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CHARACTERISTICS
Atonal music lacks a tonal center.
This can be somewhat subjective according to different listeners.
The traditional melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic patterns that establish a tonal center
are avoided and are replaced by:
Unresolved dissonances;
PITCH-CLASS SETS
It became apparent that atonal music often achieved a degree of unity through a new
kind of motive -- cell, basic cell, set, pitch set, pitch-class set, and referential sonority.
The pc set can appear melodically or harmonically, transposed and/or inverted, and
ATONAL ANALYSIS
In tonal analysis, octave equivalence allows sonorities to be reduced to a basic form
and take a look at them in close structure.
A C major chord and an F major chord are considered transpositionally equivalent --
they are both major chords.
Normal order is the basic form of a pc set.
It is an ordering of the pitches so that they span the smallest possible interval.
While atonal and tonal analysis share the concepts of octave and transpositional
equivalence, atonal analysis also considers pc sets that are related by inversion -- the
intervals in reverse order -- to be equivalent.
It doesn’t work in tonal analysis because a major triad inverts to a minor, and the
order.
Because of the concepts of transpositional and inversional symmetry, the number of
possible pc sets is 220 -- dyads through decachords.
Prime form applies pitch-class integers -- C is 0, C# is 1, etc. -- to the best normal
order.
The first pitch is always transposed to 0 and the other numbers equal half steps
above the first pitch.
Another way to compare pc sets is by the interval vector.
This is an inventory of all the intervals within the pc set.
Because of the concept of inversional equivalence, there are only six interval classes.
A m7 inverts to a M2 so they are both in the same interval class.
The interval vector lists the number of occurrences of an interval class -- 001001
indicates that there is only one occurrence each of interval classes 3 (m3 or M6)
and 6 (A4 or d5).
Pc sets that are not related by inversion or transposition, but have the same interval
vector, are Z-related sets.
Though free atonality does not use a systematic way of achieving atonality, composers
often tried to use all twelve tones in a fairly short period.
Aggregate refers to any statement of all twelve pitches regardless of duplications or
ordering.
Aggregates sometimes help define the beginning, ending, or middle sections of the
composition.
As in tonal music, any segmentation, indeed, any valid analysis, must be based on
good musical decisions and how the listener hears the music.