What is "dodecaphony"

n. (context music English) Literally 12-tone music, composition technique in which the composer uses all 12 tones of the chromatic scale to compose a piece, in such a way that they are "equal", in the sense that there is no tonic, no dominant, no major or minor keys, no distinction between harmony and dissonance. In strict dodecaphony, as defined by Arnold Schönberg, a theme must contain all 12 tones and repeat none of them.