In relaxing more, reducing pressure and lowering expectations on various things in Life, I opened GarageBand for the first time a couple months ago. A long, long time ago I inherited a guitar made in about 1981. It's collected dust, been out of tune for months and years at times, but there have been stretches of a month or three where I'll pick it up and try to make sense out of it before frustration sets in again. 

It makes sounds. It's kinda like a toy. I never really learned out to play complete songs, but whenever I pluck those strings, something ignites and there's nothing like a single string ringing out. 

So the last two months I've been picking it up again and again and just trying to enjoy what it can do. So attached, if you can hear this example, is a bit of an ode to 'Taps.' In the old 1955 garage, birds chirping at sunset, no microphone aside from the one inside the 6 year old iPad. 

I first learned of Nick Drake in an Irish co-workers apartment 'back in the 90's,' (a few years before that iconic Volkswagen commercial), Ha. I'll still never forget Steve asking, "Have you ever heard of Nick Drake?" 

Nick's sweet, innocent instrumental song "Horn" made a lasting impression on me. The power of simplicity. There is 'shredding' and then there can be impactfulness in hearing single notes. Another example that comes to mind are very first piano keys that Bill Evans plays in the beginning of his solo at 5 min 55 seconds on Kind of Blue's 'Flamenco Sketches,' like “crystal notes or sparkling water cascading down from some clear waterfall,”) 
What if I tried to find an original Melody? Is it possible? Are they all taken by hundreds of thousands of songs by now? Philosophy anyone, Buehler.? 

Anyway...one of my recent little attempts.