adjective
- having no established key or tonal center; not based on traditional scales or harmonic relationships
Usage: music theory
Examples
- The composer’s atonal piece challenged listeners with its lack of familiar melodies.
- Schoenberg pioneered atonal music in the early 20th century.
- Many students find atonal compositions difficult to appreciate at first.
- The atonal symphony avoided traditional chord progressions entirely.
- Critics debated whether atonal music could convey emotion effectively.
- The orchestra struggled with the complex rhythms of the atonal work.