This dissertation describes three important aspects of my musical composition, Sand. The first deals with flat musical forms, their problems, and Sand's listener interface as a response and possible solution to those problems. The second aspect is the idea of "fragmenting the familiar," posited as one possible aesthetic position in the continuing debate over disconnects between compositional and listening grammars. Third, Sand uses a number of ad hoc software "virtual instruments," including a musique concrete database engine that gives a composer greater gestural control when dealing with found sounds as musical material.