This article investigates the multimodal affordances presented by music software and how it can provide new opportunities for students to engage with composition work in the classroom. It seeks to broaden the scope of current research into classroom composition using technology, through a study of students' environments and compositional processes as seen from these new perspectives. The authors suggest that there is a need to reconsider the scope of multimodal enquiry in the field of creative music. (Contains 3 figures.)