Atonal
/eɪˈtoʊnəl/noun
Lacking a clear key or tonal center in music.
Did you know?The word is a modern formation built from the privative prefix a- plus tonal, and it became especially important in 20th-century music as composers pushed beyond the old rules of harmony.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
a-
“not, without”
Latin
Latin
tonus
“tone, pitch, accent”
18th–19th Century
French/English
tonal
“relating to tone or key in music”
Late 19th Century
English
atonal
“not in a musical key; lacking tonal center”
Modern English
English
atonal
“music that avoids a clear key or tonal hierarchy”
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