Glossary

11.2 Atonality and Serialism

3 min read•july 29, 2024

The 20th century saw composers break free from traditional tonality, exploring new sonic territories. Atonality and serialism emerged as revolutionary approaches, challenging established musical norms and opening up fresh avenues for creative expression.

These techniques reshaped the musical landscape, influencing countless composers and genres. By abandoning familiar harmonic structures and embracing systematic organization, atonality and serialism pushed the boundaries of what music could be, leaving an indelible mark on modern composition.

Atonality and Serialism

Defining Atonality and Serialism

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  • Atonality avoids traditional tonality and hierarchical pitch relationships found in major and minor scales
    • Emerged in the early 20th century as composers sought new means of musical expression
  • Serialism uses a fixed series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, or other musical elements as the basis for a composition
    • Represents a more structured and systematic approach to atonality

Significance in 20th-Century Music

  • Atonality and serialism challenged traditional notions of harmony and tonality
    • Allowed composers to explore new sonic possibilities and expand the boundaries of musical expression
  • Employed by numerous composers throughout the 20th century
    • (Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern)
    • Post-World War II composers (Boulez, Stockhausen, and Babbitt)

Structure of Atonal and Serial Music

Compositional Techniques in Atonality

  • Atonal works employ chromatic melodies, dissonant harmonies, and irregular phrase structures
    • Avoid tonal centers and traditional cadences
  • Schoenberg's "emancipation of dissonance" treats dissonant intervals as equal to consonant ones
    • Frees dissonances from the need to resolve
  • Atonal works feature fragmented melodies, angular leaps, and complex rhythmic patterns
    • Contribute to a sense of discontinuity and unpredictability

Serial Compositional Techniques

  • Serial compositions are based on a predetermined series of pitch classes, known as a tone row
    • Serves as the foundation for the entire work
  • The tone row can be subjected to various transformations
    • Inversion, retrograde, and retrograde-inversion
  • Serial techniques can be applied to other musical elements beyond pitch
    • Rhythm, dynamics, and articulation
    • Creates a highly organized and structured compositional framework
  • Composers may employ extended techniques to create novel timbres and sonic effects
    • Unconventional playing methods or prepared instruments

Composing with Serial Techniques

Creating a Tone Row

  • Create a tone row consisting of all 12 pitch classes in a specific order
    • Ensure that no pitch class is repeated until all others have been used
  • Utilize the original tone row (prime form) and its transformations
    • Inversion, retrograde, and retrograde-inversion
    • Generate melodic and harmonic material for the composition

Applying Serial Techniques

  • Apply serial techniques to other musical elements
    • Assign specific rhythms, dynamics, or articulations to each pitch in the tone row
  • Develop motifs and phrases by selecting and combining segments of the tone row or its transformations
  • Create a sense of unity and coherence by consistently applying the serial techniques throughout the composition
    • Allow for variation and development of musical ideas
  • Experiment with different tone row permutations, transpositions, and segmentations
    • Explore a wide range of musical possibilities within the serial framework

History of Atonality and Serialism

Origins and Early Development

  • Atonality originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
    • Composers such as Wagner, Debussy, and Strauss pushed the boundaries of tonality
    • Chromaticism and extended harmonies
  • pioneered atonality and developed the twelve-tone technique (serialism)
    • Works such as "Pierrot Lunaire" and "Five Pieces for Orchestra" exemplify the early atonal style

Second Viennese School and Beyond

  • Other members of the Second Viennese School further developed and refined atonal and serial techniques
    • Alban Berg ("Wozzeck" and "Lyric Suite")
    • ("Six Bagatelles for String Quartet")
  • World War II impacted the spread of serialism
    • Composers such as Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Milton Babbitt embraced and expanded upon serial techniques in the post-war era

Influence and Reception

  • Atonality and serialism influenced other musical styles and genres
    • Electronic music, composition, and jazz
  • Reception and criticism of atonal and serial music varied
    • During its early development and in contemporary contexts
  • Atonality and serialism had a lasting impact on the trajectory of Western art music

Key Terms to Review (17)

12-tone technique: The 12-tone technique is a compositional method developed by Arnold Schoenberg in the early 20th century that uses all twelve notes of the chromatic scale in a specific order, known as a tone row. This method ensures that each note is given equal importance, eliminating traditional hierarchies found in tonal music. It serves as a framework for creating atonal music while providing structure through serialization, where variations of the original row are manipulated and transformed.
Aleatoric music: Aleatoric music is a genre that incorporates elements of chance and unpredictability in its composition and performance. This approach allows musicians to make spontaneous decisions during the performance, resulting in a unique experience each time the piece is played. Aleatoric music often blurs the lines between composer and performer, allowing for greater artistic freedom and exploration.
Anton Webern: Anton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor, known for his pioneering work in the fields of atonality and serialism. His compositions are characterized by their economy of material and intricate use of timbre, often reflecting a deep emotional intensity. Webern's innovative techniques, particularly his twelve-tone method, laid the groundwork for future developments in modern classical music.
Arnold Schoenberg: Arnold Schoenberg was a pioneering composer and music theorist known for his significant contributions to 20th-century music, particularly in the development of atonality and the twelve-tone technique. His work marked a dramatic shift away from traditional tonal harmony, influencing numerous composers and movements. Schoenberg's approach to music emphasizes the use of motifs, the breaking of conventional harmonic progression rules, and the exploration of new structural forms.
Auditory alienation: Auditory alienation refers to a disconnection or estrangement that listeners may experience when encountering music that lacks traditional tonal or harmonic structures. This phenomenon is often prevalent in atonal and serial music, where the absence of familiar tonal references can create a sense of confusion or detachment, leading listeners to feel isolated from the musical experience. The concept highlights the challenge that certain modern compositions present to audiences who are accustomed to more conventional musical forms.
Avant-garde: Avant-garde refers to innovative, experimental, and often unconventional approaches in the arts that challenge the norms and traditions of a particular period. This term is closely associated with movements that seek to push boundaries, particularly in music, where composers use techniques such as atonality and serialism to create new sounds and structures that defy traditional harmonic systems.
Expressionism: Expressionism is an artistic movement that emerged in the early 20th century, emphasizing the representation of emotional experience rather than physical reality. This style often seeks to convey deep feelings and subjective experiences, using bold colors, distorted forms, and unconventional structures. In music, expressionism is closely linked with atonality and serialism, reflecting intense emotions and often breaking away from traditional tonal systems.
Integral serialism: Integral serialism is a compositional technique that extends the principles of serialism beyond pitch organization to include parameters such as rhythm, dynamics, and timbre, creating a fully serialized approach to music. This method involves constructing a series for each musical parameter, resulting in a more unified and systematic composition style that emphasizes strict control over all elements of music.
Listening experience: The listening experience refers to the personal and subjective reaction of an individual when engaging with music, involving emotional, cognitive, and sensory responses. It encompasses not only the sounds themselves but also the context in which music is heard, including elements like atonality and serialism, which challenge traditional listening norms and invite listeners to interpret music in innovative ways.
Non-tonal music: Non-tonal music is a style of composition that does not adhere to traditional tonal systems, meaning it lacks a defined key center or hierarchy of pitches. This approach often leads to a more ambiguous and free-flowing musical language, where dissonance and complex intervals take precedence over conventional harmonic progressions. Non-tonal music challenges the listener's expectations and expands the boundaries of musical expression.
Pitch Class Set: A pitch class set is a collection of pitches that share the same name but can exist in different octaves, effectively representing a single conceptual entity in music theory. This concept is essential for analyzing atonal and serial music, as it allows composers to think about pitches without being tied to traditional tonal hierarchies. It forms the foundation for various compositional techniques that emphasize the equality of all pitches within a work.
Post-tonal music: Post-tonal music refers to a style of composition that emerged in the 20th century, characterized by the abandonment of traditional tonal structures and harmonic frameworks. This music often explores new ways of organizing pitch, rhythm, and texture, leading to diverse approaches such as atonality and serialism. The shift away from tonality reflects a broader desire for innovation and expression in contemporary music.
Row transformation: Row transformation refers to the systematic manipulation of a series of pitches or notes, known as a 'row,' in twelve-tone music to create variations while maintaining the original row's integrity. This technique is essential in atonality and serialism, as it allows composers to generate a wide range of musical material from a limited set of pitches without returning to traditional tonal structures. It involves operations like transposition, inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion, which contribute to the complexity and diversity of serial compositions.
Second Viennese School: The Second Viennese School refers to a group of early 20th-century composers based in Vienna, primarily Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern, who developed innovative approaches to atonality and serialism. Their work marked a significant departure from traditional tonal music, focusing on new compositional techniques that emphasized structure and organization over conventional harmony.
Serial organization: Serial organization refers to a compositional technique where the twelve tones of the chromatic scale are arranged in a specific order or series, which serves as the basis for the entire piece. This method aims to eliminate traditional tonal hierarchies, leading to atonality, and helps create a structured way to develop musical ideas through systematic manipulation of the pitch series.
Set Theory: Set theory is a mathematical approach that categorizes and organizes collections of pitches, or musical elements, into distinct groups called sets. In the context of atonality and serialism, set theory provides a framework for analyzing and composing music without a traditional tonal center, allowing composers to explore new sound possibilities through the manipulation of these pitch sets.
Twelve-tone matrix: A twelve-tone matrix is a systematic arrangement of the twelve unique pitches in a twelve-tone composition, allowing composers to visualize and manipulate the twelve-tone row and its transformations. This tool is essential in atonal music, particularly in serialism, as it helps in exploring permutations, inversions, retrogrades, and transpositions of the original row while maintaining its integrity as the basis for the work.
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