twelve-tone
A method of composition using all twelve chromatic notes in a fixed order, avoiding tonal hierarchy.
In Depth
The twelve-tone technique (also called dodecaphony or serialism) was developed by Arnold Schoenberg in the early 1920s as a systematic approach to atonal composition. The composer arranges all twelve notes of the [chromatic scale](/term/chromatic%20scale) into a row (series), then uses this row as the basis for the entire work. The row can appear in four forms: original, retrograde (backwards), inversion (upside down), and retrograde inversion. Each form can be transposed to start on any of the twelve notes, giving 48 possible versions. Schoenberg's pupils Berg and Webern extended the technique in different directions — Berg made it lyrical, Webern made it crystalline. Post-war composers like Boulez and Stockhausen applied serial principles to rhythm, dynamics, and timbre as well as pitch.
Schoenberg was deeply superstitious about the number 13. He died on Friday the 13th of July 1951, at the age of 76 (7+6=13), reportedly fulfilling his own prophecy.