Schoenberg Meets Slonimsky: The Symmetrical Twelve-Tone Set from Arnold Schoenberg s Serenade

Op. 24 Mvmt. 5 Tanzscene and Some Considerations for Jazz/Fusion Improvisation

©2016 Thomas Scott McGill

Exordium

This short work will look at some possibilities for using Arnold “ hoe erg s s etri al set fro his
Serenade Op. 24 Mvmt. 5 as pitch material in Jazz/Fusion improvisation. I will examine some
harmonic and melodic uses of the set s t o hexachords using an accepted Jazz Chord/Scale
Relationship pedagogical methodology. My approach will look at these pitch groups as unordered
sets or collections only, although their use as ordered sets is of course certainly possible. As many
Jazz and Fusion Improvisers are fa iliar ith Ni holas “lo i sk s Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic
Patterns1, I will reference this text in relation to the sets and subsets present in this survey for ease
in cross referencing.

Process

The complete twelve-to e set of “ hoe erg s Op. 24 Mvmt. 5 Tanzscene is stated below2.
Hexachordally, this set is its o tra sposed retrograde i ersio 3 and possesses certain special
properties as derived sets built from its consecutive trichords yield all-combinatorial hexachords4.

The first six notes are:

Hexchord 1

A Bb C D# E F#5

1
Nicolas Slonimsky, Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns (Amsco Publications 1975).
2
Da id J Hu ter a d Paul T o Hippel, Ho ‘are Is “ etr i Musi al -To e ‘o s? The A eri a
Mathematical Monthly 124 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-
9890%28200302%29110%3A2%3C124%3AHRISIM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8> accessed 20 November 2016.
3
Da id J Hu ter a d Paul T o Hippel, Ho ‘are Is “ etr i Musi al -To e ‘o s? The A eri a
Mathematical Monthly 126 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-
9890%28200302%29110%3A2%3C124%3AHRISIM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8> accessed 20 November 2016.
4
Tho as “ ott M Gill, “ hoe erg s Other Mira le “et: The I ge ious Co stru tio of the Op. Mo e e t “et [ ]
Academia.edu 1 – 5
<https://www.academia.edu/29707241/Schoenbergs_Other_Miracle_Set_The_Ingenious_Construction_of_the_Op._24_
Movement_5_Set> accessed 22 November 2016.
5 Hunter and o Hippel, Symmetry , 124.

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This symmetrical hexachord is identical to Slonimsky Pattern No. 66 and is a subset of the Dominant
Diminished/Octatonic scale A, Bb, C, C#, D#, E, F#, G. It contains the Altered Dominant Chords
C13#9b5, F#13#9b5 and raised and lowered ninths, raised eleventh, and thirteenth intervals as
additions or extensions to an A7 or Eb7 chord. The roots of these chords form the minor third
intervallic cycle A C Eb F# or Diminished 7th chord.

Ex. 1

The tones of an A, C, Eb, and F# Dim7 chord are present within this hexachord, but this set can also
sound against a Bb, C#, E, and G Dim/Maj7 chords. These Diminished type sonorities are related to
the above altered A, C, Eb, and F# Dominant 7th chords as the roots are a semitone above in
agreement with accepted Jazz Chord Substitution practice. The remaining tones C and D# create
major seventh, major ninth and perfect eleventh, and lowered thirteenth added or extension
intervals against this Diminished 7th harmony and complete the Diminished Octatonic collection Bb,
C, Db, Eb, E, F#, G, A.

Ex.2

Illustrated in Ex. 3 are harmonic structures o o l fou d i “ hoe erg s usi 7 based on the
tetrachordal set (0167) which consists of two augmented fourth intervals a semitone apart, or two
perfect fourth intervals a tritone apart and is represented here as the pitches A, Bb, D#, and E. This
set, Forte number 4-98 also pla s a i porta t role i u h of Al a Berg s usi , perhaps ost
9
notably as one of the basic cells within his opera Lulu . These sonorities are commonplace in Jazz
Harmonic vocabulary and may be considered incomplete Dominant 13#9 chords whose roots are a
tritone apart on C and F#, and incomplete Dominant 13b9 voicings on the roots A and Eb, also a
tritone apart.

Ex. 3

6 Nicolas Slonimsky, Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns (Amsco Publications 1975) 2.
7
George Perle, Serial Composition and Atonality: An Introduction to the Music of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern, Sixth
Edition, Revised (6th edn, University of California Press 1991) 19, 24 for example.
8 Allen Forte, The Structure of Atonal Music (Yale University Press 1974) 179.
9 George Perle, The Operas of Alban Berg, Volume II: Lulu (University of California Press 1989) 87.

2
Additio al har o ies are prese t i the for of “lash Chords ithi the he a hord (Ex. 4). Two
pure minor triads A and Eb are combined with non-chordal bass tones. Note the presence of two
Min7b5 chords a tritone apart on F# and C. The Am/Bb and Eb/E harmonies may be considered
incomplete C13/F#7#9b5 and F#13/C7#9b5 chords respectively.

Ex.4

Rotation of the hexachord produces (025) Pentatonic type fragments (E, F#, A and Bb, C, D#) at a
tritone distance and generates Octatonic based symmetrical modes or scales. Three discrete
rotations are possible with the remaining three being transpositions of the first three at the distance
of an augmented fourth. The second, third, fifth, and sixth scales listed below have separate
numerical desig atio s i “lo i sk s Thesaurus despite being derived from the rotation of one
hexatonic set.10

Ex. 5

10
Nicolas Slonimsky, Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns (Amsco Publications 1975). No. 2 and 5 and No. 3 and 6 are
Slonimsky No. 10 and 11 pg. 4 respectively.

3
 The second six notes of “ hoe erg s set are:

Hexchord 2

F G Ab B C# D11

This symmetrical hexachord corresponds to Slonimsky Pattern No. 912 and is a subset of the
Diminished Octatonic Scale F, G, Ab, Bb, B, C#, D, E. The hexachord contains a G7b9#11 and a
C#7b9#11 chord. It also contains the thirteenth, and raised and lowered ninth intervals as additions
to a Bb7 and E7 chord. The roots of these harmonies also form a Diminished 7th Chord G, Bb, C#, E.

Ex. 6

The chords F, Ab, B, and D Dim7 are found within this hexachord along with two other notes G and
C#. The additional tones provide the F and B Diminished 7ths with added ninths and lowered
thirteenths and the D and Ab Diminished 7ths with added major sevenths and elevenths. These
added-tone Diminished 7th harmonies are all relatable to the above Dominant 7th chords as
improvisational material and chordal substitutes as their roots are a semitone above as consistent
with accepted Jazz Improvisational theory and practice.

Ex. 7

This hexachord also contains the (0167) set consisting of the tones G, Ab, C#, and D. These chords
could be considered incomplete 13#9 chords whose roots are a tritone apart on Bb and E, and
incomplete 13b9 dominant seventh voicings on the roots Db and G (Ex. 8).

Ex. 8

11 Hu ter a d o Hippel, S etr 124.

4
The “lash Chord or triads with a foreign bass note formations for this hexachord are listed below
(Ex. 9). Two pure major triads G and Db are combined with non-chord bass tones. The G/Ab and
Db/D may also be considered incomplete E7#9/Bb13b9 and Bb7#9/E13b9 chords respectively.

Ex. 9

Rotation produces (035) Pentatonic type fragments (Ab, B, C# and D, F, G) at a tritone distance and
the rotated hexachord provides Octatonic based modes or scales for improvisation over the above
harmonies. Three discrete rotations are possible with the remaining three being transpositions of
the first three at the distance of a tritone. The second, third, fifth, and sixth scales listed below have
separate u eri al desig atio s i “lo i sk s Thesaurus again despite being derived from the
rotation of one hexatonic set.13

Ex. 10

Both hexachords when combined with their equivalents at interval cycle 3 or a minor third above or
below produce a full Diminished Octatonic collection along with four duplicated notes (Ex. 11). This
relationship could be considered for improvisation in situations where the Octatonic Scale is deemed
appropriate.

Ex. 11

13
Slonimsky, Thesaurus. No. 2 and 5 and No. 3 and 6 are Slonimsky No. 7 pg. 2, and No.12 pg. 4 respectively.

5
Additionally, both hexachords contain the (0268) tetrachord (Slonimsky Pattern No. 2)14 which is
identical to a Dominant 7th chord with a lowered fifth or Fre h “i th (Ex. 12). Each hexachord
could be considered an added note collection of these tetrachords producing three augmented
fourth intervals separated by a whole step followed by a half step in an Octatonic Scale type pattern.

Note that each collection is identical intervallically only a semitone distance away with the French
Sixth chord and added tones placed in contrary motion. “ hoe erg s hexachords could also be
viewed as two (0268) formations a semitone apart with either two lower neighbouring tones
(Hexachord 1), or two upper neighbouring tones (Hexachord 2) In Jazz, the (0268) Dominant Seventh
flat fi e is not only common in the harmonic sphere, but the melodic one as well. For example, this
tetrachord played in a descending minor third cycle is considered o e of Joh Coltra e s trademark
Dominant Diminished Octatonic melodic patterns from his work in the late 9 s i parti ular 15.

Ex. 12

Summation

This paper has investigated some improvisational options for the two inversionally related
hexachords that comprise “ hoe erg s Op. 24 Mvmt. 5 set16. These symmetrical six tone units have
been shown to be quite versatile as melodic and harmonic material in relation to Dominant,
Diminished, and Minor 7b5 harmonies and rootless harmonies that imply Altered Dominant 7th
chords. As they are subsets of Octatonic Scales, their use can correspond to the accepted
Chord/Scale applications for use in Jazz and Fusion improvisation. This complete twelve-tone set
itself is not new to Jazz and is present in the work of Jazz Pedagogue/Theorist Dennis Sandole in a
rotated form for example17.

This short paper outlines only some of the many options for Chord/Scale improvisation using these
symmetrical hexachords. Additional inquiry into the improvisational aspects of symmetrical twelve-
tone pitch materials in both the harmonic and melodic domains could prove useful for the modern
Jazz/Fusion practitioner.

Thomas Scott McGill

14
Slonimsky, Thesaurus, 1.
15
Lewis Porter, John Coltrane: His Life and Music (5th edn, The University of Michigan Press 1998) 134. Also see Thomas
“ ott M Gill, “ hoe erg Is Ali e! “o e Aspe ts of Ar old “ hoe erg s I flue e o Moder Jazz Po erpoi t Le ture
[2016] Arnold Schoenberg Symposium 31
<https://www.academia.edu/11531379/Schoenberg_Is_Alive_Some_Aspects_of_Arnold_Schoenbergs_Influence_On_Mod
ern_Jazz_Powerpoint_Lecture_> accessed 21 November 2016.
16
Hunter and o Hippel, Symmetry , 124.
17 Tho as “ ott M Gill, Ar old “ hoe erg, De is “a dole, a d Joh Coltra e-Ar old “ hoe erg a d Jazz Pedagog ,
Arnold Schoenberg Symposium (Directed by Dr Christian Meyer, Arnold Schoenberg Center, Vienna 2014)
<https://www.academia.edu/8749387/Arnold_Schoenberg_Dennis_Sandole_and_John_Coltrane-
Arnold_Schoenberg_and_Jazz_Pedagogy> accessed 19 November 2016, ppt slides 29-30.