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Serial Method (Twelve Tone Technique). Group: Karen, David, Michelle, Patrick, Jody, Angie . Composer Timeline. “The Method of Composing with Twelve Tones Related Only to Each Other” - Schönberg. (now known as the 12-Tone Technique or Dodecaphony). Tone Row. P - prime I - inversion
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Serial Method(Twelve Tone Technique) Group: Karen, David, Michelle, Patrick, Jody, Angie
Composer Timeline 12-Tone Serial Method
“The Method of Composing with Twelve Tones Related Only to Each Other” - Schönberg (now known as the 12-Tone Technique or Dodecaphony)
Tone Row • P - prime • I - inversion • R - retrograde • RI - retrograde inversion 12-Tone Serial Method
The Definition of Serialism • A method or style of composition which a parameter of the piece is subjected to a fixed permutation or series of elements in succession. 12-Tone Serial Method
Serialism - A Basic Definition • A piece of music for which there is an order to the progression of events. • Events are notes and/or aspects of the music • Including: chord duration, rhythms, dynamics • Twelve Tone only refers to the notes. • The order of events (series) are determined by a numerical representation of a tone row 12-Tone Serial Method
Tone Row - Definition • The arrangement of all twelve notes of the equal-tempered scale so that each note appears only once. • Each note has equal importance • No tonic and dominant relations • The order of these twelve notes is to be strictly followed throughout the piece • Only four possible permutations on the row 12-Tone Serial Method
Tone Row Conventions • Once a series is created it can be transposed over all 12 notes • There are four forms of a tone row for each of the 12 transposition • This allows for 48 forms for any particular tone row • With so many tone rows (479,001,600), possibilities for music is virtually limitless 12-Tone Serial Method
Tone Row Conventions (cont’d) • Intervals are a quality heard, not seen • They are diatonic intervals - not exact • Cb would become a B for transcription • Any particular tone row must be played in whole, or as a part of one or more statements of a series • There were no conventions for: changing register, number of series played, etc. 12-Tone Serial Method
Four Forms of a Tone Row • Prime form • the original form of a twelve tone row or any of its transpositions • Retrograde form • the statement of a tone row in the reverse order from which it was stated in prime form 12-Tone Serial Method
Four Forms of a Tone Row (cont’d) • Inversion form • Turning the prime statement of a tone row upside down, mirroring all intervals • minor 3rd up becomes a minor 3rd down • Retrograde Inversion form • the statement of a tone row in the reverse order from which it was stated in inversion form 12-Tone Serial Method
Prime Retrograde Inversion Retrograde Inversion 12-Tone Serial Method
Tone Row Naming • The basic four shapes of a tone row are usually labeled as follows (although there is no standard naming convention) : • P for prime • I for inversion • R for retrograde • RI for retrograde inversion 12-Tone Serial Method
Tone Row Naming (cont’d) • Subscript numeral is the pitch-class number • interval by semitones from index number • (This is not a standard either) • Index number is represented by subscript 0 and is set by the starting note of the prime • Example: Assuming P0 to be on C • P10 represents a prime version of the tone row beginning on Bb 12-Tone Serial Method
Ideas Behind a Tone Row • Avoid melodic progressions which are too traditional in character • Arpeggio chords or scale association. Bb: I iii V Ab: I iii V 12-Tone Serial Method
Ideas Behind a Tone Row (cont’d) • Avoid using too many melodic intervals of the same or similar size • These may lead to melodic monotony M3 M3 M3 12-Tone Serial Method
Ideas Behind a Tone Row (cont’d) • Avoid chromatic combinations that result in the resolution of a leading tone 12-Tone Serial Method
Ideas Behind a Tone Row (cont’d) • Except in a deliberate design devoted to a particular interval, a row generally contains a balanced number of seconds, thirds, fourths or fifths, and tritones P5 st st m7 M2 st tt st P4 P5 M7 12-Tone Serial Method
Terminology • Closed system - all the selected tone row forms contain the same two notes for their outer pitches • Twelve-tone aggregate - groups of notes freely combined with each other to form the twelve tone row 12-Tone Serial Method
Terminology (cont’d) • Hexachord - the row divided into 2 groups of 6 notes • Combinatoriality - “the simultaneous presentations of two different forms of a single row so constructed that the new twelve-tone aggregates are created by the combination of their hexachord” 12-Tone Serial Method
Explanation of matrix creation • http://www.pcpros.net/~ntxawgl/music/12_tones_technique.htm 12-Tone Serial Method
Composers and Works • Josef Hauer (1883-1959) • Piano Piece, op.25 (1923) • Wandlungen (1927) • Over 1,000 Zwöftonspiele (Twelve-Tone Games) after 1939 • Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951) • Five Piano Pieces, op.23 (1923) • Serenade, op.24 (1923) 12-Tone Serial Method
Composers and Works (cont’d.) • Suite for Piano, op.24 (1924)—first completely twelve-tone work • Wind Quintet, op.26 (1924) • Suite for Seven Instruments (1926) • Third String Quartet (1927) • Variations for Orchestra (1928) • Suite in E, op.29 (1926) • Variations, op.31 (1928) 12-Tone Serial Method
Composers and Works (cont’d.) • Von heute auf morgen, op.32 (1928) • Piano Piece, op.33a (1929) • Moses und Aron (1930) • Accompaniment to a Film, op.34 (1930) • Fourth String Quartet (1936) • Violin Concerto (1936) • Piano Concerto (1942) 12-Tone Serial Method
Composers and Works (cont’d.) • String Trio, op.45 (1946) • Phantasy for violin and piano, op.47 (1949) • Alban Berg (1885-1935) • "Schliese mir die Augen beide" (1925) • Lyric Suite (1925) • Violin Concerto (1935) 12-Tone Serial Method
Composers and Works (cont’d.) • Anton Webern (1883-1945) • Kinderstücke (1924) • String Trio, op.20 (1927) • Symphony, op.21 (1928) • Quartet, op.22 (1930) • Concerto, op.24 (1934) 12-Tone Serial Method
Composers and Works (cont’d.) • Nikoloas Skalkottas (1904-1949) • Third Piano Concerto (1939) • Fourth String Quartet (1940) • Ernst Krenek (1904-1968) • Karl V (1933) • Lamentio Jerimaiae Prophetae (1942) 12-Tone Serial Method
Composers and Works (cont’d.) • Luigi Dallapiccola (1904-1975) • Il Coro degli zitti (1936) • Tre Laudi (1937) • Volo di notte (1939) • Canti di prigiona (1941) • Cinque Frammento di Saffo (1942) • Liriche greche (1945) • Job (1950) 12-Tone Serial Method
Composers and Works (cont’d.) • Goffredo Petrassi (b. 1904) • Noche oscura (1951) • Second Concerto for Orchestra (1952) • Wolfgang Fortner (1907-1987) • Third String Quartet (1948) • Milton Babbitt (b. 1916) • 3 Compositions for Piano 12-Tone Serial Method
WWW sites: • http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/g_twelve_tone.html • http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/schonberg.html • http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/classmus.html • http://www.pcpros.net/~ntxawgl/music/12_tones_technique.htm • http://www.futurenet.com/classicalnet/composers/features/schoenberg/arnie.html • http://music1.csudh.edu/Mus486/TwelveTone/ 12-Tone Serial Method
More WWW sites: • http://geocities.com/Vienna/9498/settheory.html • http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fields/gems/5.htm • http://arts.usf.edu/music/wtm/art-aw.html • http://www.music.princeton.edu/~ckk/smmt/serialism.3.html • http://ananke.advanced.org/3343/web-docs/muglossary.html • http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/13162.html • http://thumper.pomona.edu/~elindholm/web_op6.htm 12-Tone Serial Method