Mail from AK. I had a look at his diary and was struck by his distinction between �paper composing� and �sonically conceived� music. Different kinds of music arises depending whether one is developing music on the piano on the guitar or the computer � hardly surprising. The different physical systems for engagement bring differences in theory and cognition. These differences are reflected in different views of what a sonic unit is and how one goes about changing them and assembling them into pieces.

Some of these thoughts are triggered by the arrival of the score for the piece Colin Touchin premiered at Coventry Cathedral about two or three weeks ago. I mailed asking him if he would send me a score � he wrote it for treble recorder and organ. I thought I might try it on flute and synth. The piece seems to be about drones and chromatic phrases � the latter involving lots of 5ths 4ths and 2nds. Since these are all elements that I have been fiddling with for a while its interesting to see how someone with a very different musical background works with this material.

Do I have the nerve to send him the Fifths tape?

I found the backing disc for a set of highly chromatic Coltrane tunes � which I thought I had lost � mostly from the end of the 50s . I tried Giant Steps and was less good than I had hoped even at the slower tempo � it also has a track at absolutely break neck speed . My excuse is that I have mainly been playing the harmonies in C and F and the key sequence in G includes a lot of quite challenging B major. I should try this disc every day for a bit to see what happens. My pattern of practice has lapsed � which is one of the problems I always encounter with regular practice. There comes a point when the regularity is interrupted and then what?

Last week there was a really good discussion on the radio about the Lunar Society. This was a group of intellectuals who lived in the Birmingham area in the 2nd half of the 18th century � interested in science but more generally free-thinkers. Some famous names were in the group � James Watt, Wedgwood, Priestley who more or less discovered oxygen. Historians now seem to think that when it comes to England�s participation in the Enlightenment this was the main event.