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What is atonal music?
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Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg in a suit, seated at a piano and holding a conductor's baton, appears to be conducting music in a wood-paneled room. Portrait of Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, smiling slightly while seated and wearing a suit and tie, taken in a photo booth around 1930. Painting by Arnold Schoenberg of composer Alban Berg standing in a dark suit, leaning with one elbow on a cabinet, with a framed artwork on the wall behind him.
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Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg in a suit, seated at a piano and holding a conductor's baton, appears to be conducting music in a wood-paneled room.
Arnold Schoenberg, 1926 Austrian-American composer Arnold Schoenberg was one of the most influential teachers of music composition of the 20th century. He also was known for his creation of new methods of musical composition involving atonality, namely serialism and the 12-tone row.

What is atonal music?

Written by
Kara Rogers
Kara Rogers is the senior editor of biomedical sciences at Encyclopædia Britannica, where she oversees a range of content from medicine and genetics to microorganisms. She joined Britannica in 2006 and...
Kara Rogers
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Atonal music is a distinct form of music, wherein the establishment of a central key or tonal center is disregarded. Hence, unlike traditional Western music, atonal music is not fall on pitches centered around one note or chord. It further focuses on utilizing the 12 chromatic pitches more equally, resulting in sounds that are dissonant or that seem unpredictable. Most Western Classical music is based on tonality. In this a system a central key underlies...

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