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I get how tone rows and the whole twelve-tone technique works, but I'm baffled as to how you can apply numerical determinants to literally everything else, like tempo, chord arrangements, time signatures and all the rest of it. My eyes glaze over whenever I try to open most of the more advanced composition books on the topic, so I think I would benefit from an introduction to serialism, if someone could be arsed to hold my hand?

Sure thing. It may be useful to preface it all by saying that serialism is merely a compositional tool, a means to an end. Unfortunately, it is sometimes perceived as a method of idiot-proof composition, and while it can be abused in such a way, but when utilized in a manner of artistic integrity, it can produce rather interesting results. It bears further mentioning that just as Bach's conception of tonality differs from Mozarts, so does Schoenberg's conception of serials differ from Berg, Webern. (For example, Berg often would include "tonal slices" in his rows.)

Serialism as applied to rhythms: create a rhythmic row. Here is a hypothetical row, with each bracket being one item in the row:
[two eighth notes][Single sixteenth rest followed by a dotted quarter note followed by another sixteenth rest][whole note][sixeenth note, eighth note, sixteenth note]

Now, just as you would with pitches, you have the the base form, the retrogrades and the inversions of this row. Use at your disgression.

I will edit and work on this more later today, as I'm starting to feel ill from exhaustion right now, but I'd be more than happy to try to explain of much of it as I can to you.

Awwww SHIT!! That's so fucking simple, why couldn't I have figured that out myself?

Question - the composer in question isn't "required" to feature every kind of note imaginable in a rhythmic row the same way they'd be required to cycle through all twelve pitches in the twelve-tone technique, right? Rhythmic rows are entirely arbitrary and up to the composer's whims, correct? I know the answer is probably going to be "duh", but then again, I couldn't understand something as simple as a rhythmic row.

Rhythmic rows are indeed, arbitrary, since it would be impractical to include the sheer number of rhythmic subdivisions and variations out there.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious. I really appreciate the insight and I hope you haven't discarded the rest of your plans to offer more examples.

TithonusSyndrome wrote:Thanks for pointing out the obvious. I really appreciate the insight and I hope you haven't discarded the rest of your plans to offer more examples.

Don't worry, a lot of music theorists like to write very wordy discourses on stuff like his, so I don't blame you for getting confused by it. Just keep firing questions and I'll try to answer em.

The most obvious one I can think of would probably be the broadest and longest to answer: what else can be serialized?