My stomach is in knots over this mess.
I can't decide what I think about Schoenberg's twelve tone musical system. He took everything that 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th century composers did and threw it all out the window in an attempt to break free of the established musical forms. Since there are twelve half notes in a scale, he made a system of composing music in which a person cannot reuse the same tone. So you have to use all twelve tones in a series (any order, really). You can transpose it, reverse it, invert it, make some chords out of it, but what you get is a piece with no tonal center and no functional harmony. Here is an example of the results of using this system. The piece is played with excellence. Since it is so foreign to the ear and there's nothing to grab hold of, anyone attempting to play or sing this music has serious talent... while sounding terrible at the same time. Professionals making a profession out of sounding terrible with excellence...
So that's my explanation of it.
But it's making me crazy, and yet somehow... liberated? Yes. I do feel liberated. At first I was determined to hate everything about it because the music itself sounds so foul to me. It's like drinking a glass of straight-up apple cider vinegar; not quite painful, but not quite pleasant either. Then I had this assignment in which I had to compose a twelve-tone piece, and I actually felt a new sensation... like a tingling in my brain. New pathways were being formed because I was hearing sounds that were totally unfamiliar to me. I started playing with intervals and rhythms in a way that I had never considered. It was so fun and freeing!
But now that I've moved forward with the actual writing, I think I'm going a little crazy. My stomach is all twisted up because the music itself has no beauty and no resonance. Is it really liberating, or is it just an illusion? Has Schoenberg really just put chains around it and forced it into a system that goes against its nature? It's like trying to force a square peg in a round hole. It might fit in there, but it's not a great fit.
I'm just not convinced that this system is all that great, and I definitely have a difficult time enjoying it. I suppose it's all relative, since I do know people who enjoy this stuff. I was falling madly in love with everything that led up to this system, like Chopin and Debussy's works. And then Schoenberg just crossed the line of insanity. Everyone was dancing around it. He straight up crossed it. In fact a bunch of 20th century composers gave music a giant punch in the face. Let's not mention John Cage, who was on to something with his "prepared piano" (sonata V here), but that was more percussive than melodic. When I learned about his 4'33" orchestral piece (which is "four minutes, thirty three seconds", even though it looks like four feet thirty three inches) I almost passed out. You'll have to Google that one. I thought to myself, "Am I the only one who thinks this guy is crazy?" I was angry, to be honest. All these 20th century composers were on acid.
But in all honesty, I think there is a place for all this... and I'm trying to convince myself of it right now... seriously though... if Schoenberg's system has gotten me to expand my horizons musically, then I can definitely see the purpose in teaching it. It actually does make me a better musician; you'll understand when you see what this girl has done with it (she's fun). It has helped me to see outside the box, and for that I can appreciate it.
However, you won't find this twelve tone music in any of my everyday listening queues. I really hate it. I can't deny it. Maybe someday I'll learn to appreciate it.
Side note: I've been listening to several different varieties of John Cage's pieces the entire time I've been typing this, and I'm thoroughly convinced he had little to no musical skill to boot. I don't know how he was truly recognized as a musician or an artist, except that he had the skill to notate. (I mean, have you heard this stuff?!) That's what my nephew sounds like when he bangs at the piano with his little hands. Okay, fine, this piece has dynamics... but seriously. I suppose one might try to recreate it for the challenge of the atonality and lack of stable rhythm; to break out of the box. But this song is killing me...
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