Skip to main content

Twelve-Tone Composition Prepared by Vaclav Nelhybel

William Geib
Twelve-Tone Composition Prepared by Vaclav Nelhybel

In the early 1960s, composer Vaclav Nelhybel recorded a series of music education albums for Scholastic Records. William Geib narrates a lecture prepared by Nelhybel demonstrating twelve-tone composition, sometimes called dodecaphony (from the Greek dodeka: twelve and phon: sound or voice), which emerged in the early 20th century as new or progressive music. This recording breaks down the complexity of the music into sixteen segments complete with music examples performed by a woodwind quartet. Detailed liner notes including musical notation illustrating different concepts accompany the recording.

*Content Advisory: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings holds a large volume of sound recordings, some of which were recorded almost a century ago. Preferred terminology has changed throughout the history of our catalog’s existence. Track 205 reflects wording that was preferred at the time, though it may be used pejoratively today.
For our policy on controversial recordings, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Track Listing

icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
101
From Tonality to Atonality William Geib 06:47
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
102
Building a Twelve-tone Series William Geib 04:24
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
103
Musical Themes in a Twelve-tone Series William Geib 01:32
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
104
Series Forms: Original, Retrograde, Inversion, Retrograde- Inversion William Geib 03:30
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
105
Creating Vertical Patterns: Two-part, Three-part and Four- part Composition William Geib 05:49
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
106
Transposing a Series William Geib 01:04
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
107
Symetric Series William Geib 02:05
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
108
All-interval Series William Geib 02:41
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
201
Harmony: Chords: Tonic, Dominant, Subdominant; Tonality, Cadence William Geib 05:33
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
202
Chord-foreign Notes William Geib 03:06
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
203
Tension and Resolution: Consonance and Dissonance; Tonality Atonality; Diatonic; Chromatic William Geib 05:10
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
204
Intervals William Geib 01:37
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
205
Scales: Chromatic; Whole-tone; Major; Minor; Minor Melodic; Gypsy or Oriental; Chinese or Pentatonic* William Geib 04:54
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
206
Transposition William Geib 00:59
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
207
Demonstration of Various Terms: Polytonality; Horizontal; Vertical; Homophony; Polyphony William Geib 04:58
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
208
Retrograde Mirror Form William Geib 01:27