____

__
__

1
Basic Concepts
of Twelve-Tone Music
-

In this chapter, you wiN learn so of the basic features of twelve-tone

music, and the highly individual wa’js in which composers have
used them
a. .

6.1 Twelve-Tone Series 6.3 Segmental Subsets

6.1.1 Set and series 6.3.1 Direct presentation
6.1.2 Role of the series 6.3.2 Indirect presentation
6.2 Basic Operations 6.4 Invariants
6.2.1 Content and order 6.4.1 Invariant dyads
6.2.2 Prime ordering 6.4.2 Invariant trichords
6.2.3 Transposition 6.4.3 Invariant dyads between series forms
6.2.4 Retrograde
6.5 Varieties of Twelve-Tone Music
6.2.5 Inversion
6.2.6 Retrograde-inversion 6.5.1 Webern and derivation

6.2.7 Series class (row class) 6.5.2 Schoenberg and hexachordal

6.2.8 12 x 12 matrix combinatorial ity

6.2.9 “Twelve-count” 6.5.3 Stravinsky and rotational arrays

6.2.10 Composing with a series 6.5.4 Crawford Seeger and multilevel rotation
6.5.5 Babbitt and trichordal arrays

TWELVE-TONE SERIES

6.1.1 Set and series

Until now, we have discussed music largely in terms of unordered sets of pitch
classes.
In what follows, we will concentrate on ordered sets, which we will call series.
A series
is a line of pitch classes. A pitch-class set retains its identity no matter how
its pitch
classes are ordered. In a series, however, the pitch classes occur in a particu
lar order;
the identity of the series changes if the order changes. A series (sometimes
called a
row) can be any length. but by far the most common is a series
consisting of all twelve
CHAPTER 6 Basic Concepts of Twelve-Tone Music
: pitch classes (with one of each). Music that uses such a series as its basic, referential
structure is known as twelve-tone music.

6.1.2 1 Role of the series

A twelve-tone series plays many musical roles in twelve-tone music. In some ways it is
like a theme, a recognizable ‘tune” that recurs in various ways throughout a piece. In
some ways it is like a scale, the basic referential collection from which harmonies and
melodies are drawn. In some ways it is a repository of motives, a large design within
which are embedded numerous smaller designs. But it plays a more fundamental role
in twelve-tone music than theme, scale, or motive play in tonal music. In tonal music,
the scales and even to some extent the themes and motives are part of the common
property of the prevailing musical style. From piece to piece and from composer to
composer, a great deal of musical material is shared. Tonal music is relatively com
munal. In twelve-tone music, however, relatively little is shared from piece to piece
or composer to composer; virtually no two pieces use the same series. Twelve-tone
music is thus relatively contextual. The series is the source ofstructural relations in a
twelve-tone piece: from the immediate surface to the deepest structural level, the series
shapes the music.

H . .

Asgtes is a hue (ordered succession) of pitch classes The most

common kind of series ëdntains one 6feath bf%i twelve pitd
.
...

*;
I

dasses

BASIC OPERATIONS

6.2.1 Content and order

Like unordered pitch-class sets, twelve-tone series can be subjected to various oper
ations like transposition and inversion for the sake of development, contrast, and
t . —,
continuity. There is an important basic difference, however. ‘v’hen a set of fewer than
. . .
. .

twelve elements is transposed or inverted, the content of the set usually changes. When
any member of (0123), for example, is transposed up two semirones, two new pitch
classes will be introduced. The operation of transposition thus changes the content of
the collection. When a twelve-tone series is transposed, however, the content remains
the same. If you transpose the twelve pitch classes, you just get the same twelve pitch
classes, but in a different order. The same is true of inversion. In the twelve-tone
system, the basic operations—transposition and inversion—affect order, not content.
Basic Operations
‘Wi,
 6.2.2 Prime ordering
The series is traditionally used in four different orderings:
prime, retrograde, inver
sion, and retrograde-inversion. Some statement of the series,
usually the very first one
in the piece, is designated the prime, and the rest are
calculated in relation to it. In
Example 6-1, the melody in the first violin presents
all twelve pitch classes in a clear,
forthright way. We will consider this the prime ordering
for the piece. It begins on D
(pitch-class 2), so we will label it P.,. The twelve notes of
P2 are numbered in order of
occurrence, 1—12.

EXAMPLE 6-1 Presenting the series—the initial melodic statement

is designated P2 (Schoenberg, String Quartet No.
first movement). 4,

F,: I 3 45 6 7 89
0, A A A
Violin I
I)
:br !7
if
-‘-----

I I I
[, A A A A A A A

rr
Violin II A A
‘

Viola
E A A
k’
A
fr
A A A A
i• p4• ‘
‘ ifs
1

j A A A A A
A A A
Cello

I0 II 12
4 .1
A

it) “I

a A A A A
.

tJ U
-
A A A A
p’
g.e e -;

A A A
or
A

Because we are talking about an ordered succession of pitch

classes, when we talk
about its intervals, we will usually be referring to the ordere
d pitch-class intervals. These
are usually represented as positive integers,
1—11, but sometimes we will use negative
numbersfor7andabove(7=—5;8=--4;9=—3; 1O=—2;
11 =—1).Example6-2shows
the eleven ordered pitch-class intervals in Schoenberg’s series.

CHAPTER 6 Basic Concepts of Twelve-Tone Music

 EXAMPLE 6-2 Ordered pitch-class intervals of the series.

ordcrd pitch-class
thtcn-afr II 8 I 7 10 I S S II II 5

P2D
AAAAAAA
0 c
AAAA A B. F B £ A C S B

6.2.3 Transposition

Let’s see what happens to the intervals if we transpose P, up seven semitones

(Example 6-3).

EXAMPLE 6-3 When the series is transposed, the same intervals are heard in the same order.

ordered piich-class
intervals:

A/YVvVWA,
II 8 I 7 10 I 8 8 II II 5
A
•••
y° .. °
i” ,
“
‘“ go

It 8 I 7 10 I 8 8 It II 5
I
‘‘ °
6.. U..
r
The order of the pitch classes changes: D was first, now it is toward the end; A was
third, now it is first; and so on. In fact, no pitch class occupies the same order position
it did. The content, of course, is the same (both P, and P9 contain all twelve pitch
classes), and, more important, so is the interval succession. That particular interval
succession is what defines the prime ordering of this series. We can produce that suc
cession beginning on any of the twelve pitch classes. P0 is the prime ordering begin
ning with pitch-class 0; P1 is the prime ordering beginning with pitch-class I; and so
on. There are twelve different forms of the prime ordering: P0 P1, P, P11.

6.2.4 RetrDgrade

As for the other orderings (retrograde, inversion, and retrograde-inversion), we can

think of them either in terms of their effect on the pitch classes or their effect on the
intervals. In terms of pitch classes, the retrograde simply reverses the prime ordering.
‘What happens to the interval succession when P, is played backward (an ordering
called R,)? Example 6-4 demonstrates.
Basic Operations W*1
 rEt
ii EXAMPLE 6-4 When the series is retrograded (i.e., the order of the pcs
is reversed), the intervals are heard in reverse

L’ t. i1
order, and each interval is replaced by its complement mod 12.

ordered r.-i:ch.clads
ntenals: 1 I I 4

R. B
AAAA A F: C A, C

II 8 I 7 10 1 8 S IL Il
4_b §“ .. ,o I1,
5

I;n- [p ° to °
I
7 I I 4 4 11 2 5 Il 4 I

tb0 il.. bo L.. “ fl go

The interval succession is reversed, and each interval is replaced by its compl
ement
mod 12 (1 becomes 11,2 becomes 10, etc.). As with the prime ordering, there are twelve
different forms of the retrograde ordering: R0, R1, R,,..., R11. (Remember
that P.0 is the
retrograde ofF13, R1 the retrograde ofP1, and so on. P.0 thus ends rather than begins
on 0.)

6.2.5 Inversion
The inversion of the series involves inverting each pitch class in the series: pitch-c
lass
0 inverts to 0, 1 inverts to 1, 2 inverts to 10, 3 inverts to 9, and so on. Examp
le 6-5
shows the interval succession for 17, the inverted ordering that begins on pitch
class 7.
(Notice that we are now using I, as the name for a series, whereas previo
usly we used
it only as an operation for connecting two sets. These differe
nt but related meanings
will normally be clear from context.)

EXAMPLE 6-5 When the series is inverted, the intervals are heard
in the same order, and each interval is replaced by
its complement mod 12.

ortkred pitch-class
intends: 1 4 II 5 2

I, G
AACAA
B
AF’
£ A,

II 10 I 8 8 II II S
t” l€ go
p

I 4 II 5 2 II 4 4 1 I 7
li’. ° “
4—go bo

CHAPTER 6 Basic Concepts of Twelve-Tone Music

The interval succession here is the same as that of the prime ordering but each interval
is replaced by its complement mod 12. The intervals are the same as in the retrograde,
but in reverse order. As with the prime and rerrograde orderings, we can reproduce
this interval succession beginning on any- of the twelve pitch classes. The twelve result
ing series forms vill be called I, I, 1

6.2.6 Retrograde-inversion

The retrograde-inversion of the series is simply the retrograde of the inversion.

Example 6-6 shows the interval succession for RI7 (17 played bachvard).

EXAMPLE 6-6 When the series is retrograde-inverted, the intervals remain the same, but are heard in reverse order,

urdLrcd pi:b.a lass

intcnals: 5 II II S S I II) S II

RI. B.EC’’0
AAAAA
0 A F fl c
AA A. C

II 8 I 7 IC I 8 S II II 5

4 •

8 8 10 7 8 II

4 L..0 1111

‘The interval succession here is similar to that of the other three transformations. It is
particularly interesting to compare it to that of the prime ordering. In terms of pitch
classes, the two orderings seem far apart: each is the upside-down-and-backward ver
sion of the other. In terms of intervals, however, the two are quite similar: they have
the same intervals in reverse order. Compared to the retrograde, the retrograde-inver
sion has the complementan intervals in the same order; compared to the inversion, it
has the complementary’ intervals back-ward. As with the other three transformations,
the retrograde-inversion can begin on any of the twelve pitch classes. The resulting
series forms are named RI0 (the retrograde of la), RI1 (the retrograde of!1), RI11 . .

(the retrograde of I]).

6.2.7 Series class (row class)

For any series, we thus have a family of forty-eight series forms: twelve primes, twelve
retrogrades, nvelve inversions, and nvelve retrograde-inversions. That family of series
forms is known as a series class (or row class). The series in the series class are all
related by T, R, I, or RI, and each individual series is a member (representative) of
Basic Operations P41
Ill I
the class. All the members of the series class are closely related in terms of both pitch
[U classes and intervals.
I! Example 6-7 shows the intervals described by the four different orderings of the
series from Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 4.

EXAMPLE 6-7 Intervals in the four orderings of Schoenberg’s series.

It

F’ Prime: . 11 8
Ordered Pitch-Class Intervals
1 1 7 I 10 1 1 8 1 8 1 11 11 1 5
.

Retrograde 7 1 14
::
4’ 11 2 5 11 4 ii
Inversion 1 4 11 5 2 11 4 4 1 1 7

Retrograde 5 ii 11 8 8 1 20 7 1 8 11
Inversion:

Notice the predominance of intervals 1, 4, 8, and 11 and the complete exclusion of

3 and 9 in all four orderings (and thus in all forty-eight series in the series class).
Because of these shared intervailic features (and many other features to be discussed
later), the forms of a series are closely related to one another. Each of them can impart
to a piece the same distinctive sound.
Example 6-8 summarizes the intervallic relationships between series forms.

I
EXAMPLE 6-8 The effect on intervals of the four serial transformations.

quality of
intervals

pr’ same complement”

P-related
I-related
(PIP, I/I,
(P/I, RJIU)
BJR, RI/RI)

order of intervals

RI-related R-related
rse (P/R, I/RI)
(P7 RI, l/R)

CHAPTER 6 Basic Concepts of Twelve-Tone Music

r
Series that have the same ordering (P and P, I and I, R and R, or RI and RI) are said to
be prime-related and have the same intervals in the same order. Series that are related
to each other by inversion (P and I, R and RI) have the complementary intervals in
the same order. Series that are related by retrograde inversion (P and RI, I and R) have
the same intervals in reverse order. Series that are retrograde-related (P and R, I and
RI) have the complementary intervals in reverse order.

I
6.18 12 X 12 matrix

In studying a twelve-tone piece, it is convenient to have at hand a list of all forn’-eight

forms of the series. We could just write out all forty-eight either on staff paper or using
the pitch-class integers. More simply, we could write out the twelve primes and the
twelve inversions (using the musica] staff, letter names, or pitch-class integers) and
simply find the retrogrades and retrograde-inversions by reading backward. The sim
plest way of all, however, is to construct what is known as a 12 X 12 matrix.
To construct such a matrix, begin by writing P0 horizontally across the top and
l vertically down the left side (see Example 6-9).

EXAMPLE 6-9 12 x 12 matrix: start with P0 in the first raw and I0in the first column.

o ii 7 8 3 1 2 10 6 5 4 9

9
11

10
7

7
8

Then write in the remaining prime orderings in the rows from left to right,
beginning on ichatever pitch class is in the first column. The second row will contain
P. the third row will contain P5, and so on (see Example 6-10).
Basic Operations f’)
 EXAMPI.E 6-10 12 x 12 matrix completed: twelve primes (from left to right), twelve retrogrades (from right to left),
twelve inver5ions (from top to bottom), and twelve retrograde-inversion (from bottom to top).

I
•1
0 11 7 8 3 1 2 10 6 5 4 9

1 0 8 9 4 2 3 11 7 6 5 10 L

5 4 0 1 8 6 7 3 11 10 9 2 “sI

4 3110 7 5 6 2109 8 1

9 8 4 5 0 10 11 7 3 2 1 6 ‘k
11106720 1 95438
‘U

10 9 5 6 1 11 0 8 4 3 2 7

2 1 9 10 5 3 4 0 8 7 6 11

65 1 29784011103

7 6 2 3 10 8 9 5 1 0 11 4

8 7 3 4 11 9 10 6 2 1 0 5

3 2101164 5 1 9 8 70

1*
The rows of the matrix reading from left to right, contain all of the prime forms and,
reading from right to left, the retrograde forms. The columns of the matrix reading
from top to bottom contain all of the inverted forms and, from bottom to top, the
retrograde-inversion forms. The same matrix can be written using letter names instead
of pitch-class integers.
The matrix thus contains the entire series class: an entire small, coherent family
of forty-eight closely related series forms (twelve primes, twelve retrogrades, twelve
H inversions, and twelve retrograde-inversions). All of the essential pitch material in
a twelve-tone piece is normally drawn from among those forty-eight forms. In fact,
most twelve-tone pieces use far fewer than forty-eight different forms. The material
therefore is narrowly circumscribed yet permits many different kinds of development.
A composer builds into the original series (and thus into the entire family of forty-eight
forms) certain kinds of structures and relationships. A composition based on that
series can express those structures and relationships in many different ways.

(‘P1 CHAPTER 6 Basic Concepts of Twelve-Tone Music

 6.2.9 “Twelve-count”

One good way of getting oriented in a twelve-tone work is by identifring the series
forms, informally known as twelve-counting. This can provide a kind of low-level
map of a composition. The first step in twelve-counting is to identifv the series. It is
F usually presented in some explicit way right at the beginning of the piece, but some
times a bit of detective work is needed. For an example, let’s turn back to Webern’s
song “Wie bin ich frob!” discussed in Chapter 1. The melody for the passage we dis
cussed, measures 1—5, presents the twelve-tone series for the piece, and then repeats
its first four notes (Example 6-11).

EXAMPI.E 6-11 The melody presents the P, form of a twelve-tone series; each note is numbered according to its order
position in the series (Webern, “Wie bin ich froh!”).

Langsam J = Ca. 60
Hf. tempo rig.
A fl 2Zt3P±
Voice

Wie bin ich froh

( 23!
1J
nfl3

I U— L I
i.
H._
.
—r L- ‘-IV — it I J [ IL4 T Pt

7% L ‘ffE rd=
—

Piano) El
0
_ij a
V kf

tempo 12 ru - .--- -

f3=_j
5 —

7
p g —c I
A S__, 10 Il, ; p1
‘ y’ lI’i 7 r
•1
noch cin-mal wird mir al - - Its grun

I
und

[ 2fl’ 2’ r’1
f_/z.- p I
a
,?L ,

Basic Operations t1*

11

tempo

2 3#S
#7z_
Icuch—Ect so!

will designate that form of the series as P because it is so prominent and easy to
follow. Notice the usual twelve-counting procedure of identifying the order position
each pitch occupies in the series form (G is first, £ is second, and so on).
We
Now the problem is to identify the series forms used in the accompaniment. We
could construct a 12 X 12 matrix, look at the first few notes in the accompaniment
(F, F, D), and see which of the forty-eight forms begins like that. But we can also find
the answer more directly by applying our knowledge of the intervallic relationships
between series forms. Look at the succession of ordered pitch-class intervals described
by P7 (Example 6-12).

EXAMPLE 6-12 The intervals in the prime ordering of the series.

ordcrcd pitch-class

MAMMMM
intcwals:

Now look at the ordered pitch-class intervals described by the first five notes of
the accompaniment (see Example 6-13).

EXAMPLE 6-13 The first five notes of the accompaniment, with ordered pitch-class intervals.

ordercd pitch-class
ntcwsls: II 9 2 I

The accompaniment starts out with the same intervals that P7 ended with, in reverse
order. That means we are dealing with an RI-form. At what transposition level? Just add
the first note in the accompaniment (F or 6) to the last note in P7 (G, 8), the second
note in the accompaniment (F, 5) to the second-to-last note in P7 (A, 9), and so on.
In this way, we calculate the index number that maps these series forms onto one

tt CHAPTER 6 Basic Concepts of Twelve-Tone Music

•I’Il suoi3sedO 3I5e9
a
r
a
.
-c
jos Z34DflDj
,
Sfl I’
-c
odwa
I
I! ‘LJa
“
‘
4 :1’,
d Ioumj
—
•0
/ —CI
4 — ,4
‘f 1hr
ti 1
9 I
qolj qDi
A
:
r d-crZ Z I’
3M odwa
09 = r
jqoJJ °! uiq aiM,, ‘uJaqoM) 1Uaw!vdwaaoe pue Apolaw Jo Iuno-aAIaM1 V t19 J1dL4IVX3
Q’t-9 ajdunx3) •-i put ‘ ‘sapuioflai spp put
sww; OAU saqi Xjuo sasn Suos aipua zip put ‘Lpj put Lj Ajuo szsn a2vssrd sJuT
t(JiawwAs EuoiSflAUi jo JaluaD E St zoi t sXtd £rlnuxud D aq ‘D1SflW SI{3 U pUt
‘D—O aq filM uO!SJ3AU!JO spcr aq r1 Aq pap Jt sauas OMIJI 1 = L + L asnuJzq
Lpj zq sflW auaWlutdwODDt atp UJ WJOJ sa!JzS zip as Lj ! Apopw zip u WJOJ
sapzs zuj t pawps JE SWJOJ sapas zip Os qtz U! wns zUJ saqaout
‘1 ! asu
Notice that a single note can be simultaneously the last note of one series form and the
first note of the next. The G in the accompaniment in measure 2, for example, is both
the last note in RI7 and rhe first note in P7. This kind of overlap is typical ofWebern.
A twelve-count like this doesn’t do much to help us hear the song better—the inter
vallic relationships discussed in Chapter 1 are probably more useful in that way—but
it does give a rough structural outline of the piece. It also gives a clarifying context for
those intervailic relationships.

6.2.10 Composing with a series

There is nothing mechanical about either the construction of the series or its musical
development in a composition. A composer of tonal music is given certain materials
to work with, including, most obviously, diatonic scales and major and minor triads.
The composer of twelve-tone music must construct his or her own basic materials,
embedding them within the series. When it comes time to use those basic materials
in a piece of music, a twelve-tone composer, like a tonal composer, does so in the way
that seems musically and expressively most congenial. A good composer doesn’t just
lay series forms end-to-end any more than Mozart simply strings scales together.
Once a series has been constructed, a process we will describe more later, just
think how many compositional decisions are still required to turn it into music.
Should the notes be sounded one at a time or should some of them be heard simul
taneously? In what registers should they occur? Played by what instruments? With
what durations? What articulations? It is like being given a C-major scale and told
to compose some music. There are certain restrictions, but a great deal of freedom
as well.
Example 6-1 showed the beginning of Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 4,
where P, is presented as a singing melody in the first violin. Example 6-15 shows two
other statements of P,, both from the opening section of the piece.

EXAMPLE 6-15 Two additional statements of P2 (Schoenberg, String Quartet No.4, first movement).

a. 25
3 3
Violin II j
,;—, -

2 3 4 I 9 10

iL
Lfl F
Viola .+±. . I- •1.-— I

—I

CHAPTER 6 Basic Concepts of Twelve-Tone Music

 b. 27
l__.__az 7 8
“A 6 12
Violin I t-* . #i7 ‘ a—
tJ V
p (I0ILC
p1::.3 9 10 ii
Violin II 7
p

The musical idea is recognizable in each case, but wonderfully varied. As Schoenberg
himself has said, music often involves the endless reshaping of a basic shape. The
construction of the series, the choice of series forms, and, most important, the pre
sentacion of the series, are musical decisions based on hearable musical relationships.

A series maybe presented in four orderingsfl, retrograde,

inversion, and retrograde-invenion. The transpositions of these
derings form a sthes thus (or row doss), which constitutes a
starting point for musical composition.

SEGMENTAL SUBSETS

A series is built up from its smaller parts, its subsets. The sound of the series, and thus
the sound of a piece based on the series, is shaped by the structure of its subsets. ‘We
have already mentioned the dyads (intervals) formed by the adjacent notes. It is possible
to construct series with very different inten’allic characteristics. Webern, for example,
preferred series that use only a few different intervals and that make particularly heavy
use of interval-class I. Berg, in contrast, had a preference for series chat use the triadic
intervals, interval-classes 3,4, and 5. In a very rough ‘vay; those contrasting preferences
account for the difference in the sound of’M.bern’s and Berg’s twelve-tone music.
In addition to the dyads, we can consider subsets of any size, but those of three,
four, or six elements are usually the most important. Composers tend to embed within
the series those smaller sets they are interested in using. To put it another va); they usually
build up their series by combining a number of smaller sets. As listeners, most of us find
it hard to grasp a series as a whole and pretty much impossible to recognize when a series
is being turned upside down and backward, for example. Luckily for us, most twelve-tone
music does not require that we be able to hear in that way. Instead, a]! we have to listen for
are the smaller collections, the intervals and subsets embedded within the series.

Segmental Subsets