Canyon.mid cover on guitar, bass, keys (Windows 3.1 / Passport MIDI demo)

We got Windows 3.1 when I was maybe 4, so it was one of my first playgrounds. I spent a whole lot of time exploring every directory, trying things out, playing with the settings. So it was particularly magical to find that, tucked away in some of those corners, there was music. I don't know how many times I listened to canyon.mid and the four Sound Blaster tracks (ballade.mid, jazz.mid, etc.) but when years later I remembered them and tracked them down, they sounded as familiar as ever.

It's hard for me to estimate how much of an influence those MIDI tracks had on me. I wouldn't really start listening to "normal" music until middle school - until then, my musical world was video game music and MIDI files. And no less influential than the MIDI music itself was how I found it - a secret without hint or explanation, tucked away in a corner, in the form of instructions which I could eventually view and even edit myself. The appeal of both is still strong for me decades later.

Canyon.mid, or "Trip Through the Grand Canyon", was composed by George Stone for Passport Designs. I've stayed pretty close to the MIDI file, so while I may not have quite the same charm as an old Yamaha OPL chip, I hope my rendition will capture some of the joy that the track always brought me.