Meaning of Tone Row in Music
In music, a **tone row** refers to a specific ordering of pitch-classes, typically the twelve notes of the chromatic scale. It is a non-repetitive sequence of tones that serves as the basis for a work of serial music . The concept of a tone row is closely associated with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, which was a significant development in 20th-century contemporary music.
A tone row is a series of tones in which no tone is duplicated, and the tones generally recur in a fixed sequence with variations in rhythm and pitch. It can be used to create a sense of unity and structure in a composition, as well as to explore different permutations and transformations of the original sequence of pitches.
Twelve-Tone Technique and Tone Rows
The twelve-tone technique, developed by Arnold Schoenberg, is a method of composition that uses a tone row as its foundation. In this technique, the twelve notes of the chromatic scale are arranged in a specific order called the prime form or the prime order.
The prime form of the tone row is the initial ordering of the twelve notes, and it can be transposed, inverted, and retrograded to create different variations of the row. Transposition involves shifting the entire row up or down by a certain interval, inversion involves reversing the order of the intervals, and retrograde involves playing the row in reverse order.
These transformations allow composers to explore different musical possibilities and create variations while maintaining the integrity of the original tone row. The use of these transformations gives the composition a cohesive and structured quality.
Examples and Usage
Tone rows have been widely used in 20th-century contemporary music by composers such as Arnold Schoenberg and Dmitri Shostakovich. For example, Shostakovich incorporated twelve-tone rows in some of his compositions, without using dodecaphonic transformations.
The tone row can be seen as a repository of intervals and can be used to create melodies, harmonies, and other musical elements in a composition. Composers can manipulate the tone row to create different moods, textures, and musical effects.
It's important to note that not all serial music uses a twelve-tone row, as there are other forms of serialism that involve ordering different musical elements, such as durations or dynamics.
In summary, a tone row in music refers to a specific ordering of pitch-classes, typically the twelve notes of the chromatic scale. It serves as the basis for a work of serial music and allows composers to explore different variations and transformations while maintaining the integrity of the original sequence of pitches.
A specific arrangement of the twelve tones of the twelve-tone scale as a basis for a twelve-tone composition.
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