Serialism in Music – Twelve Tone Row Music April Antell Tarantine April Antell Tarantine © 2013 General Music/Music Theory/Music Appreciation Grade 12
Twelve Tone Music was written after the Romantic Period and Impressionist Period, beginning around the time of World War I ( ). The composer, Arnold Schoenberg, is considered the creator of this music. Schoenberg felt that music of that time was losing its form and tonal organization. Twelve Tone Music was a way to organize music, using the twelve tones of the octave scale to create a unique melody, with no one tone having more importance than another. Serialism in Music
Here are some famous composers of 12 Tone Music. Please click on screen to see them. Please click on their names to read about them. Alban Berg Anton Webern Arnold Schoenberg Serialism in Music
Click to hear an example of one of Arnold Shoenberg’s early works. You will only need to listen to the first three or four minutes (unless you would like to listen to more). What did you hear? How would you describe the music?
Serialism in Music Here is an example of 12 Tone Music, also written by Arnold Schoenberg. How would you compare the two pieces? How are they the same? How are they different?
Serialism in Music Here you can view an example of a Twelve Tone Row, and how it might be notated on a staff. Notice how EVERY note of the octave is used in the melody. Also notice how each note is used only ONCE until the other eleven notes in the octave have been used. This creates the Prime Row, and establishes one rule of the Twelve Tone System.
Serialism in Music Please use this link to brush up on your notation skills. You do not need to download anything or register. All you need to do is click on the start button.
Serialism in Music What are the ways composers can change the 12 Tone Row? Click on the screen to see the different ways. Retrograde Inversion Retrograde Inversion Interval Progressions Augmentation – lengthening the note values Diminution – shortening the note values
Serialism in Music This site gives you a nice matrix calculator to help you create the variations for your Twelve-Tone Row. Matrix Calculator
Serialism in Music Review Questions (We will discuss these in class for review) How and why was 12-tone music created? Who were some notable composers of 12-tone music? How would you describe 12-tone music? What is one rule of creating 12-tone music? How do composers alter the 12-tone row? What is the value of 12-tone music? What effect did 12-tone music have on later classical music? How did it influence music? What do you think about the idea that 12-tone music could have been used to send coded messages during the World Wars?
Serialism in Music – Resources Page 1 Online Resources for PowerPoint Presentation 12-tone music. (2013). In Encyclopedia Brittanica online. Retrieved from (Information on Second Slide) Billam, P. (2013, July 11). Verklaerte Nacht arranged for Piano. Retrieved from (Musical Example 1 – Slide 4) Carter, E. (Last modified 2013, August 24). All-interval twelve-tone row. Retrieved from (Title Slide Image) Cummings, R. (2013). Artist Biography by Robert Cummings. Retrieved from (Anton Webern Information) Deadcalledpark. (2009, February 14). Arnold Schönberg: Suite Op. 25/Musette. Retrieved from (Musical Example- Slide 5)
Serialism in Music – Resources Page 2 Music Education Games. (Last updated 2013, February). Retrieved from (Notation Game – Slide 7) Mütze. (Last modified on 2012, March 5). File:Example tone row. Retrieved from (Tone Row Example – Slide 6) Nelson, P. (2004). Retrieved from (Tone Row Variations Calculator – Slide 9) Schmidt, J. (2013, July 9). What was Theodor Adorno Doing in Thomas Mann’s Garden? – A Hollywood Story. Retrieved from doing-in-thomas-manns-garden-a-hollywood-story/ (Arnold Schoenberg Image, found in Google Advanced Search) doing-in-thomas-manns-garden-a-hollywood-story/ Shaffer, K. P. (2012). Retrieved from kris.shaffermusic.com/musicianshipResources/twelveTone.html (Information – Slide 8) kris.shaffermusic.com/musicianshipResources/twelveTone.html
Serialism in Music – Resources Page 3 Staff, R. (2013). Artist Biography by Rovi Staff. Retrieved from (Alban Berg Information) Staff, R. (2013). Artist Biography by Rovi Staff. Retrieved from (Arnold Schoenberg Information) Wikipedia: Anton Webern. (Last edited on 2013, September 25). Retrieved from ( (Anton Webern Image, found on Google Advanced Search) ( Wikipedia: Alban Berg. (Last edited on 2013, September 17). Retrieved from (Alban Berg Image, found on Google Advanced Search)