The Darmstadt school of twelve tone composition was dominant during the time that Adams was receiving his college education, and he compared class to a "mausoleum where we would sit and count tone-rows in Webern."
Darmstadt-skolen og tolvtonemusikken dominerede på den tid, Adams fik sin uddannelse, som han sammenlignede med et "mausoleum where we would sit and count tone-rows in Webern" ("et mausoleum, hvor vi skulle sidde og tælle tonerækker hos Webern").