Tone row construction

[annie_surekha]

Hi all,

Am getting around to understanding 12 tone music. How does one construct a tone row? what were the rules that Schoenberg himself suggested? Being essentially atonal, how then does one employ thirds and sixths, for eg. in constructing one? Thanks much!

[oxy60]

You will need to get some books. The best rule is to not have it sound like distressed cats!

[yale_music]

A tone row is just a given ordering of all 12 chromatic pitches. You choose the order, but don't repeat any notes. Of course, Schoenberg and his students weren't averse to repeating notes in their music, and they didn't follow any absolute rules. Such things are the fabrication of theorists.

If you want to do twelve-tone composition by the books, there's one book that will solve all of your woes: "Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory" by Joe Straus. It's an improvement on Forte and Perle—much easier to understand and more friendly to beginners. And Joe happens to be a great teacher and scholar.