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When creating a piece of music, composers have certain frameworks in which to develop their ideas \u2013 they\u2019ll select particular keys and will use the tonic (the first note of the scale<\/a> in any key) as the centre point from which to create melodies and harmonies<\/a> to help flesh out their piece, for example. <\/strong><\/p>\n Composing in this way is known as \u2018tonal music\u2019 and it provides structure and creates complementary tones that blend well together.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> However, atonal music rips up this set of \u2018rules\u2019, taking a completely different approach, where there are no discernible keys or typical harmonies. Compositions in this style may sound a bit chaotic or even downright weird compared with traditional tonal compositions, but it still takes skill to get it \u2018right\u2019.<\/p>\n The atonal style of music took off in the early 20th<\/sup> century, with Arnold Schoenberg<\/a> <\/strong>at the forefront of the genre. Schoenberg advocated \u201912-tone music\u2019, where each of the 12 tones in the chromatic scale are played only in relation to each other, rather than in relation to a set key. This means \u2013 unlike tonal music, which has the tonic at its centre \u2013 there is no fixed focal point in this style of atonal music, as each note is given equal importance.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Schoenberg\u2019s work includes Pierrot Lunaire; Variations for Orchestra, and his Six Little Piano Pieces (Opus 19). Other composers who followed in Schoenberg\u2019s footsteps include Alban Berg<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 his opera Wozzeck<\/em> and Piano Sonata, for example \u2013 and Anton Webern<\/a><\/strong>, who composed Klavierst\u00fcck<\/em> among other atonal works.<\/p>\nWhat is atonal music?<\/h2>\n
Who invented atonal music?<\/h2>\n
Examples of atonal music<\/strong><\/h2>\n