The twelve-tone technique (also known as dodecaphony or twelve-tone serialism) is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg. It ensures that all twelve notes of the chromatic scale are used equally and systematically. A specific ordering of these twelve notes, called a "tone row" or "series," forms the fundamental melodic and harmonic material for an entire piece, preventing any single note from becoming a tonal center.
Schoenberg's "Suite for Piano, Op. 25" is one of the earliest and most famous examples of a work composed entirely using the twelve-tone technique. His students, Alban Berg and Anton Webern, also adopted and adapted the technique, creating their own distinct styles within the twelve-tone framework. The music often sounds atonal, as the technique deliberately avoids traditional harmonic progressions.
Schoenberg developed the twelve-tone technique in the early 1920s as a way to organize atonal music, which had emerged in the preceding decades. After experimenting with "free atonality," he sought a more structured approach to composition that would provide a new kind of coherence in the absence of traditional tonality. The technique became highly influential in 20th-century classical music, particularly after World War II, and laid the groundwork for broader serialist practices.
Listen to Arnold Schoenberg's "Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31." This large-scale work demonstrates how the twelve-tone row can be manipulated and developed across an entire orchestral piece. Try to follow the intricate textures and listen for the recurring patterns and transformations of the basic tone row.