The path
Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) is the composer who takes late-Romantic chromaticism to the point of abandoning tonality, and then invents a new order: the twelve-tone technique. He was also a great teacher: his Harmonielehre (Theory of Harmony, 1911) and Structural Functions of Harmony (published posthumously, 1954) are still reference texts.
Milestones
| Period | Work | Language |
|---|---|---|
| Late-Romantic tonality | Verklärte Nacht Op. 4 (1899) | Wagnerian chromaticism, “forbidden” ninth chords |
| Suspended tonality | Chamber Symphony No. 1 Op. 9 (1906) | themes and chords in fourths |
| Toward atonality | String Quartet No. 2 Op. 10 (1908) | last movement without key signature |
| Free atonality | Drei Klavierstücke Op. 11 (1909), Pierrot lunaire Op. 21 (1912) | no tonal center |
| Twelve-tone technique | Op. 23 No. 5 (Waltz) and Suite Op. 25 (1921–23) | 12-tone rows |
The emancipation of dissonance
Schoenberg argued that the difference between consonance and dissonance is one of degree, not of nature: dissonances are more distant harmonics. If the ear gets used to it, dissonance no longer needs to resolve. This is the “emancipation of dissonance.”
Regions (extended tonality)
In Structural Functions of Harmony Schoenberg proposes monotonality: a piece is in a single key, and what we call modulations are regions of it (dominant, subdominant, relative, mediant, Neapolitan…), arranged on a map. It is a very useful way of thinking about tonicizations in a long piece.
The twelve-tone technique in brief
- You choose a row that contains the 12 notes, each one once.
- The row is used in 4 forms: prime (P), inversion (I) (intervals flipped), retrograde (R), retrograde inversion (RI), each transposable to 12 pitches: 48 forms.
- The notes can be used in melody or as chords; the octave is free.
- You build a 12 × 12 matrix to have all the forms at hand.
Example: the row of the Suite Op. 25 is E – F – G – Db – Gb – Eb – Ab – D – B – C – A – Bb.
From Schoenberg to modern production
- Film music (horror, thriller, science fiction) has used atonal and serial languages for decades to create tension.
- The row can be used as a material generator: a twelve-tone melody over a tonal pedal creates a “modern but anchored” hybrid.
- Schoenberg’s regions help plan the tonal path of a long piece (concept albums, soundtracks).
Bernstein and Schoenberg
Leonard Bernstein in The Unanswered Question (1973) discusses the crisis of tonality in the early twentieth century: for him atonality gives up part of music’s innate “grammar” (the harmonic series), and the history that follows is a search for balance between ambiguity and clarity.
Exercise
- Write a 12-note row (avoid placing notes that form major triads next to each other, so as not to “tonalize” it).
- Work out its inversion: every ascending interval becomes descending.
- Use the row as a synth lead melody over a D pedal held by a pad, at 70 BPM: hear how the pedal partially “tonalizes” the row.
Related topics
Tristan chord and Wagnerian chromaticism, quartal harmony, Hindemith’s harmony, ambiguity and expectation (Bernstein), modulation techniques.