I love menial tasks and manual labor.

These kinds of things require no effort. How much do you have to think to mow the grass? You don’t. I get the vast majority of my thinking done while mowing. One of the best days of my rapidly-fading summer involved going over to a friend’s house to move 7 truckloads of dirt across the street. 3 of us shoveled all day, got hot and sunburnt, were sore the next day, and enjoyed every second. It wasn’t because we’ve taken up digging as a hobby – it was just an excuse to get together, blow of some steam, and BS for the better part of a day. The digging in and of itself was hardly mentally strenuous.

This is a philosophy I’ve applied to many aspects of my music. As of late, the pieces I write are not difficult to play or difficult to learn. They’re not difficult to listen to. Why should they be? This goes along with my idea of playing four notes with nothing to hide, rather than forty with something to prove. I’ve come to notice, especially after the Canadian Guitar Festival, that guitar music generally does not strike me. Music that can be applied elsewhere, on the other hand, sticks with me very well.

I compose strictly for myself these days, and focusing less on chops and flash has really augmented my melodic sense in writing. When I compose, I tend to check my melodies on piano to see if they stick. If it works, it stays. If it sounds bad on piano, it goes. Piano is the great leveler in music, I think. You press a key, it plays a note. You can apply dynamics and nothing more. There is no slapping, tapping, and the like on piano. The music either floats or sinks. Once I record an album, I want to rerecord it on piano just for kicks. After that, I might orchestrate it. It will still work.

The less complex my compositions get, the easier they are to listen to, the more interested I am in them. Other people seem to be able to remember them better as well. I’d rather someone, when asked what my music sounds like, be able to hum one of my songs rather than describe me as “that slap and tap guy.” I think there are enough of those in my generation.

"Dig" by Tero_maaniemi