(Music) Characterized by avoidance of traditional Western tonality; SYN. unkeyed.
Music, composed in accordance with theory of atonality.
Music, theory in which the scale consists of twelve semitones of equal value.

(Music) Characterized by avoidance of traditional Western tonality; SYN. unkeyed.
Music, composed in accordance with theory of atonality.
Music, theory in which the scale consists of twelve semitones of equal value.

The absence of a key; alternative to the diatonic system; SYN. atonalism.
Music in which the sense of tonality is distorted or obscured; music of no apparent key. It is used by film and television composers for situations of mystery or horror, exploiting dissonance for its power to disturb.
For Schoenberg, pioneer of atonal music from 1909, the intention was to liberate tonal expression and not primarily to disturb, and he rejected the term as misleading. Other exponents of atonality include Berg, Webern, Stockhausen, and Boulez.

The absence of a key; alternative to the diatonic system; SYN. atonalism.
Music in which the sense of tonality is distorted or obscured; music of no apparent key. It is used by film and television composers for situations of mystery or horror, exploiting dissonance for its power to disturb.
For Schoenberg, pioneer of atonal music from 1909, the intention was to liberate tonal expression and not primarily to disturb, and he rejected the term as misleading. Other exponents of atonality include Berg, Webern, Stockhausen, and Boulez.