ARNOLD SCHÖNBERG’S 12-TONE MATRIX

Arnold Schönberg's "12-Tone Matrix" is studied by most music students. Starting from a 12-tone Prime row across the top of the matrix, it calculates the Inversion, Retrograde, and Retrograde Inversion of the tone row, and places them at the sides of a square. It then fills in the entire square with all the half-step transpositions of the row. The matrix is interesting, but it is difficult and time-consuming to calculate. Mistakes are easy to make.

The 12-Tone Matrix Calculator is an Excel spreadsheet which calculates the square for you. The tone row you specify can be placed in any position in the matrix, and the entire matrix is instantly recalculated. It saves a lot of time and work.

I have placed the spreadsheet in the public domain so it can be used freely.

Note: You may get a message that the file is being modified. Ignore it.  The file opens OK anyway.

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