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Glite Dictionary
unkeyed

unkeyed

9.8
Music that does not have a clear main note or usual harmony
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈkiːd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : atonal
  • Modernist music often features unkeyed passages that challenge traditional harmony.

Examples

  • The composer chose an unkeyed style to evoke a sense of freedom and ambiguity.

  • The piece's unkeyed structure made it sound unfamiliar to the audience.

  • The piece was completely unkeyed.

  • Many contemporary composers create unkeyed music.

  • Modernist music often features unkeyed passages that challenge traditional harmony.

  • The composer chose an unkeyed style to evoke a sense of freedom and ambiguity.

  • The piece's unkeyed structure made it sound unfamiliar to the audience.

Synonyms

atonal
vsunkeyed
  • Specialized
3 9.1

Music that has no key and avoids normal chords

stresses avoidance of traditional western harmony rather than focusing on pitch centres

Antonyms

keyed
  • Specialized
6.7

Set in a particular musical key like C major

How Tonal

tonal
  • Specialized
1 6.9
diatonic
  • Specialized
1 8.0
modal
  • Specialized
1 8.7
unkeyed
  • Specialized
9.8
atonal
  • Specialized
3 9.1

Surface Forms

unkeyed positive

Morphology

unkeyed = keyed (transparent) = un + key + ed

Formed by prefixing 'un-' to the adjective 'keyed' meaning 'in a key', yielding 'not in a key', which is directly inferable.

Etymology

Unkeyed comes from the prefix un- meaning 'not' and key, the musical idea of a group of notes that belong together. So unkeyed describes music that is 'not in a key' and therefore avoids the usual rules of harmony, making it sound open or unclear.