Is playing still fun?

[Konnector]

I've been doing this over 40 years and to me it's always been mostly work, but you get out of it what you put into it. When you finally get a chance to play live with a good group of people and hear something all come together, then I think that's where the fun lies for the most part. Up to that point it's mostly work to get there.

 

I still enjoy doing musical "things" on pretty much a daily basis. It could be playing piano or any number of other keyboards I have, or bass, or drums, etc. I also like programming sounds, making multi-sampled instruments & recording. Programming & sampling is very tedious and not really "fun". It's work. The thing is, I've always considered music in general to be mostly work. If you're not trying to develop your chops & raise your skill level, you're learning songs, licks, etc by ear. If you want to record everything and have a good finished product to listen to, that's more work again as there's so much to learn.

 

As I'm not playing live these days, it would seem it's just all work and no fun, but I can't sum it up that simply. It's always been a passion, so I do it regardless. Sometimes I don't even know why. All that mental work is good exercise for your brain though. You have to keep your brain in shape as you get older just like anything else, so even if it's just a hobby at this point in my life, it's all good....because of the work.

 

(Did I mention work enough?)

[David Emm]

No, new gear doesn't necessarily solve the problem, but it can sometimes be part of a solution. It depends on how different it is from your other pieces.

 

One of my little COVID offshoots has been leaning into patches further and exploring their more flexible aspects. I find it pleasurably distracting to dig into something lively, discovering added powers a layer down and to the left. Its a small thing, but I also consider it a bulwark against dementia. There's a form of high-level exercise involved that has no casually-described analog. At times, its been the case that fun new compositions grew from some weird garble or rhythm down there with the special effects patches.

 

There's also the welcome palate cleanser of calling up the main sound for Vangelis's "Hymn" and noodling for a few minutes. It clears away the cobwebs well.

 

Is it work? Yes, what's your point? I'm too busy truly playing to think about the work aspects much.

[Docbop]

I have found over the years that buying new gear is a very short term boost in interest. For me listening to new music especially from genres I don't normally listen to does more to light a fire that burns for quite awhile and it costs less.

[Dave Bryce]

The last two keyboards I got (Hydrasynth and JPX) should have gotten a ton of use. I do play them both some, and have used them here and there on recordingsâ¦but by and large I"m not using them as much as would typically be the case with new boards.

 

I also have an Osmose on orderâ¦but besides that, my new keyboard lust is not terribly high currently. I"d actually love to add a real Rhodes at some pointâ¦

 

dB

[TommyRude]

About 30 yrs back, playing definitely stopped being fun, so I gave it up. Then I looked around and went sh**, I didn't know anything else and it was pretty late to start over. But I did, started doing something new, and about 25 yrs later I got back in to playing, and it was fun again! So that was my trick - take a 25 yr break.

[CowboyNQ]

I was discussing this exact topic with a colleague the other day.

 

I haven"t played 'for fun' in years. Everything I do musically is geared towards the next gig or band project. I don"t have the time nor the inclination to play for my own pleasure at this stage of my life.

 

This being said - I do find the band projects themselves 'fun'. So although they"re technically work - it"s work I enjoy.

 

For me, the whole COVID frustration has been the biggest killjoy as others here have stated.

 

As far as new gear goes - I"m in what I suspect is the minority as it stresses me out. I don"t like having new gear at all and only purchase out of necessity. No joy there!

[El Lobo]

I've taken breaks from music -- or "mostly" breaks, always did a little something -- acoustic guitar, electric, some sit-ins on sax, singalong parties. I've been playing in bands since I was 16 -- that's 60 years now. I still love performing. I don't practice except to learn tunes. I can't motivate myself to practice just for the sake of practicing. But I'll get up for rehearsal or getting ready for a gig. What I love most about music is seeing people dancing, laughing, singing along, or having a good time in whatever form that takes. The other thing I love about live playing is losing myself in the music, soloing where it feels like the instrument is playing itself, that transcendent feeling that doesn't come very often but like an addict I keep going through the motions waiting for that rare time when it all comes together and the music takes off and it feels like it's flowing through you â that you're not consciously doing it, it's happening to you. I can play a lot of live music to get to that feeling every once in awhile.

[niacin]

I find when I'm not into it, I just grab Bach's two-part inventions and just play (i.e. clam-dig) through a few. Clears my head.

 

Pretty much this.

 

In the lead up to Covid I'd been pretty busy with gigs and the occasional rehearsal, like other folks here I'd basically finish one gig/rehearsal and move on to learning/woodshedding/programming sounds for the next one: gigs accounted for 100% of my motivation. And then of course it all stopped.

 

First lockdown I didn't play at all. Motivation zero.

 

When we went into lockdown for the second time, in August, and gigs were cancelled, I asked myself what could I do that does not have the next gig as the goal?

 

The first answer was to go back to pipe organ, repertoire I hadn't played for 35 years. Set up the SK2, explored the pipe organ stops and set up some 2-manual settings, started with the 2-part inventions, ordered a huge Bach compendium and a set of MIDI pedals. I love the sound and of course the music itself. It's therapy for my soul. Even if I am sight-reading the music, at half-pace, badly, lol

 

And I bought a proper knobby synth, a Novation Summit. If I don't feel like playing Bach, I can sit at the Summit and find some happiness just fiddling with knobs: What can I do with this preset to make it into something where I can just revel in the ear candy? Totally unlike all the tweaking/programming I've done in the past which has always been for the next gig. And I'm learning the synth as I go, and just enjoying the process without having to worry about nailing some sound on a recording.

 

Sometimes I'm really not motivated to do either, but if I can make the effort to sit down and turn the keyboard on, I quickly realize how much happiness can be gained from just playing.

 

As for new gear, the Summit has worked for me, but at the same time I've hardly explored the SKpro I bought earlier in the year - used it on 4 gigs for Hammond+clav+wurli, sounds great, but it's really a gigging board, not the sort of thing I really enjoy playing alone for long, a run through Green Onions and Back at the Chicken Shack and I'm done.

[Theo Verelst]

Making "inside" sounds is becoming a reality after many years of (hobby) work, which is prety much the motivation that makes for a better one than sitting on a (decent) piano and playing something good. Band stuff isn't happening at the moment and not so eary to set up the way I'd want it.

 

For me audience is relevant, but the ideas I live in aren't directly influenced by it's existence.

 

Making a piece of art work for instance involving HD video and a musical production not so much for teaching purposes has my attention, regardless of my preference to relocate and have some musicians (and others I can relate to) around.

 

I suppose being some sort of a creator is more interesting than picking up an engineering job, and the tools need to be sufficiently good for that.

 

Theo

[jerrythek]

An interesting and timely topic for me. Not because playing has lost any of the luster, but my life situation has changed so drastically.

 

After my daughter announced her pregnancy, she asked if my wife and I would come back to Long Island from Maui to help care for the baby when she went back to work. We said yes, and after much soul-searching, a fair amount of depression etc. we find ourselves back on the mainland. And with a beautiful granddaughter who we love to pieces, and a feeling of happiness and purpose to be able to "be there" for our kids.

 

But after leaving Korg in 2011 I re-found my life and happiness as a gigging musician, and my 9 years on Maui were just perfect. My chops and musicianship took huge leaps forward, after the first couple of rusty years, and I did everything possible musically. Now I find myself in a place where I am no longer a big fish in the pond, and there are not many opportunities to play due to Covid on the mainland, many more players that are well established, a new home that needs work with no room currently for me to set up most of my gear... and so on.

 

Beyond my ongoing writing and programming work, my personal answer is that I am buying a grand piano, and found a beautifully restored Steinway O (1918) that will be delivered at the end of January. I intend to spend my time practicing, working on my musicianship rather than learning new tunes for gigs, and finally enjoying my first horizontal piano in my life. I am hoping this will bring me satisfaction and motivation for the next year (why not years?!) until I can build my music room, be in a situation to at least play with other people, and see what this next chapter of my life evolves into. After the first year off due to Covid I realized that I was getting tired of doing the corporate gigs/weddings, and wanted to play more music that I enjoyed, rather than churning out Uptown Funk and other dance tunes for the umpteenth time. I evern put together a great little funky jazz/fusion/R&B band that played about 10 gigs before I left and it was wonderful. Didn't care about the $$, we just enjoyed the playing and our crowds were small, but appreciative. Eventually I will want something like that, just for the pleasure of locking in with some other live players.

 

So... I'll see. I'm not sure I really addressed the OP topic, but thanks for the chance to articulate my situation. Therapy is good...

 

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Jerry

[Legatoboy]

Al I don't really gig out anymore and it's been a while, many reasons but taking care of elderly parents really put the lid on it for me for Fri. and Sat. nights. My folks were and are in the mid to upper 90's and lived in Queens so there was and still is a commute involved in that. That being said it's not that I really don't want to gig but the late nights are really a turn off at this age... also the music and finding the right musicians for me to work with now... also I still work a day gig (ending soon hopefully w retirement).

 

After almost 30 years of music study and gigging consecutively and accumulating a hell of a lot of chops I never thought I might have at this age and working from home (day gig)

and working on my own music has really helped me find more of my musical self.

 

But I was lucky to have Larry Bluth as a teacher rest his wise old musical soul, he pass just after COVID last year and left me to my own devices..

Larry really finished polishing off his last Jazz and Classical students (8 of us) before he passed away teaching from his home on LI instead of the city (NYC)... and I was glad I stayed with him till the end of the line. He was a blessing for all who studied with him.

And now I find myself in a better place and am more happy to work alone on my own projects... gigging at times looking at FB posts of gig posts and pictures and stories seems almost infantile on certain levels now.

But gigging as we all know can also be a wonderful/rewarding experience in an ensemble. I think each phase of our musical journeys has it's own place and time.

 

For me now, it's to work alone at home...and see what shakes out after Larry's work, COVID and retirement...

I was left with a lot to consider from Larry..

Playing for me is still fun, even more on a personal level now having put a fair amount of time into my studies... but like you, question constant steady gigging (but not playing).

I often wonder what life would be like if I had to make a living out of gigging/teaching.... which I did for about 2 1/2 years during/after the 2001 recession... which was filled with more fun and worry than I think I have ever had in any other phase of life ..

[synthizen2]

I'm so over performing music that is 'cool for musicians', but in reality does little for a club audience that is there for dancing, drinks and socializing ....

.... I've been dreaming of going back to a simple, straightforward county/classic rock band that serves the dancers and maybe does a handful of Americana concert-style songs.

 

Completely sound advice, and completely where my head is at these days.

 

An experience about 6 to 7 years ago really took the p*ss out of my desire to do any more "music for musicians", with a prog-rock project that I drove 4 hours one-way for rehearsals, for about a year. It was thrilling for all of us in the band to nail those tunes and listen to our recordings... but that's all it ever amounted to. I guess if you just want to do that for fun, that's okay. But that's a lot of driving and pre-rehearsal song learning, for such meager results. I so much more prefer to gig with musicians in a more "organic" fashion, playing material that people actually want to hear. Doing country and classic rock over the past few years has not only been fun (for band and audience alike), but it has also built up my chops in various areas of playing (i.e. honky-tonk piano) that I've previously ignored or not developed properly up until now.

[Morrissey]

My mom never touched a piano again after retiring from 50 years as a piano teacher. I never understood why, but find I have come to the same place.

 

Since Covid shut down my cover band activities, I haven't touched a board in 2 years. Thinking of selling all my stuff except for my consoles.

 

I'm pinning my last hope of rekindling some interest on the Osmose whenever it comes.

 

 

Let's not skip past this post. Mate Stubb -- you're a stateman of KC. Can't quite tell if your disengagement from music is something about which you're struggling or at peace. Wishing you well!

[Morrissey]

About 30 yrs back, playing definitely stopped being fun, so I gave it up. Then I looked around and went sh**, I didn't know anything else and it was pretty late to start over. But I did, started doing something new, and about 25 yrs later I got back in to playing, and it was fun again! So that was my trick - take a 25 yr break.

 

Nothing wrong with taking an extended break from an activity. Humans are naturally curious to explore new things. And sometimes the exploration eventually brings us back to familiar things!

 

I can't motivate myself to practice just for the sake of practicing. But I'll get up for rehearsal or getting ready for a gig. What I love most about music is seeing people dancing, laughing, singing along, or having a good time in whatever form that takes. The other thing I love about live playing is losing myself in the music, soloing where it feels like the instrument is playing itself, that transcendent feeling that doesn't come very often but like an addict I keep going through the motions waiting for that rare time when it all comes together and the music takes off and it feels like it's flowing through you â that you're not consciously doing it, it's happening to you. I can play a lot of live music to get to that feeling every once in awhile.

 

Right on, El Lobo!

[Adan]

Interesting posts. Everyone has their own personal reasons for ups and downs in level of enthusiasm. We all have in common the pandemic, which I think for most musicians has been a cause for asking how much we play for the destination (gigs) versus the journey of self-discovery. While I wish there were more gigs, I've definitely benefitted from the time from introspection and practice. The "fun" I get from just sitting down at the piano is beyond what it's ever been. The feeling takes me back to when I was 14 and discovering jazz after years of toiling earnestly in classical, just experiencing that pure thrill of discovery unattached to external rewards like money and girls.

 

That said, I haven't become a musical monk. When the money and girls (for me, married, look but don't touch) return, I'll be all in again.

[vonnor]

It's still fun. We're still booking gigs and to me it's like a contest or a sporting event. The "WIN" feeling comes when you as a group nail a tight performance. It's head and shoulders above just playing or practicing by myself - which is kinda not-fun actually. It's just preparation for the group performance.

 

~ vonnor

[re Pete]

I find when I'm not into it, I just grab Bach's two-part inventions and just play (i.e. clam-dig) through a few. Clears my head.

 

Agree. Getting these under your fingers really helps my fingers. With the lockdown, it presented time for more Bach. Last January I wanted to work on Bachs French suite 5 and now finishing it up at speed.

If I listen to some beautiful classical piano music, why not learn it?

Classical helps other chops and your reading. So much piano music out there. Remember, the physical side of things. Being in my 60s, keeping the hands and mind in shape playing classical or other stuff to me is obvious.

As for gigs, solo or otherwise, that's another can of worms that fluctuates. If more time is available, you can still improve obviously. Playing in public, you may never make everyone happy no matter how you play.

Personnel standard matters more to me.

[Outkaster]

I'm a weekend warrior not a pro. Having said this, for me, new and better gear, and even technical skill of the musicians I'm playing with, are secondary variables WRG to how much I enjoy gigging in bands. Enjoyment for me has been more about the vibe and the organic spontaneity between the musicians I'm playing with.

 

The most musical fun I had playing in bands was in Houston during 1996 - 1999 when I was gigging usually with just an Alesis QS6 and crappy Roland KC500 amp mainly with down-and-out unrehearsed blues and R&B bands who had crappy gear, sometimes rented from pawn shops, and whose members were in a constant state of flux dependent upon who could make the gig. Sometimes there were musical train wrecks on stage but it was almost always "life on the edge" and fun, at least for me.

 

I currently have the best gear I've ever had and am playing with three bands here in Vegas, all of whom have excellent gear, are musically competent, and none of whom I'm having much fun playing with. One band is a Vegas lounge act that covers the musical bases using charts on Ipads, another is comprised of former Big Hair LA rockers doing generic blues rock and classic rock songs, and the third endlessly noodles in a living room on the same 10 -15 tunes, about half of them originals, making them more and more complex, and then recording the result.

 

Since I started venturing out to play gigs after being vaxxed late last spring, I've only played about 6 - 8 gigs with the first two bands and not had any fun. In fact, the only semblance of fun I've had gigging since then was on 3 or 4 pick-up gigs with unrehearsed blues bands, and even then, on balance, those pick-up gigs were pains-in-the-ass for me, loading in/ loading out for $50 - $100.

 

My New Year's resolution is to "diplomatically" quit all three bands and take a break, even from pick-up gigs. Who knows, I may discover that I'm the problem because I'm just old, lazy, and burned out on playing music in bands. In other words, as Ian Anderson famously said, I'm too old to rock & roll and too young to die. Perhaps I'll also discover that I've reached the level of my musical incompetence (i.e. Peter Principle), and new better gear and more playing /practice will not make me a better "happier" musician.

 

Good for you a I know a bunch of guys that moved to Vegas for music and they said a lot of it has dried up over the last 20 years. I haven't been there in awhile myself.

[mate stubb]

My mom never touched a piano again after retiring from 50 years as a piano teacher. I never understood why, but find I have come to the same place.

 

Since Covid shut down my cover band activities, I haven't touched a board in 2 years. Thinking of selling all my stuff except for my consoles.

 

I'm pinning my last hope of rekindling some interest on the Osmose whenever it comes.

 

 

Let's not skip past this post. Mate Stubb -- you're a stateman of KC. Can't quite tell if your disengagement from music is something about which you're struggling or at peace. Wishing you well!

 

Thanks. I've had some life challenges the last 5 years that have left me mostly numb but it's no different than what others go through. I don't talk about it much but this forum is just about my only human interaction these days. Maybe it will do me some good to briefly spew my tale - feel free to skip.

 

I have always lived for playing in front of a live audience. Was a full time musician for 20+ years and on the road full time for 10 years before joining the straight world to raise a family.

 

I retired in 2016 with dreams of moving back to my home town and playing music again with my old musical buddies. I had been in a high stress software career for 25 years and opportunities for playing music had been nonexistent during that time. We went thru the stress of selling the house and moving back and I did start gigging regularly plus had my vanity recording project.

 

Then in 2017 my sister was diagnosed with brain cancer. She could no longer take care of my mom who lived with her, so we made plans to move mom in with us. We moved mom and it didn't go well - she hated the new arrangements and was unhappy. My sister died a couple months later, then mom gave up and died two weeks later.

 

During this same time, I started to realize that gigging wasn't as fun as it used to be - mostly due to becoming unable to sit in the sun for our numerous outdoor summer gigs or waking up stiff and sore from moving gear. Then COVID put a stop to everything.

 

Now I find that my entire retirement plan is in shambles. I don't even enjoy my home town anymore, as it has grown too big and there are weekly shootings. We've decided to pull up stakes again and move back to our previous state where my daughter and husband live. I bought some land in the country up there and will be preoccupied with building farm ponds and houses for the next couple of years.

 

I wish Osmose had been a thing just a few years earlier. I've been wanting something like this most of my life, hope it's still relevant to me when it comes.

 

Thanks for letting me bend your ears.

[ProfD]

My mom never touched a piano again after retiring from 50 years as a piano teacher. I never understood why, but find I have come to the same place.

 

Since Covid shut down my cover band activities, I haven't touched a board in 2 years. Thinking of selling all my stuff except for my consoles.

 

I'm pinning my last hope of rekindling some interest on the Osmose whenever it comes.

 

Let's not skip past this post. Mate Stubb -- you're a stateman of KC. Can't quite tell if your disengagement from music is something about which you're struggling or at peace. Wishing you well!

 

Thanks. I've had some life challenges the last 5 years that have left me mostly numb but it's no different than what others go through. I don't talk about it much but this forum is just about my only human interaction these days. Maybe it will do me some good to briefly spew my tale - feel free to skip.

 

I wish Osmose had been a thing just a few years earlier. I've been wanting something like this most of my life, hope it's still relevant to me when it comes.

 

Thanks for letting me bend your ears.

Brotha Moe, the responsibilites of life are very real. Music is a passion and pursuit we have to enjoy as life and time allows.

 

At the very least, as your brotha in KBs, I would encourage you to keep your console(s). I hope the Osmose delivers too.

 

It does not take a room ful of gear to make a joyful noise if/when time permits.

 

In my eternal optimism, while you may not be gigging to an audience and/or schlepping gear, there will be a time that you'll sit down at the console and play to the contentment of your heart.

 

As I wrote above, I have a blast whenever I can sit down at my KBs. It is the opiate that allows me to temporarily escape life responsibilities and ultimately tackle them.

 

Thanks for sharing with your KC family mayne.

[Steve Nathan]

"Is playing still fun"?

 

These days, playing is the only fun I seem to have!

[LarsHarner]

I wasn't in a good place from 2005-2010 due to the disappointment of a bad job, not marrying a woman I had written my wedding song for and an in between age where i wasn't meeting people. For several months by beloved Yamaha Motif 6 sat in a room by itself and didn't forgive me. 2010 was somewhat as a healing year as I traded in my Motif and a Korg for a Yamaha P95 and Roland that had a recorder and I started to have some released music.

 

I would say in 2020 I squandered it due to being upset like many people about the pandemic. I was able to work but any music I did was negative and bad. 2021 was a little better with the arrival of my Nautilus and Arturia controller. So I would say sometimes the stress of life has an impact on wanting to play but sometimes I over come it, some times I don't

[HammondDave]

Yes. With the right band.

[Ed A.]

I've been playing for over 45 years and I was thinking about quitting because it seemed to be more of a gear obsession than about the playing. Years ago I was convinced I could be the next Brian Eno or Klaus Schulze and I did have my fifteen minutes, but at 64 I'm kidding myself if I think what I do will get much further. Even so, when I get in the zone, it's like I'm in my own world, and that still makes it worth it.