Schoenberg,serialism and cognition: Whose fault if No one listens?

Abstract

Atonal compositions based on the 12-tone method devised by Arnold Schoenberg remain, in some cases a century after they were written, largely unpopular with music audiences. Research on the science of music cogni- tion may now offer some clues to why this is. Schoenberg's method of atonal composition actively undermines some of the basic cognitive princi- ples that allow our brains to turn notes into music. Unless 12-tone music is granted other aids to cognition, it may thus fail to create a cognitively coherent auditory experience, but becomes a mere collection of sounds.