What does atonal mean?
Atonal describes music that is written without reference to a key or tonal center — that is, without the gravitational pull toward a home note that characterizes most Western music from the Baroque era through the nineteenth century. Instead of major or minor scales and conventional chord progressions, atonal works organize pitch in freer ways, often producing harmonies that listeners trained on tonal music hear as dissonant or unresolved. The term is closely associated with early twentieth-century modernist composers such as Arnold Schoenberg, who developed techniques like twelve-tone serialism precisely to bring order to music freed from tonality. Beyond its technical sense, atonal can informally describe any sound that lacks tune or melodic quality. Its antonym is tonal, and the corresponding noun is atonality.
(of music) Not written in any key; lacking a tonal center or established harmonic framework.
"Berg's atonal songs unsettled audiences expecting familiar melodies."
Some composers whose work this term describes rejected the label; Schoenberg preferred 'pantonal.'
Lacking tune, melody, or pleasing musical quality.
"The old pipes gave off an atonal whistle whenever the wind picked up."
The word 'atonal' was so controversial when Schoenberg embraced it that he reportedly disliked the term himself, preferring to call his music 'pantonal' — using all tones rather than none.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of atonal
Atonal derives from the Greek prefix 'a-' meaning 'without,' combined with 'tonal,' from Latin 'tonus' (tone), itself borrowed from Greek 'tonos,' meaning tension or pitch. The word emerged in the early twentieth century as composers began deliberately abandoning traditional keys, though the practice it names predates widespread use of the label. It shares its root with words such as tonic, monotone, intonation, and tone itself.
Related word forms
How atonal is actually used
Primarily a technical term in music theory and criticism, though the second, looser sense ('lacking tune') appears in general writing. The term is sometimes contested by composers it describes.
Easily confused with atonal
Atonement means reparation for wrongdoing, while atonal describes music that lacks a key or tonal center.