Ever since I was a little boy I have been more interested in how things work than in the things themselves. Imagine being more interested in the rules and skills involved in playing a sport than the sport itself; that is me! I was always taking things apart and putting them back together, especially anything mechanical or electrical, and to a certain extent this helped me grow into a fairly practical adult who can turn his hand to most DIY projects, but this same personality trait seems to have spilled over into my musical life too. I am more interested in how and why music works and less concerned with the characteristics of the people who write it. I realise this is a vital aspect of musicology, all I am admitting is where my real deep interest lays. As a student I was more fascinated by Schoenberg’s compositional techniques than in what he had for breakfast! I am presently wrestling with a slightly new approach to writing my own music using an extended harmonic/melodic language. I am a great believer in setting boundaries when tackling a project because, as I learnt as a teacher, having too many choices leads to option paralysis and stifles productivity. The problem seems to be that having made up my rules and set the limits of what is allowed I then struggle to give myself permission to break them! That said, I am forging my way through my current composition (another piece for trumpet and piano) and it is approximately three quarters complete now. I really laughed at a line in one of the Pirates of the Carribean Films when Captain Barbosa made comment on the pirate rules of parlay, “They are not so much rules as guidelines”. I need to bear this (Black) Pearl of wisdom in mind when composing.