transformation: Row transformation refers to the process of manipulating a series of pitches in a twelve-tone row, which is a foundational concept in atonality and serialism. This technique allows composers to generate variations and develop musical ideas while adhering to the principles of serialism, where each pitch class is treated equally. By applying transformations such as transposition, inversion, retrograde, or combinatoriality, composers can explore new musical textures and forms within an atonal framework.
Second Viennese School: The Second Viennese School refers to a group of composers in the early 20th century, primarily Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern, who significantly advanced the development of atonality and serialism. This movement marked a departure from traditional tonality, exploring new methods of organizing music, including the twelve-tone technique introduced by Schoenberg. The school was pivotal in shaping modern music through its innovative approaches to melody, harmony, and form.
Serial organization: Serial organization is a compositional technique that involves the systematic ordering of a series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, or other musical elements to create a structure in atonal music. This approach allows composers to establish coherence and unity within their works, breaking away from traditional tonal frameworks. By using a predetermined sequence, composers can manipulate and transform musical material while maintaining an underlying sense of organization.
Serialism: Serialism is a method of composition that uses a predetermined series of values to organize various elements in music, primarily pitch, but also rhythm, dynamics, and timbre. This technique emerged as a key aspect of 20th-century music, directly linking it to atonality and the modernist movement. Serialism reflects the desire of composers to find new structures in a world increasingly characterized by chaos and dissonance.
Set theory: Set theory is a mathematical framework used to study collections of objects, known as 'sets.' In music, particularly in the context of atonality and serialism, set theory provides a way to analyze and organize pitch classes, allowing composers to create structures and relationships between tones that deviate from traditional tonality. This approach helps musicians understand and manipulate the relationships among notes in a systematic way, which is essential for compositions that do not adhere to conventional scales or harmonic progressions.
Set-class nomenclature: Set-class nomenclature is a system used in music theory to categorize and label pitch-class sets, particularly in the context of atonality and serialism. It helps musicians and theorists identify and discuss collections of pitches that share certain characteristics, facilitating the analysis of musical works that do not adhere to traditional tonal structures. This system allows for a clearer understanding of how these sets function within compositions that prioritize different organizational methods.
Structures I: Structures I refers to a foundational approach in music composition and theory, focusing on the organization and arrangement of musical elements. This concept often plays a critical role in atonal music and serialism, where traditional harmonic frameworks are abandoned in favor of new methods of structuring sound, allowing composers to explore different sonic possibilities without the constraints of tonality.
Total Serialism: Total serialism is a compositional technique in music that extends the principles of serialism beyond pitch to include elements such as rhythm, dynamics, and timbre, creating a highly organized and structured approach to composition. This method seeks to control all aspects of music similarly to how traditional serialism organizes pitch classes, promoting a sense of equality among musical parameters. This concept is closely linked to atonality and avant-garde movements, as it challenges traditional tonal frameworks and explores new sonic possibilities.
Transformational theory: Transformational theory is a concept in music that focuses on how musical elements can change through operations like transposition, inversion, and retrograde, creating a sense of unity and development within a piece. This theory emphasizes the relationships between different musical ideas, illustrating how they can evolve over time while maintaining their identity. It plays a significant role in the analysis of atonal and serial music, allowing composers to explore complex transformations that challenge traditional harmonic practices.
Twelve-tone technique: The twelve-tone technique is a method of composition developed by Arnold Schoenberg that uses a series of all twelve notes of the chromatic scale in a specific order, called a tone row, as the basis for creating music. This innovative approach aimed to eliminate traditional tonal hierarchy and create a new musical language, deeply influencing expressionism, atonality, serialism, and the works of early 20th-century composers and avant-garde artists.
Wozzeck: Wozzeck is an opera composed by Alban Berg, which premiered in 1925 and is a significant work of the 20th century that embodies the principles of expressionism. It tells the tragic story of a lowly soldier whose mental deterioration reflects the dehumanizing effects of society and war, making it a critical commentary on the human condition and emotions, aligned with the ideas of atonality and serialism prevalent in modern music.