Dovetails explores relationships between just intonation and rhythm. The quartet is seated with the second violin opposite the first, and the viola next to the first violin, in order to segment the quartet into pairs in two different ways. In the first segmentation, the first violin and viola form a pair which plays a series of relatively simple intervals in just intonation, and the second violin and cello form a similar pair. In the second segmentation, the two violins form a pair which create beating from their close pitches, as do the viola and cello.
The piece is a strict process whereby the just intervals of the first segmentation are nested inside each other in such a way that the beatings created by the two pairs of the second segmentation are the same speed. This speed is then reinforced by bowing on the side of the viola or cello, and the first violin or second violin, respectively, performs a polyrhythm, also on the side of the instrument. This new speed gives the rate of the beating for next step of the process. The piece begins with an octave between the viola and first violin, and continually contracts to eventually reach a unison between the same two instruments.