Definition

Noun: A compositional technique, primarily of the 20th century, in which a fixed, ordered series of musical elements (such as pitches, durations, or dynamics) serves as the foundational theme or structure for an entire piece. This series, often called a "tone row" or "series," is manipulated according to set rules throughout the composition.

Usage

This term is used to describe a specific and rigorous method of musical composition. It is most commonly associated with the twelve-tone technique developed by Arnold Schoenberg, but it can also refer to the serialization of other musical parameters (like rhythm and volume), known as total serialism.

Examples

• Arnold Schoenberg is considered a pioneer of serial music.
• The composer's use of serial music techniques created a complex and atonal soundscape.
• Studying serial music requires an understanding of mathematical permutations in composition.

Advanced Usage

• Integral Serialism / Total Serialism: An extension of the technique where not only pitches but also other elements like duration, dynamics, and articulation are organized according to a pre-determined series.
  • Pierre Boulez's "Structures I" is a landmark work of total serialism.

Variants and Related Words

• Serialism (n): The broader system or theory of serial composition.
  • Serialism was a radical departure from traditional tonal harmony.
• Twelve-tone music (n): A specific type of serial music that serializes the twelve pitches of the chromatic scale.
  • Webern's variations are key works in twelve-tone music.
• Tone row / Series (n): The specific ordered sequence of notes that forms the basis of a serial composition.

Synonyms

• Dodecaphonic music: (Specifically for twelve-tone serialism).
• Atonal music: (A broader, related term, though not all atonal music is serial, and serial music is inherently atonal).

Related Phrases and Concepts

• To employ serial techniques: To use the methods of serialism in composition.
  • The composer began to employ serial techniques in his later works.
• A serial composer: A composer who writes serial music.
  • Milton Babbitt was a prominent American serial composer.

Noun

1. 20th century music that uses a definite order of notes as a thematic basis for a musical composition