This thesis is an investigation into the creative balance between pre-compositional and musical decisions. The title represents my workings as a composer, and how the influence of others have effected my decisions to use their musical language and in the same way de-construct the workings of those significant techniques within the portfolio. The portfolio represents my development as a composer, from one with a good basic knowledge, to a composer who’s absorption of others techniques has become a subconscious part of my own tonal style. The first chapter reviews the general set up of the portfolio and the reasoning behind the structuring of the pieces within. There is also a focus on the influences throughout the compositions that have filtered into the works. The following four chapters refer to each of the compositions individually in order of composition; Elusive Landscapes, Percushett, Seven Songs and Dimensions, providing in depth explanations for the decisions made throughout the compositional process. This is accompanied by an in depth analysis of the pre-compositional process and how each one is deconstructed. The appendix contains the original presentation of the E.E.Cummings poems as used in Seven Songs as they appear on the page. These include Nine Birds(rising, The little horse is newly Born), Now, (more near ourselves than we, If everything happens that can’t be done, Voices to voices, One winter afternoon and FINIS…Over silent waters, ordered in the appendix in the order they appear in the composition.