Tonal Center Essay

The tonal center is described as “the tone of complete relaxation and stability, the target towards which other tones lead” (Benward & Saker). It is the first, tonic note of any scale, whether it be major or minor. Tonality, or tonicity, has a “hierarchy of pitch class [...] where at minimum, one [pitch class] predominates [...] the tonic” (Solomon). This sort of music can also be referred to as pitchcentric, since it revolves around the concept of pitch. There are several methods that can be used to create pitch class, for example: repetition, accents, duration, cadences, and strategic placement. The difference between modality and tonality is that while both conform to major and minor keys, tonality has some sort of pitch class hierarchy.

3.2 Atonal music: an example of nearly endless tension
A key feature of atonal music is the continual dissonances that are heard throughout the work. These constant, clashing sounds create tension in the piece, which often creates a feeling of discomfort for the listener. Since atonal music is more mathematical than musical, it could be speculated that all the emotional meaning of the music has been removed from the piece itself. However, it could be argued that while many of the tamer emotions cannot be shown through atonal music, this genre can effectively portray stronger and wilder emotions or themes, such as: anger, war, grief, or spite. This genre could be seen as a more emotional, passionate way to portray issues such as the ones mentioned above. In atonal music, the disparity between the amount of tension built and the release used to contrast this tension helps the listener appreciate the few moments of repose there are in an atonal