What do you do when you don't feel like playing?

[CP]

Recently I don't feel like playing or practicing. I have really no desire, nor do I feel motivated. I know some would say just don't play. But for how long? I been feeling like this for about a week now. Should I just do about 15 minutes a day so I won't get rusty or should I just leave the keyboard alone. I feel like I'm forcing myself to play. On the other side when I don't play, I feel guilty for not practicing. It's a no-win situation.

[ksoper]

Do you play for a hobby or do you play for a living?

 

If music is only a hobby for you, relax. Take a week or two off. It's not going to hurt you. Shake off the guilt--it's wasted energy. If you truly love music, you'll go back to it soon enough.

 

If you play for a living...well, frankly, there are many nights when I don't feel like going on stage. That's when I invoke The List. The List contains all the reasons I'm out here on the road torturing myself--my wife, my home, my future well-being.

 

Music is the greatest job one can have if you're lucky enough to get paid a respectable wage. But it's still a job and every job can push you to a burn-out point. Take some time away every chance you can. Take up a hobby. Make your focus something other than music. And soon, as surely as you hunger and thirst, you'll go back to it.

 

K.

[Steve LeBlanc]

Well...I quit playing Keyboard/Piano completely for 3 years...I lost a bit of technique in some areas but magically gained so much just by listening and experimenting with other instruments. Things I was taught in music school that just never really sunk in suddenly made perfect sense and I became a lot more fearless in my playing.

 

I guess it's all about your attitude. One thing I know for sure is if you're not having fun making music you're probably better off not doing it.

 

Whatever you do...don't worry and a month or two DEFINITLY won't hurt your abilities.

[nc]

Sometimes you just need a break.

As Steve L. said, this can allow new idea development (the unconscious at work!).

[koolkid]

i stopped playing for ten years

 

i went to college for music,played 8 hours a day seven days a week for 5 years

 

everyone has a breaking point

 

music is like god,it will always be there for you

 

dont worry so much

[sudeep]

sometimes when i dont feel like playing , i just have to listen to some music that really turns me on...and that normally makes feel like jumping back on the piano.

 

but im no professional

[CP]

Thanks everybody. I'm feeling better already.

[Guerillatheater]

whenever I get burnt out on playing the keys I'll go strum some chords on a guitar... it helps give you a different perspective and get's your mind on a different plain.

 

also in my situation it helps me realize how much I suck at guitar and why I should stick with keys

[Rod S]

I basically stayed without playing for about 8 (91-99) years. Go figure. I certainly could USE the extra technique I would have developed over the time, but given where I am nowadays in interest and motivation, I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Other than that, yeah, sometimes I don't feel like playing for a few days. Other times, you have to pry my hands of the keyboard with a spatula. Don't sweat it.

[whitefang]

Do you not feel like playing out of frustration? Or boredom? If it's frustration, then just keep tinkering with what you know 'till you reach a breakthrough point, and the feeling might fly away.

 

I play guitar(so, what am I doing in THIS forum?),

and quit playing for a good spell out of frustration. BIG mistake! Lost my chops. Took a couple of years after I picked it up again to get them back.

 

My wife, who plays NO musical instrument, told me she doesn't because she just couldn't get going on one for some reason. She constantly reminds me how the ability to make even the SIMPLEST form of music is a GIFT! And that even though I am light-years away from playing at the level of John McLaughlin, I am still light-years ahead of anyone who can't even handle wax paper and comb.

 

No matter your level, you're making MUSIC, man!

Don't take it lightly!

 

Whitefang

[Rick K.]

For me, it's not just a job, it's a passion. Occasionally, I have to find that. There are sometimes when it's just a job, and it's a real bummer. Those are the times when I wonder why the heck am I doing all this?

 

I get disgusted with some of the attitudes of my fellow bandmates. We have a couple of guys who get on these ego trips and think that they are perfect and flawless in everything they do. I just have to almost ignore them and get into the music. That's where the passion is for me. Not the BS. Not the logistics. Not the business. Just the music....

 

Rick

[henryrobinett]

Like someone else said, it all depends on your goals and intentions. When I was taking lessons while in high school my teacher told me a story about when he was a kid studying flute. He had gone to see a great flautist who was the principle with the NY Philharmonic. Afterwards all the symphony groupies gathered around in awe. He was asked the question, 'How much do you practice?' Four hours a day was his response. "But that means four hours every day 7 days a week. If I get a cold I still do four hours. If my wife dies I still do four hours."

 

I used to force myself to practice, especially when I didn't want to. I've also always gone through many periods when I just couldn't do it. BUT I've also always played gigs fairly consistently. Now I don't sweat it. I TRY to practice 2 hours a day and lately have been able to do it. But I've also decided that life is a lot more than music. My world isn't going to come crumbling down if I don't practice or play music. It won't end either if I decide to stop music altogether. I have incorrectly defined myself as a musician my whole life. I'd be hard put to find another career and luckily I don't have to at this point. But I'm a lot more than a musician.

 

If your career is music then put your heart and soul into it for as long as you can. Push through the boredom and ennui and force yourself to work at it. Take it seriously. But take breaks too. Breaks are crucial. I think they give you space and perspective. I think it's often observed that ones playing can greatly improve after taking a break.

 

My two cents.

[Umbra]

If music isn't your job and you have a job where you make a decent contribution to society then don't worry about it, play when you want to.

 

I understand the guilt thing though. I try and do something music related everyday. Some days I get up at 5am and spend 2 hours working on composing/sequencing/mixing new tunes, some days I practice keyboard. Other days where I don't feel like getting up I spend my lunch hour working on music theory. Then weekends sometimes I go wandering around the area to different stores and spend time with some different synths which often gives me new ideas.

 

Other days I just don't do any music related stuff, that occurs a lot right after I finish a tune. I just have no ideas or desire to do any music for a few days to a week or two. Then one day I'll sit down and plunk away and find a new riff that I like and I'm off on a new tune for a month.