Serialism
or Dodecaphony
Schoenberg and the Twelve-Tone Technique
To compose a piece, Schoenberg used his 12-Tone Technique, where he would start by arranging the 12 chromatic notes of an octave into a set order - this initial arrangement is called the Prime Order or Prime Row, shortened to P0: It is important to compose the Prime Order very carefully, picking an interval or two as a defining feature but also consider how the rows can be transformed using the different serialist composition techniques.
Arnold Schoenberg's development of the twelve-tone system, also known as dodecaphony, marked a revolutionary shift in music composition during the early twentieth century. Before this innovation, Western music was predominantly tonal, centered around a single pitch or tonal center. In response to the perceived limits of tonality, Schoenberg and other composers began to explore atonality, ultimately leading him to establish a structured approach to organizing pitches without a central tone. Serialism means putting some element - or elements - of the piece into a series or order. For Schoenberg, this was focused on pitch, though it can be a set order of any of the elements - dynamic changes, rhythms, etc.
Different ways of transforming the prime row
The prime row can be transformed horizontally and vertically, creating chords through verticalisation, or different melody or bass lines through horizontal transformation. The main ways for this are:- Retrograde (back to front) - R0 - Inversion (inverting the intervals - I0 - Retrograde Inversion - RI0
These four versions of the series - P, R, I, and RI - can each be transposed so that they start on any of the 12 available notes. This gives 48 rows! I'll show you how we can use Sibelius to create this matrix using a plugin.
You can be clever!
What do you notice?
This was created using the principle of the hexachord and its symmetrical compliment. Stravinsky was particularly interested in hexachords, whereas Stockhausen enjoyed applying serial techniques to every element of music.
Considering different ways of transforming your tone rows can help you to create interesting combinations. Look at the two halves of this row, for example:
Alban Berg - his style
Alban Berg, a member of the 'Second Viennese School, along with Schoenberg and Anton Webern, constructed his rows to deliberately contain major and minor triads so that there were recognisable chords for audiences to aurally 'grasp' while listening. The prime row above is that of his Violin Concerto, which starts with all seven notes of the G harmonic minor scale, as well as combinations of major and minor triads.
Serialism
kirstywright
Created on March 24, 2026
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Transcript
Serialism
or Dodecaphony
Schoenberg and the Twelve-Tone Technique
To compose a piece, Schoenberg used his 12-Tone Technique, where he would start by arranging the 12 chromatic notes of an octave into a set order - this initial arrangement is called the Prime Order or Prime Row, shortened to P0: It is important to compose the Prime Order very carefully, picking an interval or two as a defining feature but also consider how the rows can be transformed using the different serialist composition techniques.
Arnold Schoenberg's development of the twelve-tone system, also known as dodecaphony, marked a revolutionary shift in music composition during the early twentieth century. Before this innovation, Western music was predominantly tonal, centered around a single pitch or tonal center. In response to the perceived limits of tonality, Schoenberg and other composers began to explore atonality, ultimately leading him to establish a structured approach to organizing pitches without a central tone. Serialism means putting some element - or elements - of the piece into a series or order. For Schoenberg, this was focused on pitch, though it can be a set order of any of the elements - dynamic changes, rhythms, etc.
Different ways of transforming the prime row
The prime row can be transformed horizontally and vertically, creating chords through verticalisation, or different melody or bass lines through horizontal transformation. The main ways for this are:- Retrograde (back to front) - R0 - Inversion (inverting the intervals - I0 - Retrograde Inversion - RI0
These four versions of the series - P, R, I, and RI - can each be transposed so that they start on any of the 12 available notes. This gives 48 rows! I'll show you how we can use Sibelius to create this matrix using a plugin.
You can be clever!
What do you notice?
This was created using the principle of the hexachord and its symmetrical compliment. Stravinsky was particularly interested in hexachords, whereas Stockhausen enjoyed applying serial techniques to every element of music.
Considering different ways of transforming your tone rows can help you to create interesting combinations. Look at the two halves of this row, for example:
Alban Berg - his style
Alban Berg, a member of the 'Second Viennese School, along with Schoenberg and Anton Webern, constructed his rows to deliberately contain major and minor triads so that there were recognisable chords for audiences to aurally 'grasp' while listening. The prime row above is that of his Violin Concerto, which starts with all seven notes of the G harmonic minor scale, as well as combinations of major and minor triads.