1. a musical composition technique using all twelve tones of the chromatic scale in a fixed order, with each tone given equal importance; twelve-tone composition.
Usage: music; also called twelve-tone technique or serialism

Examples

• Schoenberg pioneered dodecaphony as a revolutionary approach to modern composition.
• In dodecaphony, the composer arranges all twelve chromatic pitches in a specific sequence called a tone row.
• The strict rules of dodecaphony require that no tone be repeated until all twelve have been used.
• Many twentieth-century composers adopted dodecaphony to break away from traditional tonal harmony.
• Understanding dodecaphony is essential for studying contemporary classical music.