When Life Prevents You From Making Music (Challenges Musicians Face)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- Sometimes, music making just can't happen due to LIFE. How can you survive and not lose your artistic heart and vision? Join me as I discuss and share your thoughts and experiences!
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Hi and thank you for this. I buried my father yesterday. Up to this point my mom and I were his only caretakers. He died at home last Friday. I will miss him so. I will write a song about this time. Thank you!
amara stefani I’m sorry for your loss. Like Bill rightly said, we’re all in this together. 💙
I hope you find yourself in a creative space again soon. In the wake of tragedy, beauty sometimes comes unexpectedly in the strangest of places. I’ve found it wise in hindsight to lean into them. Be well, friend.
I am praying that God will comfort you. I myself had to go through many hardships at the time of my parents death and still am. When you feel up to it please pray for me as well.
@amara stefani, I don't know if words would be enough but i know pain. I lost someone too. My uncle who was a great man. It's been 10 years but memories haunt me sometimes. I just play whatever comes to my mind for a emotional release and it works. My father had been sick for two weeks. Been taking care of him. Plus I had to go to rehearsals, husltle and deal with my own depression. It was quite a challange. But seeing my father getting better feels good. Our loved ones are very important just like music. Music is within your soul trust me. Music will happen. Music is about life after all. You can musically express your struggles. Give it a title. You can express your sorrow, your pain, the feeling of love and feeling unwanted even. Just let it flow. It will get better. *hugs*
amara stefani I am so sorry for your loss 😞 I lost my father to cancer when I was 28 (I am now 42). I was also his primary caregiver, and he was and always will be my best friend. I know the song you write for him will help you tremendously and be a beautiful way to show your love for him that will last forever. Your in my prayers.
So sorry to hear about your loss and understand your pain Time is a good healer but meanwhile take each day as it comes to reflect on happy memories you have of and with him I wish you and yours good and long lives 😌
When I was in my late teens through my 20s I played a lot. Practiced everyday. Played a good 50 gigs per year and toured the east coast many times. Now I’m 38, married with a 7 year old and a 5 year old and I work long shifts as a surgical technologist. I average about 10 shows per year, because the band is spread out (I drive 90 minutes to rehearse with the band) rehearsal is normally for about 5 hours every other weekend, it’s become nearly impossible to practice alone daily while juggling family and work. So I shoot for times a week. Even if it’s just for 30 minutes playing with headphones on.
One thing that really keeps me motivated is listening to as much music as possible. I grew increasingly frustrated so i switched to working night shift. On night shift as a surgical technologist I’m mainly there in case of an emergency surgery but I do lot of prep work. There’s a lot of slower days where I can listen to music from my phone and listen to TH-cam videos like this one as I pull supplies for the next days surgeries. Listening to music a lot more and listening to musicians on TH-cam has helped me a lot. And listening to a huge variety of styles from ambient music to jazz to metal keeps it from getting stale.
As far as what’s helped... Something that’s helped with my band situation a lot is having a recording setup at rehearsals. Our lead guitarists brings a little 2 space rack with two interfaces and his Mac book, everyone has there own mics and cables and we are able to record everything and then distribute song demos throughout the band via Dropbox and we use also Facebook messenger as a 24/7 band chat which has been great for increasing band communication so even though I don’t see my bandmates often we communicate pretty much every day.
There was a time when I was extremely frustrated about not being able to play as much but as we’ve taken advantage of these things I’ve become much happier. These days I’m pretty happy with my ability to vent/express myself through music. Sometimes I wish we played more gigs but with the decline of live music in my area I have noticed that the decrease in gigs has come at a good time because these days for me at least there’s only so many quality gigs to play and then you get into the gigs where’d id rather be at home with my kids than doing things like playing for free or next to nothing or moving all our gear to play a short 5-6 song set in a 5-7 band blowout that frustrates fans who pay like $15 and only get to see a short set.
I had to quit the guitar because of my tendons of the left hand. It was, in any case, a blessing in disguise. In the end we have to leave everything, I was identifying my self too much as a musician
Thanks Bill! That's me at the moment. Aching to make music but little kids and little flat/head space that make it almost impossible to sit down and create. I agree it's good to keep perspective and not to give up. I find it helpful to think in seasons. This might be a busy season but there soon will be another maybe more relaxed/creative season. There is a season for everything :)
I'm a daddy now! No chance to play... But inside my mind there is a 24/7 orchestra!
I hear you. My daughter was born 2 years ago and making music is something I don't have as much time for these days. But those little moments of music time are worthwhile.
When I was in grad school I was encouraged to take 15 minutes a day and write for the dissertation. Maybe we can do the same for our internal, unplayed and unuttered scores.
For me the biggest obstacle is a lack of privacy. I'm living with family still and I just don't feel comfortable writing songs and singing in the house where they'll be able to hear me. But I definitely follow tip number 4 and continue to hone my artistic vision in my head, I have dozens of ideas bouncing around in my head and I continue to write poetry that I intend to turn into songs. Thanks for the video :+)
Amazing comments everyone. My heartfelt sympathetic energies to you all. I have a long-term condition (a couple actually, one life-threatening, the other more obvious and far more intrusive!). As a result I cannot play for any serious amount of time (certainly not enough to gig). But even though I have a parkinsonism that often makes even picking a guitar up impossible, I have used the part that remains unaffected (my brain - such as it is) to continue to compose, and when opportunity presents itself, for a few minutes, I can record a track (they are often only three minutes long or so), and therefore by adding gradually, as my condition allows, I have continued to create, even if just for myself.
Sometimes just being able to imagine a piece of music is enough to keep us going, and then, after all that reflection and consideration, when we can finally get to playing we can bring all that into full force (and remember to be nice to yourself because we all know that it always sounds better in our head!)
Fortunately my voice has never been affected, so my main instrument is good to go. So if you know of any truly exceptional bands in need of a really good singer who cannot stand up too much on stage, and will often fall down and collapse into a slight comma, then please let me know!
And Bill was right... About writing... Do that. Use your particular experiences to inform the emotional landscapes all musicians create. Use who you are inside, who you can be, not allowing limitations to break you. A thought can be beautiful, and when it is transformed into your music it is always exquisite and exceptional.
Ian Luckett Bless you are an inspiration that got through to my soul
A few years ago my son was born and I fully expected to be able to go back to being creative after a year or so. However it turned out my son is one of those kids who requite a lot of attention and I love giving him that attention, but this mean for several years I just had no time to spare. Only now I am managing to find some more time for music making.
I think the most important thing is to not beat yourself up about it too much. A lot of advice for musicians in particular and creatives in general focuses on motivation, prioritizing, making schedules, being consistent, setting deadlines etc. and of course this is all useful, but when life puts you in a position where you just don't have enough time, all those things can put you in a very dark place full of self loathing and resentment. It helps to reflect on what events and decisions led you to that situation and ask yourself if you would really choose differently if you had the opportunity to do it all again. Moreover, ask yourself if that different choice, with all its consequences, would actually put you in situation that different from your current one? Reflecting on those questions really helped me accept, that those few years were not a time for my creativity. I used those years to further my knowledge of music theory and composition and to improve my guitar playing, but also to just enjoy being a young father. Looking back at it I think this was a good choice.
I really needed this. Thank you! Recently, I discovered that my business partner had secretly and systematically been committing fraud over a long period of time. I had to separate from him and the business quickly and reorganize as a new business overnight. Now I am in a legal battle as well as in a battle to survive, keep the lights on, feed my family. I keep telling myself to prioritize my music, my craft (as you described) and have been beating myself up for not doing it and letting go of all the practice, both with myself and my band-mates. The ugly legal stuff and the daily grind to find new customers and to sell stuff is all-consuming, not only with time but certainly with the "emotional bank-account". Watching you and listening to you made me feel better and I will create a new plan and not be afraid to have to start from scratch on a lot of things...when the time comes again. Thank you.
wise words! I stopped playing and creating music because "life got in the way" for more than 13 years. I just felt numb after all the hardships life threw at me. But now I'm back! and ready to take the journey and you're all invited! Thank you for making these videos, they provide inspiration and motivation to create!
I’ve been trying to record an album since 2016 but nothing yet. I have the music written down but I have no money or equipment to record it. Having complex-ptsd and persistent major depression is a real set back. Thanks for this video. I’m crossing my fingers for 2020 to be the year.
We believe in you, man!
My move from NL to US, 11 years ago, has seriously affected my output. Hardly any new music, but I have found a new challenge in worship! Not where I thought I would be, not as much as I would like it to be but keeping the spirit alive in a new and profound way. Thanks for this message and cofirmation brother!
I stopped playing guitar for over a year because of depression and I only just recently got back into it.
Been there a couple times
Very good! Life never runs in a straight line. Good to remember that there are no straight lines in NATURE. Landscape artists know this is the key to appealing designs. Even the valleys of our lives add to our strengths by the comprehension of value. Order - out of chaos may not happen a week from next Tuesday but it's always scripted on the next page we turn!
This resonated with me a lot. I'm working towards becoming the worship director for my church, which I'm incredibly excited about and will give me the amazing opportunity to make music and help others connect with God musically. However, because our church is very strongly focused on reaching the college students where we are, we don't have much enough of a budget for a staff team, so I'm having to go through the process of fund-raising and finding people who want to support the ministry we're doing. And that is proving to be way harder and more emotionally exhausting for me than I expected. I don't have a personality where networking and asking people if they want to donate money comes easily and naturally, and I can't do the musical/worship-related work that I had been doing before as a volunteer and that I absolutely love and am passionate about until I finish fund-raising. So the whole thing is really hard and making me feel really disconnected from music and that part of me.
Yes, we noticed...how you altered the loop to go from “dark” at the beginning to “dark with light” at the end.!
Thank you, brother. Been playing guitar for 50+ years, but in the last year have developed painful hand dermatitis, tinnitus, and a worsening of peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage) in my hands. I'm "officially" disabled, so just when I have all the time to play that I could ask for, the playing is seriously hampered by my conditions. But I'm determined to keep going anyway so I can continue to play lead electric in my church worship band. Thank you for your inspiration!
Going through stifling creative differences and control from a band leader and a band I've sunk so much time and energy into in the past year and half. I'm good friends with the rest of the band and I won't be seeing them much anymore now that I've decided to leave. The worst thing is that I feel like the rest of my personal and working life have passed me by. I'm not where I want to be in life and feel kind of lost. I thought I had found that work/life/art balance. But with the band falling apart and my real life flooding back into clarity, I know that I haven't figured it out yet. It's frightening. Because there's no adversity to fight now. I'm just lost.
Thank you for making this video.
I have woken up this morning to this and it has really helped me put things into perspective and most importantly, not feel like I'm the only person not getting the time I need to complete musical projects.
We have a 4 year old and 1 year old who are the joy of our lives but very demanding. Also we have been renovating a big old house for the last 3 years that is taking up so much time and money.
At the moment I am only getting a couple of hours after midnight when everyone is asleep to work on my music.
There is a deadline looming for me to finish a potentially very lucrative recording for a record label which is adding to the pressure.
Incredibly I did manage to sign a record deal and release a soundtrack album on vinyl 18 months ago despite the family chaos but this follow up is draining my energy due to the limited time I have free and the cycle of frustration/obligations is affecting my health far more than I have acknowledged.
Today is the start of a new approach though thanks to your words of experience based wisdom. Especially when you mentioned toddlers climbing all over you while trying to work.
I shall be sharing this video to all my musical friends because I expect many will be in the same position.
Thank you so much for taking time to make us think about our mental and emotional wellbeing as we work on our creative endeavors.
Wishing you a great day from Sherwood, Nottingham UK.
I'm just 43 but I only have one remaining blood relative left, my mother. And she's not doing well so I spend lots of time at her place. I bought a Boss Katana to keep over there and put a little pedal board together to go with it. My band sputtered out ten years ago but playing and writing is still a very important part of who I am, and I don't know how I'd handle all this without music. And my wife is so supportive. I teach beginning guitar and she stays with my mother when I have lessons even though she works 50 hours a week.
Hi Bill - this is one of the most important music videos on the whole internet. Many of us found our passion for music through listening and watching professional musicians, and wanted to develop ourselves to that ultimate level of perceived 'excellence'. Many of us have had other things come into our life that have made the professional expression of excellence unachievable, and for others it simply hasn't happened. Depending on attitude that can make ones life, and continued music even richer.
Although I am not a religious person (more of a non denominational spiritual person) I really respect your approach to your Christianity as a tool of acceptance and compassion rather than judgement and condemning and your words (and music) about god could be transferable and appreciated by any religion or form of spirituality, so thank you for unashamedly sharing that part of yourself.
You have started such a wonderful conversation about this and the comments that preceded me are so insightful and heartwarming I can only thank everyone who has shared.
I can offer my journey for consideration as well. From the age of 12 I decided I wanted to be a pro musician, and spent years working on that but it didn't happen due to me having many personal issues to sort out. Had an 'unplanned' pregnancy at 29 and my beautiful son was born which left me no time to compose if I really wanted to give him the attention I feel a child deserves. Fast forward 5 years with a separation from his very mentally unwell mother and an ensuing family court battle to get back my 50/50 care of him and I had not been able to do music for years, which was horrifically painful - but only really to my ego that had an image of me that had to be released. Eventually I did a lot of healing and let go of the idea of being a musician in any capacity, and even stopped listening to music and TV altogether (which I never in a million years thought would happen) and got into yoga and mediation.
Years passed with acceptance of this new way of life and being the best father I can in difficult circumstances, when I discovered Psybient/Dowtempo artists a few years ago and this reignited my love for making music as well as all the classic ambient artists I have been listening to from the 60's onward.
Now as my son is in his late teens and is getting more independent I have time and space for playing and recording to come back into my life, and the music tech of today has gotten so much better than 15-20 years ago, in fact a lot of what I wanted to do really couldn't be done very well back then anyway. Now I am re-entering music in a more grounded wholesome way where I really just want it for myself, not expecting to make any money, and just doing it because I love the process and the outcome. I'm actually personally and musically richer for the journey I've had, and certainly glad that my younger version of my music, and musical self didn't get out there in public. I've been able to grow into being a proper adult who is not obsessive about music - I am here to serve music, it no longer has to serve my ego.
Firstly I’d like to say thank you for your art, it really touches me unlike most of what I listen to does. It effects me in a much different positive way.
My story is long so I’ll make it short. I was hit by a concrete truck in 2012. I broke nearly my entire body, became depressed, stopped living due to the pain I suffered every day. It took me years to get back into my art and my voice (guitar). I found playing was the best therapy I ever had. I stead of focusing on my pain I was able to translate that into my music be it physical pain or, emotional pain. I still live this way, but music is my best medicine, and helps me get through my day.
Thanks so much for sharing. And you are truly an inspiration!
You do really solid work talking about the human side of being a musician, and how to navigate the role of musician while also attending to one's own needs. Thanks
I care about my family a lot and seeing my little brother and nephews grow up I want to be there for them. I’m married now tho and trying to start a family myself. And making music with friends has been difficult cause life always seems happens to them or me and it’s really discouraged me. My band broke up recently. I’m trying to move on and really be wiser when it comes to setbacks or when life happens and be content with any little time I may have to create or practice. I beat up myself to much and just tired of it. Thanks Orion and everyone’s comments are pretty real, I appreciate it. I do believe in Jesus and believe he wants to bring me into a better place musically when it comes to practice, perspective and writing.
Fortunately I have the kind of cancer I am expected to make a full recovery from. Musically, I think about what I'm "working on" all the time, even if I can't sit at the computer and make progress.The thing I need to do more of is connecting with my loved ones. Every week or two I post an update on facebook and the responses I get are enough to keep me going. But my poor parents and sibling need more reminders that their baby may not be his most perky but he is far from done! God bless you and your family.
Thanks for that encouragement Bill!
I am in the process of honing my craft as a bass player so that I can eventually make my living as a working musician. In the meantime I have been working in the service industry. After 20 years of bartending and serving my back and legs can no longer handle it. I'm going to physical therapy for my back. Because of this I had to quit my job and am searching for a new way to support myself until I am ready to make the transition into being a professional musician. Without getting too into it, I'll just say it's been incredibly stressful. I went from laser focus and practicing 3-5 hours a day to not picking up my instrument for the past 9 or 10 days.
I know I will eventually get through this.
Thanks for the oppertunity to vent!
Oh man. I know a little about back pain from an injury. It affects everything! Hope the therapy gets into a better place soon.
Love these motivational videos! Sometimes just what I need... I have so many big plans, learning new songs of different traditional musics, writing/recording more, making full tracks with a DAW on my laptop, new rhythms etc etc. I'm still studying (6th year of uni), which is a wonderfull gift that not everyone gets but I sadly can't put in the time to progress to a level I would like. I'm having some trouble sleeping lately because my mind keeps thinking about all this music stuff... I'm waiting anxiously for the moment when I can play again
Wonderful video, Bill. Thanks for your encouraging words and insight. I'm a father of 2 year old, and between that and trying to make a career shift, making music has definitely taken a back seat often. Fatherhood is great, though, and my little one is so worth it.
I think that behind every sound there is stillness. The sound rise out of stillness and the sound are dependent the stillness. We experience even the stillness.
"Let the events of your life inform the art that you create". A very meaningful mantra for all of us.
Bill, you really have a way with words! All my life I have held demanding jobs. I was in the Navy and worked as an engineer for the Navy, lots of travel and time away from the family, so what you are saying here hit home. I’m happy to report that I am still playing my guitar and enjoying it.
Good to hear!
Nice video, Bill. I hope whatever your current obstacle is just keep in mind...it will pass and just be a memory. You'll say, "Wow that was hard. But I made it."
In 2016 I had major health obstacles that put me in the hospital for over a year. I told myself if I make it I'm buying my dream guitar, all the time thinking "this will be over soon."
Well, I made it...and my wife who nursed me through hell bought me a PRS. Whale Blue...beautiful instrument.
Now I'm grateful for life, my beautiful wife and kids, and music....which is why I watch "C of O"....
Peace.
Thank you for such inspiring video! I have really hard money situation in my life now. Never had it before. And I’ve joined some local band here recently. Need to learn much material. Djenty stuff which is kinda new for me to play. Sometimes I have so terrible mood because of my problems and waste my time doing nothing but when I grab my guitar I feel it like home. I feel myself alive and I realize the things I really wanna do. So it’s all about wild mood swings. I just try to cope with it everyday
Really appreciate your candor, but also that you try to provide solutions from your own heart and experience. Some weeks I get no videos out. Others I get 2. Sometimes when you can push ahead. If you've gotten the time to get ahead of the game it helps. Creativity for me at least seems to come in lumps. So if there's two songs to do, get ahead. Only put one out, and save one for another time. It's how most of the more consistent content creators seem to work.
Also there's something I keep reminding myself. Done, not perfect. Quite often I'll catch myself working on something for too long. I end up not putting anything out for a while, because I'm not 100% happy with it. But then I find I won't come back to it, and I'll just move on wasting that time I spent. While I find it's good to let your brain 'rest' on an idea for a while, sometimes I have to stop and say "that's good enough". There's always opportunities to come back.
I go through times where the music isn't forthcoming. I play, but nothing of value comes out. Just end up playing old songs or covers. Have to accept it as it is. So after a while I hang the guitar back up and walk away. Come back to it the next day. Often it is a few days to a week and then it happens. When I can make something gel.
Well it's hard sometimes about ten years ago we took over raising a granddaughter and not long after my wife's health started going down.
I had been gigging regularly up to that point but decided I needed to be there more for them. I wouldn't trade those years for anything but now it's just me and my wife and she is getting slowly worse every year. I was considered a good player once but now I feel like I'm never going to be able to get back to where I was. I watch videos all the time about gear, music theory and playing but sitting down and playing feels
hopeless. Glad you touched on this subject looks like I'm not alone reading through the comments.
Thanks for the encouragement! I am right in the middle if the toddler climbing on my back stage of life!
Definitely a lot of fun amid the frustration of not being able to play as much! 😀
College...then raising the kids. Major obsticles for music time. Thanks Bill, another great video.
my dog sold my guitars ,,i bought them back with his credit card ,,,,Muttsercard !!!!!!,,,no lie ....love your show ,,,
I haven't written any new material in about 6 months because I've totally lost my drive to play music. I hope this is just something that will pass.
I think the biggest obstacle to my music is me. I have the time , good gear, even inspiration but it really isn’t easy.
Wise words. Indeed life can be busy for us all. Perhaps you can talk about making the most of those precious moment of time we can find to practice or create. Your channel gives me hope that I to one day will be able to return to writing music and putting it out to the world.
Thank you Bill. I really don't have anything further to say as you said it all.
I'm about your age and have been a mucisian since I was 12 and I've managed to gain dexterity and train my ear to a small degree,but for the last say 30 years my music endeavor has been stuck in the mud due to illnesses ,bad living situation and the inability to find other musicians. So far all the musicians I've met either were unwilling to get together, possibly cause of lack of trust or proficiency, personality clashes etc. It's embarrassing to say all this and I fear all the time and money I've put into it was wasted and mind you I am a poor individual. However I am a Christian and there are the same types of difficulties with even getting to a church cause of insomnia and rampant false doctrine just to name a few. So I am asking all of you who are spiritual to pray for me. Thank you.
I'm a hardcore rocker, but you have amazing insight. I should try out the ambient thing. you are an [expletive deleted] wizard. focus.
Thank you for this video.
This is a very comforting video, and quite hypnotic in itself, thank you Sir, I like your teaching style and your musical intensity, I guess as guitarists we all become brothers and sisters who depend on each other sometimes for creativity and indeed to relate to.
Yes, yes and yes.
Wow!!!, many thanks for this. I try and dedicate my music to the life experiences I have but if I understand you correctly the experiences should be embraced as a means of generating music.
Love the way you composed this video, what a great idea to add on the notes progressively and talk about things over it. Awesome :)
I juggle many things in my life, and they ebb and flow in terms of how much time they consume at any moment. It can be difficult when you want to concentrate on one thing and are unable. With music that can sometimes be your editor (great ideas will keep playing in your head) or your inspiration (Mozart apparently thought of compositions whilst eating!).
Thank you! I often struggle to keep my focus on one thing long enough to finish it. A bunch of ideas and projects are always waiting to get the time they need.
To be fair most of them are just more of a nice to have than really essential, but they keep distracting me from the more important stuff i need to do. So i tend to get those small things done first to get them out of my head and use the remaining time to be more focused... But then my brain just have time to throw up new stuff i could do instead... Let's just call it avoidance tactics :)
Maybe consider timeboxing the smaller items, so that you KNOW you will finish by a certain time, and then move to the important stuff. That way you can indulge your tendency, but not have it get out of control.
Nice, thanks for sharing. I used to use the guitar to release the stress of those situations.. the thing is sometimes you just don't have the time for it, it happened and I just wrote notes in my mobile.. Now that situation passed I found some interesting lyrics and ideas to work on
Bill-- Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for attending the NorthEast Electro-Music Festival.
For many of us there, your attending was the highlight of the festival (myself being one).
I also enjoyed our conversations at dinner breaks and in the hallways.
Don't be a stranger; I hope this is the beginning of a life-long casual friendship.
Thank you for this... life been beating me pretty bad the last couple year's. I credit learning to play guitar has saved my life.
I have to take care of my sick wife and my job is pretty demanding. On top of that I have MS and should take care of myself a bit. And these things don't go away. BUT the great things are: My wife likes to listen to me playing guitar. A colleague of mine brought a guitar and we now have an office guitar. A few times a day when I need two minutes I pick up that guitar and play a little tune. My neurologist likes that I play guitar because it helps to keep my fine motor skills up. It's a challenge though. After a long day at work, maybe my wife having a bad day too and maybe I have some fatigue that's leaving me exhausetd 24/7, it's tough to not just lie down on the couch and watch some movies I have seen a thousand times. But I keep trying. And there are other things that keep me motivated too: Inviting my dad to concerts (my dad is heavily into Pink Floyd, Colosseum etc.), taking my two year old niece to a classical children concert, seeing friends play. All this is motivating me to pick up the guitar and get fresh ideas what to play and record. I would love to have a band again, though.
Thanks for sharing. I very much appreciate your being able to continue to play!!
Life happens, but we can use that as the seeds for inspiration. It's far better to be in a position where you have far more inspiration than you can develop rather than not having enough inspiration. Great advice in your video, and I'll definitely keep these things in mind!
Thanks
Thanks for this video. I need to hear these things quite often.
Humbling reading the comments, seeing what the different struggles are, but how everyone still keeps up the passion. I needed this vid today after some bad time. Thank you for the video, needed both that and the comments for my own perspective.
Thanks Bill!! Some months ago i has broken up with my girlfriend, hard times and it was exploding inside me, I HAD TO EXTERNALIZE. So i started making an album about the situation. The album is on spotify: "B'Flowers - Acertando as Contas". (getting it right)
In the process i was getting better, than i externalized that to, as the album goes. In the end me and my girlfriend was "getting it right". So in the end, we date again and currently I'm so happy that all this narrative was printed on the album.
Hope the best to you, keep making these fantastic videos and if you want, listen to my album!!! hahahaha
Thank you, Bill. Well said.
Thank you
The major problem with me as a musician is that I can’t stay focused enough in my music, not only cos’ life happens as you say, not only cos I have to face minor and major events like everyone, but because I often find myself wanting to make too many things in music, or at least more than I can deal with. projects, styles, genres, play with friends, real and online collaborations, soundtracks, sonorizations, sound baths, music production fo hire, etc. i do not make music for a living and I have family too, so lack of time for music is a real issue.
So when I think about what I’m doing in music in a given moment, I often end up thinking that I’m not doing the thing I really want to do.
Focus, that’s my problem.
And I thank you for constantly remind us that focus is crucial.
Hey Bill. I really enjoyed the tone of this video! As a busy & frustrated musician myself, I appreciated having this as a 7 minute meditation. You should make more of these!
(Also, I’m personally an atheist, but I *genuinely* appreciate how consistently classy you are about exalting and honoring your own faith for yourself first, as a window through which you view your own personal experience. So refreshing! America has a lot to learn from you.)
Much love from Portland, Oregon. 💙
Hey brother thanks for this video. I really really needed this! You are doing wonderful things for our world in so many ways.
Thanks for the upload, Bill. This video was really helpful. I appreciate your support.
that's really good advice - thank you! I will have to rewatch this.
Well done, Bill! All you say is so applicable to creative writers as well. (This is Sara Whitestone, incognito . . .)
My habit of semi-frequently banging out epic narratives in a sitting always got me praise, but the reality wasn't that I possessed a gift for sudden and prolific inspiration-the secret is that I am always writing, always telling myself stories, retelling stories, tweaking and rethinking and adjusting stories as a background function, and that's a learned process that came of necessity. I left home at 17, worked at least two jobs at any given time, but I aspired to make music and tell stories (Laurie Anderson, Ken Nordine, and Harry Partch were big influences) and there wasn't much of a support network for how to combine those things, so I had to just find whatever time I could, and when I couldn't, I could think about what I wanted to do, and play out scenarios in my head that I'd continue when the time came to me.
I always called it The Walter Mitty School of Performance Art, after the character from the James Thurber story who daydreamed his way out of his humdrum life. I had, for instance, a job in the mid-eighties with the NTSB where I did nothing but make duplicates of aircraft crash reports and had to carefully examine gruesome crash scene photographs with a magnifying glass to ensure that each duplicate represented a faithful copy of the original, while I ran a tape duplicator in the background producing copies of cockpit voice recordings that I had to listen to, at a low level, just to make sure that the recordings were complete and of decent quality.
"What do you do for work?" I'd be asked by those I hoped might be prospective suitors while I sipped my Shirley Temple at a bar, and I'd casually say "I listen to people die all day," which was accurate, but ultimately a disincentive to further interest from the other party. Strangely, though, this stretch was incredibly creative for me. When you spend all day in a room with a diazo microfilm duplicator leaking ammonia fumes into the air, a light table covered with grisly photographs, and speakers playing the last words of pilots trying one more time to survive in the face of horrendous odds, there's little you can do but escape into your head. I was new to everything, my writing wasn't great, and my music was-well, it's probably a blessing that I mainly did tape collages with the cheapest dime store splice tape and all those old reel-to-reel tapes are unsalvageable-but the proper lesson was to replace boredom and idle moments with ventures into inner space where real-world adventures just weren't within reach.
I lucked into some really, really dull careers that gave me time to just sit with myself, silently or with a Walkman feeding me soundtracks, and while I'd watch the take-up reels on a Xidex 16/35 microfilm duplicator slowly pulling film around a glass drum, there was more and more room to just be where I was and elsewhere at once. By the time I put myself through college, working a full-time job and the occasional part-time job in the process, this started to get baked into my brain, and it's just how I work now. I make little notes on index cards when I think of things I know will escape me, I listen to music that helps me tell a story in my head, even as I'll accompany it with completely different music when I finally get onto a stage, and adversity builds tools for me that no advice, counsel, or admonishment could have created.
Of course, life is nothing if not capable of completely upturning your expectations, and I managed to date my way into a relationship with a seven-year-old after 48 relatively blissful years of conspicuous childlessness and twenty-three years of moderately competent uncling, and it's a fresh challenge, because I'm very well adapted to working in the background noise of mundane tasks (my on-again-off-again time as a carpenter were fantastic for this purpose), but introduce the randomizing element of a kid who adores you in the way that tornados adore a nice double-wide and...oh my. This time around, it's made me better at working smaller, with less gear so that I can sneak out to the barn and work for a bit before I hear a sing-song voice calling "Joooooooebie! Joooooebie!" which means I need to put down the synthesizer and get back to quasi-parenting.
It's terribly uncomfortable, having to constantly learn new ways to deal with new situations, except that it's what constantly learning anything is all about. The discomfort, the frustration, and the anxiety that comes from life is the edge and uncertainty of continually having to reinvent yourself, and if it wasn't uncomfortable, you'd never have the overwhelming urge to fight back, scratch the itch, challenge the situation and make it work.
Plus, going from zero kid to sudden kid overnight is amazing blog fuel. I am always slightly off-kilter these days, and that's a gift.
Excellent 👍 thanks for your great, sincere insights.
Thank you for the encouraging words bill.
Right on time. I am facing carpal tunnel surgery which means no guitar for a time. It was while trying to record my first tracks ever that the problem with my fretting hand really began to stand out. Huge setback for me. Once again you've produced a video that has given me a great deal of encouragement. Keep em coming
Being unemployed was keeping me away from making classical music! I decided then to move to other genres (ambient and noise) and I started making small video of me playing on my TH-cam channel. I'm still unemployed and life is a mess and I'm not making music the way I'd like to, but at least I'm creating something and I hope things will be better in a near future :)
Thank you for this video and good luck to everyone who's in a bad situation!
I wish you good.
Bill, you are an awesome person!
Thank you! It is very important message!
Thanks for the kind words, hope you're doing ok Bill.
Chinese saying- before success chopping wood, after success chopping wood. All the best.
Thanks, Bill. Apropos, as usual.
Thanks. I needed this, right now.
Great video, Bill!
I'm engaged in a major building project at the moment that will likely have taken two years before I can get back to more creative pursuits in a serious way. This little "distraction" has also coincided with my rediscovery of the guitar as a player, and I can't wait to have more time to concentrate on improving my playing and experimenting with the pedals your demos have prompted me to acquire.
The positive thing to come out of this huge undertaking (apart from a new workshop!) is that this enforced absence from the workbench, and lack of time to play guitar, has boosted my motivation to create to new levels. I imagine that any event that interferes with our creative output can have that effect, and it's therefore possible to see past the inconvenience to view it as a positive force for renewed commitment and improvement.
We're on the same track sir. I am currently going through this. Nothing happens without a reason. Thank you for the post.
@2:45 Hello Moses !!!
Battle little ones, puppy, disabled family members and demanding job for guitar time... But make it work. Favrate is getting my 4 year old involved. Even if I don't get much practice or writing done is very rewarding. Some of my best memories.
Hey this is a great topic for me right now!.. I have a guitar channel (which I didn't post with here on to avoid the shameless plug).. But I got this exciting new job coming up, delivering stuff cross country, the problem is....I'm not going to be able to upload to my channel on a regular basis anymore! Might not even have any time to practice any more!
Maybe a travel guitar? I have thought about getting one for the times when my day job takes me on a trip.
@@chordsoforion Good idea.. I think I'll have room for one of my Strats or Jems (homebuilt / copies) in a bag...and them I might invest in a small practice amp once the checks start rollin in
Financial obstacles! And world coming between me and my music sometimes. Relates to the first.
I have been have the hardest time getting material recorded. I bought a bunch of gear thinking it would all come together but I just can't seem to get time and inspiration to line up with each other. Thanks for the insight.
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. (New International Version
)... God bless you and the talent He has given you.
Some of the best songs came from a hard experience the writer / player had. We all relate to the struggle life brings. I like however a hopeful resolve in songs rather than just doom and gloom through out, coming from being a Christ follower.
Thanks for the insight. I just realised that must definitely focus more on number two when the time is about.
This is kinda brilliant how you put this together, with a really important message.
Yeah life can get busy from overtime at work, church callings , being stuck on the freeway after work , needing to get sleep Lack of sleep Stick an exercise program ect.. so yup a lot of things going prevent me from quality practice time!
Thanks Bill. You are an inspiration. Sorely needed right now
This video found me at the perfect tinge! Larry November I cut my finger on my fretting hand as I've been practicing slide and working on my finger picking(right hand) technique. I was in hell in the beginning but I slowly am working myself back up to my cops that I'm used to. Your video is one ill go back to again and again. Thank you!
I like how excited you sound in this video!
Bill is a serene voice of sanity on a sea of chaos.
Hey Bill, nice sound in this video,like always.
I have a little 2 years old son and is my life,i love so much and make me a funny guy 24 hours day.
But clearly is a disaster when a try to make something with my guitar. So I will take your words and try to write on paper some of the ideas that come to my mind in those moments of rest, ideas always come, at every moment I am listening to melodies and chords, sometimes I feel that our lives come with a soundtrack sent for God.
Wise words Bill! Thanks!
Thank you BIll. I have been finding inspiration again.
Depression and Multiple Sclerosis related things are the hindrance with my playing and creating with me and my guitar...
All of your videos feel so genuine! Thank you so much for sharing :)