twelve-tone

[ twelv-tohn ]

/ ˈtwɛlvˈtoʊn /

Save This Word!

adjective Music.

based on or incorporating the twelve-tone technique: twelve-tone music.

using or advocating the twelve-tone technique: a twelve-tone composer.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of twelve-tone

First recorded in 1935–40

Words nearby twelve-tone

twelve pitch, Twelver, Twelve Step, twelve-string guitar, Twelve Tables, twelve-tone, twelve-tone row, twelve-tone technique, twentieth, Twentieth Amendment, twenty

How to use twelve-tone in a sentence

Grindr currently has twelve ‘tribes,’ and for some people this just is not enough.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem|David Levesley|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Music is a huge part of the tone of Black Dynamite overall—going back to the original 2009 movie on which the series is based.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
When twelve people are killed by violence, whoever they are, for whatever reason, that is a tragedy and a waste.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Although Huckabee's condescending tone - like that of an elementary school history teacher - makes it difficult to take seriously.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Twelve-year-old dance prodigy Maddie Ziegler has suffered the wrath of Dance Moms tyrant Abby Lee Miller.
See Burly Shia LaBeouf Interpretive Cage Fight Lil Sia in the Singer’s Fantastic New Music Video|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That which is called nasality is caused by the failure of the tone to reach freely the anterior cavities of the nares.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Drone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
And once more, she found herself desiring to be like Janet--not only in appearance, but in soft manner and tone.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
What the ear hears is the fundamental pitch only; the overtones harmonize with the primary or fundamental tone, and enrich it.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
It was close upon twelve o'clock, and the "Rooms" had been open to the public for two hours.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for twelve-tone

twelve-tone

adjective

of, relating to, or denoting the type of serial music invented and developed by Arnold Schoenberg, which uses as musical material a tone row formed by the 12 semitones of the chromatic scale, together with its inverted and retrograde versions. The technique has been applied in various ways by different composers and usually results in music in which there are few, if any, tonal centresSee serialism

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012