Based on discords, Sch nberg's music caused listeners to feel uncomfortable and irritated. However, Sch nberg became the pivotal composer of the early twentieth century and today he is considered one of the greatest composers of that century. Sch nberg's music ushered in an era of negative music in Western classical music that lasted for over fifty years. His theory of twelve-tone music , where all notes assumed an equal identity and the principals of harmony on which the world's music were based were rejected, was accepted by composers throughout the Western world and was taught in the finest music schools. The result of all this was the incorporation of negative music into TV programs and movies.
Negative music is used to create emotions of suspense, terror, anxiety, and fear.
It is the music that accompanies crime programs and horror films. The same kind of music that concert audiences rejected because of the feelings that the music invoked became standard TV fare, and for the very same reasons. Many composers during the twentieth century followed in his footsteps and produced a body of music that was either fully negative, or incorporated negative elements into the music that they wrote. Any person who is aware of how music effects them, will feel the effects that negative classical music has upon them when they listen to it. Western classical music was the first style of music to incorporate negativity.