What does dodecaphonic mean?
Dodecaphonic describes music based on the twelve chromatic pitches within an octave. In the best-known form of this idea, associated with Arnold Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School, the twelve pitches are treated with equal importance rather than being organized around a traditional tonal center. A composer may use all twelve notes in a fixed sequence, called a row, and transform that sequence through transposition, inversion, or retrograde. The result can sound unfamiliar to listeners accustomed to traditional tonal music, although the underlying concept is systematic and carefully controlled. Dodecaphonic is especially associated with atonal and serial composition of the early and mid-twentieth century, but the term is also used more broadly in discussion of twelve-note scales and tuning systems. It is a technical, largely formal term and is less common outside specialist writing about music. The related noun dodecaphony names the system or technique itself.
adjectiveRelating to a system of music based on the twelve chromatic pitches of the octave, especially the twelve-tone technique developed by Arnold Schoenberg and his followers.
- Relating to or employing the twelve-note system of musical composition in which the twelve chromatic pitches are treated with equal importance.
"The composer organized the dodecaphonic argument so that no pitch dominated the melody."
"Her dodecaphonic compositions use recurring pitch classes to create coherence without a traditional tonal center."
"The ensemble performed a dodecaphonic work whose rows of notes transformed gradually from one phrase to the next."
Dodecaphonic music treats all twelve notes in the chromatic octave as equal players, giving each pitch a turn in the spotlight.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does dodecaphonic come from?
The word is built from the Greek dodeka, meaning “twelve,” and the combining form -phonic, relating to sound. The numerical element also appears in English words such as dozen, which comes through French from Latin duodecim, and in dodecahedron and dodecasyllabic, which use forms of the same Greek root. In musical terminology, dodecaphonic developed as an adjective corresponding to the noun dodecaphony, describing the use or organization of twelve chromatic pitches.
Related word forms
How dodecaphonic is actually used
This is a specialized term used chiefly in discussions of twentieth-century music, theory, and composition. It is more precise in historical musicological contexts than the informal expression “12-tone music,” and it describes the system rather than the number of independent musical parts.
Easily confused with dodecaphonic
Dodecaphonic is the adjective describing music based on twelve chromatic pitches, while dodecaphony is the noun for the system or technique itself.