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I have often been critised about my music being "too tonal", and people wonder why I don't write in an atonal way. I always say its because I don't care for atonal music at all, but it seems that sooo many people do. Is there something I'm missing about atonal music? Should I like it? It just seems to me (not all of it, but a vast majority) that it is a bunch of random notes to a bass that is completely irrelavent to the melody. Is there any good atonal music (that has melodies prefferably) that will maybe allow me to appreciate it more?

I'm right there with you. It seems very intriguing when I listen to it (or even watch it), but I haven't been able to bring myself to enjoy it.

It's good to know I'm not alone. It seems most composers these days (especially the beginning ones) are writing atonal music. I just want to know what I'm missing. I mean, if it was really THAT bad, not as many people would like it right? I'm just trying to re-open my mind to it.

I may have been one of the ones that thought your music was too tonal (there was a while where a few people posted some of their pieces for critique and I believe I may have given some comments to you). While I can't remember specifics, I was not suggesting that your music should be atonal. I was just suggesting that you branch out your musical pallette. I seem to remember a lot of I-IV-V chords without too much harmonic interest. There's a huge difference between tonal music that uses lots of different chord structures and pure atonality.

As for atonality, I myself do not like it very much. I respect it as an art form, but it really doesn't do it for me. For me, music has to have some semblance of tonality.

Again, I could be remembering comments I made to another poster, so take them with a grain of salt, but I don't think I've ever recommended that someone should only write music in an atonal style.

I think the only recommendation I'd make in that regard is that someone try writing a couple of atonal pieces as an exercise to broaden their mind and open them to new possibilities. If tonal music is what you want to write - then go for it.

Oh, as for suggestions, I can't give any hard recommendations as I'm not a big fan myself, but Schoenberg and Webern are known to be some of the first atonal composers and they have some good representative works.

I've heard that there's a sort of triangle of fathers for atonal music, including Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg. Anyone have the history behind these three were they students/teachers of each other?

I could be wrong, but I believe that Schoenberg taught both of them, but yes, they are generally considered the "fathers" of atonal music.

Berg and Webern were both students of Schoenberg. Berg never quite completely rejected tonality. Webern however embraced serialism completely and was arguably more influential on later generations of serialists (Babbitt, Boulez, Stockhausen, etc...)

Of Schoenberg, I think the Op. 11 piano pieces and the opera Erwartung are my favorites. For Webern, the piano variations are wonderful, and I like the Op. 21 symphony very much as well. As for Berg, the Piano Sonata is a masterpiece, as is the Lyric Suite, Violin Concerto, and Wozzeck.

BY FAR, my favorite strictly atonal work is the wonderously beautiful Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera by Luigi Dallapiccola.

I have also recently become acquainted with Alexina Louie, who writes in a more impressionistic atonal style.

I would also mention that "atonal" is not synonymous with "dissonant", it simply means that tonal harmonic progression and voice-leading tendencies don't apply. For example, the Debussy prelude "Canope" is technically atonal, although it has a very consonant sound. On the other hand, the Berg sonata is very tonal, despite it being quite dissonant.

Wow, thanks for all the replies! I don't think I could ever really love atonal music like I do tonal, but I must still keep an open mind.

Kreisler:

I will look into the pieces you mentioned, and I'll see how I like them. I understand what you mean about atonality meaning dissonant, or vise versa. That is a really good way of looking at it, because I pretty much thought all atonal music was dissonant.

With regard to atonal music - Peter Schickele relates a story told about Stravinsky. I.S. had written some atonal music (because it was an "in" style, I surmise) and was conducting a recording session of it. After one movement, the clarinetist realized he had played the entire movement with his A clarinet, not his Bb instrument! Stravinsky hadn't noticed a thing! He went to the producer, who decided the best thing to do was to lie to Stravinsky and tell him that that particular movement had had mechanical problems with the recording and would have to be repeated. Stravinsky apparently didn't notice that the clarinet sounded different the second time around. Go figure. As I see it, atonal music is "appreciated," tonal music is enjoyed.

I disagree. Atonal music can be enjoyed just like tonal music. (Where do you draw the line anyway?)

I was afraid someone might call me on this. The more sophisticated one's ear becomes, the less tonality seems needed. I remember that when I first began listening to music (we're talking 50 years ago, now) I couldn't stand the recitative sections in Bach cantatas, and now I realize that for all their brevity, they contain some of the most beautiful moments in those pieces, and they're not particularly tonal. Similarly with more modern composers. Still, the totally atonal pieces elude me. When I'm finally consigned to heck, I'll be locked into a room with an unending performance of Wozzeck. (And it will be heck for the performers also, with such an unappreciative audience.)