This paper describes distinctions among the ideas of “twelve-tone method,” “twelve-tone technique,” and “twelve-tone system”—too often now regarded as mere terminological quibbles—and looks at an instance of each “category” illustrating not only these distinctions, but also some less frequently discussed aspects of twelve-tone procedures represented in each sort of case. Examples are drawn from Schoenberg’ s Piano Piece, op. 33a, Krenek’s Twelve Variations in Three Movements, op. 79, and Babbitt’s Canonical Form.