Kerman & Tomlinson, Essay Example

As it is described in the textbook, serialism is a term used to refer to music made with the twelve-tone system (Kerman & Tomlinson, p332). This system was originally developed by Schoenberg as a means of avoiding musical chaos while still composing without adhering to the traditional use of a central pitch. In serialism, an individual piece of music is written using a specific series of notes in a specific order, though these notes do not have to be from the same octave or hold the same rhythmic value. Boulez utilizes serialism in the composition “Structures,” and the music sounds quite different from music composed in a more traditional manner. In a sense, the notes themselves are not the focus of the music. The most significant compositional elements include where the notes are played on the keyboard, the intensity and dynamics of each note, the spaces between the notes, and the duration or sustain of each note. Many of these elements are also important in traditional classical music, but they are secondary to the elements of melody and harmony.

In Boulez’ work the music sounds almost random, and it requires some focus and concentration to hear the notes in the specific series. In “Music of Changes,” composer John Cage uses the I Ching to randomly select notes to be played, but uses traditional chromaticism to determine the available notes. This is a very different approach than the one taken by Boulez, though there are some similarities in the way the music sounds. What these two compositions have in common is that the composers utilize new systems that are different from traditional Western music, and use these new systems to make music that challenges musical traditions.

Reference

Kerman, J. and Tomlinson, G. (2012). Listen. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.