Writing a piece for young string players presents some unique difficulties which a composer does not generally encounter. First, the music must fit into the techniques of the performers, but must not insult them. Secondly, the music should present the performers with challenges, but must not overwhelm them. And furthermore, the music should be written in such a way that the performers enjoy playing it. One can accept these challenges as a limitation of boundaries or as a springboard to creativity.

Due to limited experiences with contemporary music, young players often lack the versatility of technique which new music frequently demands. (Fortunately, for the same reason, young players are open-minded and lack stylistic prejudices which older players occasionally harbor.) The pitches for this piece come from the first four notes of the major scale and the first four notes of the minor scale; these are called major and minor tetrachords, and are part of the fundamental technique of string players. Each tetrachord used is built on one of the five available open strings (E, A, D, G, and C); this source of pitches assures great variety, yet the technique for producing the pitches remains quite simple

The more challenging aspect of Serenata is with rhythm. Although uncomplicated meters and rhythms are used throughout, the players are frequently required to stress weak beats and avoid stressing strong beats. The result is as if many changing meters were used; the performers must be able to reconcile what they see with what they hear, which can be a difficult hurdle to leap.

Serenata is loosely derived from two pieces which string players have enjoyed playing for centuries: the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 by Bach and the serenade Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart. Each of the five movements contains elements which could be found in the music of Bach and Mozart (for example, the opening theme of the first movement is actually fabricated from motives in these two celebrated works), and each movement is modeled after Baroque and Classical prototypes.