atonality

atonality [ey-toh-nal-i-tee] ExamplesWord Origin noun Music.

1. the absence of key or tonal center.
2. an atonal principle or style of composition.

Origin of atonality First recorded in 1920–25; atonal + -ity Examples from the Web for atonality Contemporary Examples of atonality

The first article, published in March 2000, was on atonality by a scholar at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany.

You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story

Walter Isaacson

October 19, 2014

British Dictionary definitions for atonality atonality noun

1. absence of or disregard for an established musical key in a composition
2. the principles of composition embodying this and providing a radical alternative to the diatonic system

Compare tonality Word Origin and History for atonality n.

1950; see atonal + -ity.