Color and Composing

I was thinking the other day about the fact that us composers tend to work with a set of twelve and only twelve notes.  It's kind of like a painter that starts off with twelve colors on his pallet, and then mixes those specific colors to create a multitude of nuances and feelings.  The difficulty is not in mixing together different colors, but in the temptation to mix together too many colors, with the inevitable result being a shade of brown. 

I sometimes think the same is with music.  There is always a temptation to mix together too many colors and thus create a monochrome piece that has lost its soul.  That may be the issue with much serial and/or twelve-tone music.  By attempting to use each pitch--each note equally, the color of the composition is lost; although the work may be interesting, it often fails to lead the ear in one direction or another--rather being static, monochrome, brown.

This is not to say that serial music is bad; only to point out that its intention as a system to replace the tonal system is wishful thinking at best.  Far better the result when the composer mixes notes in such a way as to offer us a colorful collage or a landscape that invites our careful attention.