Katherine Balch, on building your compositional tool kit | YSM Mini Master Class

In this mini master class, YSM faculty composer Katherine Balch talks about the importance of building a "compositional tool kit."
"When I'm stuck or feeling creatively unmotivated," she explains, "I can open up my composer toolbox and find a variety of ways to move through a musical problem or idea."
There's a lot of helpful advice in this mini master class, and there's a question Balch asks at the end: "What's in your compositional tool kit?"
We'd definitely like to know what your trusted tools are and how you use them in your compositional process! Are you an old-school pencil and paper user? A software devotee? What musical instruments and sound-making devices do you have at your disposal?