12tones

12tones is a term used in music to denote the twelve-tone technique, also known as dodecaphony. This method treats all twelve chromatic pitches as equal and aims to avoid privileging any single pitch as a tonal center. It originated in the early 20th century with Arnold Schoenberg and became a foundational approach within serialism, influencing many composers in Europe and beyond.

In practice, the twelve-tone technique centers on a tone row, a specific ordering of all twelve pitch classes. The row can be used in multiple forms, including prime (the original order), inversion (flipping intervals), retrograde (reversing the order), and retrograde-inversion. Transposition of the row to start on different pitch classes is also common. These manipulations allow composers to generate musical material while maintaining a system that governs pitch relationships, often reducing traditional tonal gravity and exploring new avenues of harmony and structure. The technique has been employed in various genres of modernist and avant-garde music, from concert works to film scores, and remains a major topic of study in music theory.

In online discourse, the string “12tones” may appear as a variant spelling or misreference to discussions about the twelve-tone technique or to contemporary online content that analyzes music theory. There is no single, universally recognized organization or project by the exact name “12tones.” See also twelve-tone technique and related topics in serialism for broader context.