noun
- Plural of atonalism; musical systems or compositions that deliberately avoid a tonal center or key.
Usage: music; technical
Examples
- The composer's atonalisms challenged traditional harmonic expectations.
- Early 20th-century atonalisms emerged as composers rejected conventional key structures.
- Students of modern music study various atonalisms to understand contemporary composition.
- The concert featured several atonalisms by Schoenberg and Berg.
- Critics debated whether atonalisms represented progress or a rejection of musical tradition.