"Although I am self taught, I consider Debussy my teacher - the most important elements are colour, light and shadow."

As a non-western composer working with the orchestra, Takemitsu has been able to use certain elements from the Eastern tradition as well as adopting freely and unselfconciously features of European mainstream music.

Through Debussy, Takemitsu acquired his skill for handling colour and texture. He was influenced by music which was free from the norms of continuous forward movement. Like Debussy, Takemitsu reinvented musical forms in which a weaker harmonic impetus allowed for a more improvisatory feel.

Like Olivier Messiaen, Takemitsu had a strong love of nature which provided great inspiration to much of his music. From Messiaen, Takemitsu developed brighter colours and took on his use of irregular rhythm which he set free from the oppression of continuous metre and fixed pulse.

One of the devices Takemitsu uses in Tree line is soft, sustained chords in rhythmic unison (usually heard in wind and brass). These chords suggest statement rather than thematic development, a technique again discovered in numerous scores by Messiaen.