How did Charles Ives use simultaneous atonal lines in his music?

Charles Ives did not strictly use "atonal lines" in the modern sense of serialism; rather, he employed polyphony and polytonality to create complex, dissonant textures by layering multiple independent musical lines simultaneously.12

Ives often achieved this by superimposing different melodies, keys, tempos, and rhythms to simulate real-world acoustic experiences. For example, in the second movement of Three Places in New England, he depicts two marching bands approaching and passing one another, with each ensemble playing its own distinct melody in a different key and rhythm. This technique creates a dense, layered soundscape where the interaction of these independent lines results in significant dissonance.12

While some of his works, such as his 114 Songs, do incorporate atonality, his broader approach to simultaneous lines was rooted in his interest in American culture, where he integrated quotations from hymns, marches, and popular tunes into these complex, multi-layered structures.1