SoundsField recordingsFrequenciesDecibelsInstrumentsGlossaryToolsLearn
  1. Home
  2. Glossary
  3. Tuning & pitch
  4. Schoenberg hexachord: Definition & Explanation
Tuning & pitch

Schoenberg hexachord

What is schoenberg hexachord? A clear definition from the tuning & pitch section of our glossary, with 13 related terms, tools to try and further reading.

Definition of Schoenberg hexachord

6-Z44 (012569), known as the Schoenberg hexachord, is Arnold Schoenberg's signature hexachord, as one transposition contains the pitches [A], Es, C, H, B, E, G (A. Schoenberg), E♭, B, and B♭ being Es, H, and B in German.

Its Z-related hexachord and complement is 6-Z19 (3478te or, in prime form, 013478). They have the interval vector of <3,1,3,4,3,1> in common. 6-Z44 lacks prime and inversional combinatoriality. 6-Z44 contains set 3-3 twice and set 3-4 twice. Set 7-22 contains 6-Z44 twice and 6-Z19 twice.

Schoenberg used the hexachord in the song "Seraphita" (op. 22 no. 1) and the monodrama Die glückliche Hand. 6-Z44 is associated with the character Hauptmann in Alban Berg's Wozzeck. Each movement of Berg's 1913 Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (op. 5) begins with a statement of 6-Z44 or 6-Z19. John Weinzweig uses two minor triads a semitone apart, 6-Z19, and their complement, 6-Z44, in an aggregate chord at the end of "City of Brass" from Wine of Peace as well as in the tone row for his Piano Concerto. 6-Z44 is one of the "fundamental harmonies in the last movement," of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, "Sacrificial Dance".

Terms mentioned above

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

What is Schoenberg hexachord?

6-Z44 (012569), known as the Schoenberg hexachord, is Arnold Schoenberg's signature hexachord, as one transposition contains the pitches [A], Es, C, H, B, E, G (A. Schoenberg), E♭, B, and B♭ being Es, H, and B in German.

Sources & credits