Comments on: 12-Step Program

By: Ed Lawes

Ed Lawes — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:16:06 +0000

Dear oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, the writer of this ostensibly self satisfied prose protests far too much. No need for a reasoned appraisal of 12 tone harmony here, ‘serialism’ even less so. That might push the writer over the edge. Worrying.

By: Christian

Christian — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:33:15 +0000

Yup. Rows, arrays, matrices. Not in a strict Schoenbergian kind of deployment, but they’re part of my process.

By: J

Wed, 05 May 2010 05:01:00 +0000

I can see 12-tone rows’ value in times when intellect is being stifled, by making music as intellectual, complex, and complex-oriented as possible, but the idea just seems unnecessary now, unless a strict compositional method is appropriate to the theme of the piece (i.e. something mechanical, etc.) Schoenberg certainly didn’t invent atonality, but he was no doubt an important composer. The rows are definitely a great exercise in learning pitch relationships, though! Also, the 12-step program guide was pretty funny.

By: Paul H. Muller

Paul H. Muller — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:30:20 +0000

I guess everyone has seen this – but just in case you are under 50 and want to get started with the 12-tone method :=)

http://desenamusic.org/matrix/msquare.html

By: Galen H. Brown

Galen H. Brown — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:08:53 +0000

I doubt many people are using tone rows, especially in a strict, serialized fashion, but it’s not something I’ve particularly kept track of. My sense, though, is that the value of serialism lies primarily in controlling the statistical profile of a piece (the control of which aids long-term structure and sonic continuity) and that composers who are interested in that have discovered that there are other techniques that are also effective. So I suspect there are a lot of atonal composers who pay a lot of attention to set theory, and even choose pitch collections ahead of time. If anybody has more specific or authoritative information, I’d be curious to hear it.

I tease, but I actually have a lot of respect for serialism, even when I’m not interested in many of its products. I have long thought that Schoenberg’s most important innovation wasn’t atonality, or the 12-tone method, but rather the idea that a composer can choose and manipulate the statistical profile of a piece at a fundamental level rather than defaulting to the the profile provided by functional harmony.

By: Nathan Brock

Nathan Brock — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:17:42 +0000

Just out of curiosity, because I’ve seen a couple of 12-tone references recently, how many people out there under the age of, say, 50 are actually using tone rows on a regular basis? I know lots of people writing freely atonal music (like me), and lots of people writing tonal or quasi-tonal music, but I can’t think of anyone I personally know who uses rows. Are such people out there, and just don’t advertise the fact? Or is serial composition a dead letter these days among the young?

By: Christian

Christian — Mon, 03 May 2010 21:17:11 +0000

Very funny Galen! I hope your Gershwin Hotel gig was filled with equal jocularity!

Alas, far too many composers need to learn the original 12-Steps due to substance abuse challenges.

I wonder if Kyle’s 12-tone course is better populated than the Beethoven course because it seems to have a more adventurous bent (although plenty would dispute that Beethoven was quite the adventurer) or whether it has to do with scheduling.

BTW, my Westminster summer course on minimalism remains sadly under-subscribed. Here’s hoping that a few more students interested in Reich, Riley, Adams, etc. enroll and it runs.