I've been on this Sinatra kick lately. While it's tempting to wear a fedora and suits Rat Pack-style, I'm more interested in just the musical aspect of it. Great vocal tone, for sure, but what Sinatra's, Billie Holiday's and others of that era's songs did was take you places.

Most music today is consumed in one of three places: the car, the gym, or the club. Sometimes in sporting arenas, but a lot of people either can't afford to go to those places often or simply don't care. But ever since the 1950s, according to Ben Yagoda, music has gone from being complex and sophisticated to simple. Questlove also wrote in a similar vein how black music went from jazz to soul and funk to disco, where instead of relying on instruments and orchestral arrangements producers relied on electronics.

It's gotten to where now only one person can simulate an orchestra. And while that has its perks and has made a lot of people famous and/or rich, it's also taken away from not only the communal aspect of music but the artistic side as well. Music at its core, from the dawn of man where the first music consisted of sounds in nature like clapping rocks together or primitive hoots and yells to imitate animals, was a community undertaking. Yes, there are concerts where people gather, but it's not so much about forming community as it is about the worship of a person or group.

I'm in a couple of John Mayer groups, and it's amazing how all these people from different parts of the world, because of their admiration of one person, can interact and foster relationships. Those pages are forums where not only can people express their appreciation of Mr. Mayer (although there's a lot of that going on, especially by the female fans) but share their love of his music and music in general.

Something Mayer said in his "Where The Light Is" video was "I really hunger for that community". The essence of instrumental music is having several people get together with their own musical tastes and sensibilities throw their ideas in a pot to see what they can cook up. Oftentimes in modern music, though, it's usually one person's ideas and he just calls in this artist or that artist to fit into what he or she wants to do. There might be some input from the guest artist, but usually the main artist already has an idea of where they want that tune to go.

I just started using Garageband, and while it's been fun I'm already starting to see the limits in my own musicality. My sense of rhythm isn't the greatest, and I usually tend to stick to basic rhythms on my Smart Drums tracks. I also don't really have an ear for bass. I'm pretty sure a kickass drummer like Steve Jordan or a killer bass player like a Pino Palladino or Tal Wilkenfeld can come up with crazy rhythmic ideas on the spot. Maybe it's inexperience, but maybe it's also I don't really have the passion for it like I do guitar.

My point is the best music is derived from diversity of ideas and, most importantly, personalities. Not saying that bands make the best music necessarily, but anyone who's open to musical contributions from others to craft great songs and pieces usually end up making great art. That's who I want to be. I want to contribute my vocal and guitar arrangements to make something amazing.