Definition of "atonality" []

• Music The absence of a tonal center and of harmonies derived from a diatonic scale corresponding to such a center; lack of tonality. (noun)
• Music A style of composition that lacks such a tonal center and its derived harmonies. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "(Which, interestingly, would mean that the reaction against atonality is less about the intrinsic properties of tonal harmonies and more about it’s ability to create the illusion of rhythmic symmetry.)"
• "Well, Schoenberg was the progenitor of what is called atonality, which meant simply that he abandoned most of the harmonies that had been in use for centuries and devised new harmonies of his own, which were sometimes quite frightening to hear and, in other cases, had a sort of a weird impressionistic beauty to them."
• "The negative reaction began to gather when Mr. Reed was named "the most overrated lyricist of all time" by the music website Flavorwire, and almost simultaneously a Village Voice online critic who heard a "Lulu" preview cited its "grinding atonality that veers on amusicality" and "relentless misogyny.""