Music became an active hobby much later than most of my others. I started guitar in September 2024 after seeing Chase Padgett at the Edmonton Fringe and finally hearing the instrument presented in a way that made sense to me. That first guitar did not stay alone for long.
Strings
The first was a green Gretsch G5620T. Since then the collection has grown to include:
- A Taylor Academy 22e
- A Gretsch Jim Dandy parlour guitar
- A Squier ‘70s-style electric bass
- A Gold Tone CCR-100 banjo
- Several other stringed instruments acquired while testing the limits of the word “several”
I want to get better at fingerstyle guitar, bluegrass, and acoustic folk, all of which reward control, rhythm, and letting one instrument carry more than one musical role.
Drums
I began learning drums in early 2025 on a Roland TD-17KVX2 electronic kit, with a Gretsch acoustic snare alongside it.
Drums changed how I listen. I often play along to whatever is on, a cappella arrangements included, which puts me inside the rhythm instead of leaving it as the background under the interesting parts.
Synthesis
The synthesizer collection includes:
- Elektron Digitakt II
- Elektron Digitone II
- Behringer Pro-800
- Behringer Model D
- Behringer Edge
- Arturia MicroFreak Stellar Edition
- Korg Volca Bass, Drum, Keys, and Sample 2
- A pile of software synthesizers
Synthesis sits where electronics, audio, programming, and even some of the signal ideas from radio overlap, and it lets me build the sound instead of only taking it apart.
I experiment across genres and mix MIDI, synthesized parts, and acoustic instruments freely, mostly to find out what happens when they meet.
MIDI and software
Neurode MIDI grew into a full MIDI routing and real-time transformation engine for studio and performance use. It also gives me somewhere to experiment with accompaniment and learning tools for instruments I am still learning to play.
The Emulatron E6 work pushed me deeper into procedural audio, modem synthesis, filters, and Web Audio:
Listening
I grew up with Crash Test Dummies and Barenaked Ladies, moved through Silverchair and Linkin Park, and later became a serious fan of a cappella groups such as VoicePlay and Home Free.
Folk has been the mainstay for roughly the past fifteen years, though I tend to move through genres in stretches. Broadway and other musicals stay in the rotation, along with electronic music, rock, and whatever currently gives me something new to listen for.
Learning to sing and play has changed what I hear. The enjoyment is still there, but now I also catch the arrangement, the breath, the production choice, or the part I could try to play badly alongside it.