Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) is one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century music and musical thought, perhaps best known for his development of Twelve Tone theory.Patricia Carpenter (1923–2000) was Professor Emerita, Barnard College, and former Vice President of the Society for Music Theory.Severine Neff is currently Eugene Falk Distinguished Professor in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

". . . [this book] is the single best volume extant if one wishes to learn about the technical conception of music held by one of the greatest composers (and greatest music educators) of modern times."—MLA Notes"This book is easy to read because there is no analysis without aim, no theoretical viewing without connections to genuine musical aspects.April 2007"—Eike Fe, Besprechungen

• ContentsForeword (2006) by Walter FrischList of Abbreviations of Cited SourcesEditors' PrefaceAcknowledgmentsCommentarySchoenberg's View of ArtSchoenberg's PrefaceThe Musical IdeaComprehensibility and CoherenceTheory of FormThe Constructive Function of HarmonyConclusionThe Musical Idea and the Logic, Technique, and Art of Its PresentationPreface and OverviewPrefaceTitle PagePrinciples of the Presentation of the IdeaPlan of the BookThe Profundity of the Idea and Its Realization as a StandardThe Musical Idea and the Logic, Technique, and Art of Its PresentationIdea (1 and 2)The Idea in the Contrapuntal Art of Composition and Its PresentationPrinciples of ConstructionComprehensibilityLaws of ComprehensibilityCoherenceThe Laws of Musical CoherenceElements of FormThe Parts of a PiecePartElements of FormPhraseGestaltGrundgestalt and MotiveThe Difference Between Gestalt and PhraseFeatures of the MotiveStatementStable FormationLoose FormationThemeMelodySonority as a Formative ElementRhythmRhythmClassification of RhythmsAccentuation and NonaccentuationFormal Procedures[Formal Procedures]ArticulationChange, Variation, Variant, VaryingKinds of VariationCoherence of "New Components"Mirror FormsCloseCadencingCadential FallKinds of ConnectionTechnique of JoiningCondensationDissolution, LiquidationTendency of the Smallest NotesThe Structural Capacities of the ScaleWave-Shaped ProgressionContrasts (Contrasting Themes)Digression from the Main IdeaPrincipal Idea, Subsidiary IdeaSubordinate ThemeSecondary, Tertiary, etc. Gestalten and MotivesThe Shaping of Principal and Subordinate (Accompanying) VoicesDevelopment SectionSequencesIntensificationDoes Repetition Have an Intensifying Effect?Voice (Independent)Introduction (1 and 2)PreparationExtramusical Means of CoherenceFantasyDescription of All FormsMiscellaneousPerformance and GestaltThe Sense of Rit. and Accel.RelaxationSymmetryOrigin of RepetitionsPrimitive PrinciplesPopular Music and MelodyHarmonyThe Constructive Function of HarmonyAddendumKeywords Still to Be IndexedKeywordsConcordance of TermsAppendix 1Descriptions of the Gedanke ManuscriptsAppendix 2Contents of Manuscript No. 10, Listed in Their Original OrderAppendix 3German Texts of Unpublished Gedanke Manuscripts Referred to in the CommentaryNotesBibliographyIndex of Musical ExamplesName IndexSubject Index

Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) is one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century music and musical thought, perhaps best known for his development of Twelve Tone theory.Patricia Carpenter (1923–2000) was Professor Emerita, Barnard College, and former Vice President of the Society for Music Theory.Severine Neff is currently Eugene Falk Distinguished Professor in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

". . . [this book] is the single best volume extant if one wishes to learn about the technical conception of music held by one of the greatest composers (and greatest music educators) of modern times."—MLA Notes"This book is easy to read because there is no analysis without aim, no theoretical viewing without connections to genuine musical aspects.April 2007"—Eike Fe, Besprechungen

• ContentsForeword (2006) by Walter FrischList of Abbreviations of Cited SourcesEditors' PrefaceAcknowledgmentsCommentarySchoenberg's View of ArtSchoenberg's PrefaceThe Musical IdeaComprehensibility and CoherenceTheory of FormThe Constructive Function of HarmonyConclusionThe Musical Idea and the Logic, Technique, and Art of Its PresentationPreface and OverviewPrefaceTitle PagePrinciples of the Presentation of the IdeaPlan of the BookThe Profundity of the Idea and Its Realization as a StandardThe Musical Idea and the Logic, Technique, and Art of Its PresentationIdea (1 and 2)The Idea in the Contrapuntal Art of Composition and Its PresentationPrinciples of ConstructionComprehensibilityLaws of ComprehensibilityCoherenceThe Laws of Musical CoherenceElements of FormThe Parts of a PiecePartElements of FormPhraseGestaltGrundgestalt and MotiveThe Difference Between Gestalt and PhraseFeatures of the MotiveStatementStable FormationLoose FormationThemeMelodySonority as a Formative ElementRhythmRhythmClassification of RhythmsAccentuation and NonaccentuationFormal Procedures[Formal Procedures]ArticulationChange, Variation, Variant, VaryingKinds of VariationCoherence of "New Components"Mirror FormsCloseCadencingCadential FallKinds of ConnectionTechnique of JoiningCondensationDissolution, LiquidationTendency of the Smallest NotesThe Structural Capacities of the ScaleWave-Shaped ProgressionContrasts (Contrasting Themes)Digression from the Main IdeaPrincipal Idea, Subsidiary IdeaSubordinate ThemeSecondary, Tertiary, etc. Gestalten and MotivesThe Shaping of Principal and Subordinate (Accompanying) VoicesDevelopment SectionSequencesIntensificationDoes Repetition Have an Intensifying Effect?Voice (Independent)Introduction (1 and 2)PreparationExtramusical Means of CoherenceFantasyDescription of All FormsMiscellaneousPerformance and GestaltThe Sense of Rit. and Accel.RelaxationSymmetryOrigin of RepetitionsPrimitive PrinciplesPopular Music and MelodyHarmonyThe Constructive Function of HarmonyAddendumKeywords Still to Be IndexedKeywordsConcordance of TermsAppendix 1Descriptions of the Gedanke ManuscriptsAppendix 2Contents of Manuscript No. 10, Listed in Their Original OrderAppendix 3German Texts of Unpublished Gedanke Manuscripts Referred to in the CommentaryNotesBibliographyIndex of Musical ExamplesName IndexSubject Index

Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) is one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century music and musical thought, perhaps best known for his development of Twelve Tone theory.Patricia Carpenter (1923–2000) was Professor Emerita, Barnard College, and former Vice President of the Society for Music Theory.Severine Neff is currently Eugene Falk Distinguished Professor in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

". . . [this book] is the single best volume extant if one wishes to learn about the technical conception of music held by one of the greatest composers (and greatest music educators) of modern times."—MLA Notes"This book is easy to read because there is no analysis without aim, no theoretical viewing without connections to genuine musical aspects.April 2007"—Eike Fe, Besprechungen

• ContentsForeword (2006) by Walter FrischList of Abbreviations of Cited SourcesEditors' PrefaceAcknowledgmentsCommentarySchoenberg's View of ArtSchoenberg's PrefaceThe Musical IdeaComprehensibility and CoherenceTheory of FormThe Constructive Function of HarmonyConclusionThe Musical Idea and the Logic, Technique, and Art of Its PresentationPreface and OverviewPrefaceTitle PagePrinciples of the Presentation of the IdeaPlan of the BookThe Profundity of the Idea and Its Realization as a StandardThe Musical Idea and the Logic, Technique, and Art of Its PresentationIdea (1 and 2)The Idea in the Contrapuntal Art of Composition and Its PresentationPrinciples of ConstructionComprehensibilityLaws of ComprehensibilityCoherenceThe Laws of Musical CoherenceElements of FormThe Parts of a PiecePartElements of FormPhraseGestaltGrundgestalt and MotiveThe Difference Between Gestalt and PhraseFeatures of the MotiveStatementStable FormationLoose FormationThemeMelodySonority as a Formative ElementRhythmRhythmClassification of RhythmsAccentuation and NonaccentuationFormal Procedures[Formal Procedures]ArticulationChange, Variation, Variant, VaryingKinds of VariationCoherence of "New Components"Mirror FormsCloseCadencingCadential FallKinds of ConnectionTechnique of JoiningCondensationDissolution, LiquidationTendency of the Smallest NotesThe Structural Capacities of the ScaleWave-Shaped ProgressionContrasts (Contrasting Themes)Digression from the Main IdeaPrincipal Idea, Subsidiary IdeaSubordinate ThemeSecondary, Tertiary, etc. Gestalten and MotivesThe Shaping of Principal and Subordinate (Accompanying) VoicesDevelopment SectionSequencesIntensificationDoes Repetition Have an Intensifying Effect?Voice (Independent)Introduction (1 and 2)PreparationExtramusical Means of CoherenceFantasyDescription of All FormsMiscellaneousPerformance and GestaltThe Sense of Rit. and Accel.RelaxationSymmetryOrigin of RepetitionsPrimitive PrinciplesPopular Music and MelodyHarmonyThe Constructive Function of HarmonyAddendumKeywords Still to Be IndexedKeywordsConcordance of TermsAppendix 1Descriptions of the Gedanke ManuscriptsAppendix 2Contents of Manuscript No. 10, Listed in Their Original OrderAppendix 3German Texts of Unpublished Gedanke Manuscripts Referred to in the CommentaryNotesBibliographyIndex of Musical ExamplesName IndexSubject Index