1. a style of musical composition that avoids establishing a key or tonal center
Usage: music theory

Examples

• Schoenberg’s twelve-tone technique exemplified atonalism in early 20th-century music.
• The composer’s embrace of atonalism challenged traditional harmonic structures.
• Students found it difficult to appreciate the atonalism in modern classical pieces.
• The symphony’s movement into atonalism marked a departure from romantic conventions.
• Critics debated whether atonalism represented progress or decline in musical art.
• The music theory course covered the historical development of atonalism.