ABSTRACT
The PC set forms the basis of an atonal work’s pitch organization. It is thus similar to a motive, with this important difference: a motive is usually a melodic/rhythmic unit, while a PC set is a melodic/harmonic unit. A PC set can appear in any rhythmic configuration, in any melodic order, in any transposition, with its PCs in any octave. It can appear as a melodic figure, a single harmony, or a partly melodic and partly harmonic figure.
