twelve-tone

American  

[twelv-tohn] / ˈtwɛlvˈtoʊn /

adjective

Music.

1. based on or incorporating the twelve-tone technique.

   twelve-tone music.

2. using or advocating the twelve-tone technique.

   a twelve-tone composer.

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twelve-tone British  

adjective

1. 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 centres See serialism

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Etymology

Origin of twelve-tone

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Schoenberg’s major innovations consisted of experiments with atonality – music without a central, binding key – and a newly-invented twelve-tone scale of his own creation.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

After the Second World War, prodigiously complex systems of organizing music spread to all corners of the globe: twelve-tone composition, its serialist variants, chance operations, and so on.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 20, 2018

This concerto is known as a defiant oxymoron, a ravishingly beautiful twelve-tone piece — not only is it beautiful, but it incorporates a folk tune and, yes, a Bach chorale.

From Washington Post • May 17, 2018

At first, American listeners were “receptive but occasionally puzzled” by the “infinitely complex music which bears some slight resemblance to modern jazz and Schoenberg’s twelve-tone system.”

From Time • Apr. 7, 2016

One positive function Schoenberg’s twelve-tone formula fulfilled, though, other than provide for interesting analysis and debate, was to give composers in the twentieth century a challenging structure with which to grapple.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall