It may sound strange, but sometimes musicians not only get fed up with gigging, clubs, managers and clients, but also from the constant /never-ending daily practice, writing, and playing. It's easy to burn out on creativity if you're not giving yourself the occasional break.
If you've been sensing a decrease in productivity or passion for music, it may be best to step away for a bit and clear your head. If music is burning you out, try these five tips to give your mind a break and get back in the game. Get outdoors
Immersing yourself in the great outdoors is beneficial for both your mind and body. Getting fresh air will help make you feel better overall and possibly calm your frustration built up by too much time cooped up in your practice space. You may even find some inspiration in going for a short walk or bike ride, and then apply it to new songs.
Pay Attention to Your Diet
Poor eating habits can have its toll on your mind and your ability to focus. Healthy eating habits can improve your spirits and your concentration. Junk foods will often be highly processed and can cause everything from an up-set stomach to headaches. However, eating a balanced group of fresh foods and buying as many foods locally as you can will have the opposite results. Better focus, and better concentration will keep you in a better mood and drive your creativity. Of course it can take more time to cook a nice meal at home, but when you factor in travel and the costs of eating fast-foods and corner store sandwiches it will always pay off to eat fresh and eat healthy. Watch documentaries and inspiring films Finding inspiration in films allows us to zone out and let ourselves focus on an alternative universe. Whatever genre you enjoy, find a film you've never seen and allow yourself to relax. If you're a movie freak and have seen every title known to man, choose one that inspires you and allows you to relax at the same time. One of my personal favorites is, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)." But, there are many others that will give you not only entertainment, but inspiration.
Get some good rest
Sometimes feeling burned out with music can be related to not getting enough sleep. Though creativity can come at odd hours of the morning (I know it does for me), it's important to be well-rested. Whatever your sleep schedule may be, try to get enough rest so you have energy to dedicate to your music the next day. Avoid pharmaceutical sleep aides if you have trouble sleeping at night. Instead try one of the oldest sleep aides on Earth, "Seeds and Nuts." Eating different organic seeds or nuts an hour before bedtime produces tryptophan, (the building block for serotonin and melatonin — sleep-friendly brain chemicals that promote a feeling of calm). Seeds & Nuts High in Tryptophan include (%RDI per ounce): Chia Seeds (44%), Sesame Seeds (39%), Sunflower Seeds (35%), Flaxseeds (30%), Pistachio Nuts (29%), Cashew Nuts (24%), Almonds (21%), and Hazelnuts (Filberts). Travel If you have the means, travel is one of the best cures for lost inspiration and for just getting away from the daily stress. Whether you can afford a trip to another country, state, or city, there are many options out there. It's great to have a travel buddy – perhaps even your band can make the trip. If you're seeking solitude, solo trips are a fantastic way to find inspiration, enlightenment, and focus on restoring your creativity. Burn out can happen to anyone, but the tips above can help go a long way to getting you back on track with a healthy attitude, body and mind. Best of all with stress levels down, you'll become more productive and make more music with far less stress.
Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 085" This Micro Lesson covers a fingerstyle guitar harmony from the key of "C Major."
The harmony is a very popular chord movement of "VI-II-V-I." This chord progression is one of the most common harmonic movements in music. However when listening to the melodic contour of this fingerstyle number, you'd almost never guess that this harmony rides though the changes.
In the first measure the "Am" chord is highlighted across the top five strings with an inverted outline arpeggiating the second measure's "Dm" chord.
In measure three the "Dm" moves into both "G" and "G7" chords finally resolving into the tonic chord harmonized as "Cmaj.7."
DON'T ALLOW THE MUSIC BUSINESS TO BURN YOU OUT... Below is a list of 5 things we need to come to terms with in order to focus on our real work. This is not saying these things don’t suck and aren’t very real hurdles; let’s just stop throwing our hands up and commiserating. Lets get our hands dirty, use these factors to creatively get what we need, and move forward.
The reality is there's a ton of crap that may stand in our way as musicians, and we need to find ways to use them to our advantage.
We have to remember this industry is not meant to be fair. There is no scale at which to measure what a “fair” deal is, and you get what you fight for.
#1 NEPOTISM
Nepotism. Defined as “favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those with power or influence,” nepotism is a real thing that affects a lot of decisions this industry makes. This industry is as loose in rules as they come. There is no certificate or license required to work in the music business. There is no fear of losing your "musicians" license if you don’t obey rules. We are governed by ourselves in this industry and by how far we are willing to go.
Let’s be honest, how else do you make decisions? You entrust those you like, or those who have helped you out in the past, with opportunities. You trust that your goodwill will come back to you when you make those decisions strategically. This is normal, and is often the way our business works. Embrace nepotism. Use it to your advantage and befriend everyone. Take the time to invest in relationships so they reward you in years to come. It’s a two way street. Have others’ backs and they will have yours when you need it.
If you want something and you don’t have the connection to back it up or make it happen? Learn how to manoeuvre around it, and prove your value another way. Predict competitors’ decisions and intercept them. Speak to their needs and desires. Nepotism may still beat you out, but you may be surprised once in a while.
You’re never b**ching about nepotism when you’re on the receiving end of a nepotistic decision, right? So get on the right side of the game.
#2 EVER CHANGING TIMELINES
Enough about the annoying moving pieces. Let’s just come to terms with the reality that things will likely never happen when you think they will and, if they do, something else will happen that disrupts the timeline anyways. Get comfortable with it and make it work. There’s no use for fits or brawls when timelines shift. Just work hard, keep your head down, and don’t get your panties in a bunch.
Do your best to plan ahead, explain the benefits to keeping up with the timeline to those around you, but be flexible with change when it comes barreling down your path. It’s the way it will always be. That being said, depending on your business, “going with the flow” isn’t always the easiest. Find a way to clearly communicate needs, costs, etc. and do your best!
#3 STREAMING
It’s here to stay. Artists aren’t getting paid much, but when it was a physical world, not as many new ears were discovering your music - so pennies are better than nothing. When you grow into a big and “valuable” artist, sell direct, do exclusive deals, and make BIG money; but when you’re just starting up the ranks, it’s in your best interest to get your music everywhere. Look at streaming as a marketing opportunity. You deserve nothing and no one owes you. Yes you are special and talented, and that is worth something, but growth will come by building up your value. You can do that by being accessible and easy to work with. Streaming is convenient and music fans are way in to it, so unless you can build a platform or tool that has the same power, and invest a lot of dollars in to marketing it, I suggest you get creative with finding revenue elsewhere. A few ideas: activate your core fan base by running direct-to-fan campaigns with great platforms like PledgeMusic, and strategize selling more tickets at higher prices through creative marketing and brand partnerships etc.
#4 DISORGANIZED FESTIVALS
If there’s anything quickly learned working on festival teams its that things will always seem incredibly disorganized. Often, it can seem like there is no way this festival is going to come together, but somehow it always does.
The festival business is overworked and understaffed. There is a lot of information and usually not enough people to manage it. Be understanding, be patient and see how you can help. Raging about it is not going to change a darn thing!
#5 HOW MANY EMAILS YOU GET /BEING DISORGANIZED We’re living in the age of emails. Learning how to manage reactive work vs. proactive work will be your secret weapon. Just because something is at the top of your inbox DOES NOT mean it is the most pressing thing for you to do at the moment for your clients career to move forward.
It may feel like 982 people are yelling at you in your inbox, just waiting for you to yell back, but this is not an excuse to lose sight of your career goals and the bigger picture. Don’t get trapped in your inbox every day, and fight to keep up with the things you want and need vs. the things others need of you. The emails won’t stop, but the way you manage your day-to-day needs to. Here’s a great 99u article about managing reactionary workflow in today’s digital age: http://99u.com/articles/5902/beware-of-reactionary-workflow.
We should be happy so many people want to email us! It’s a sign you’re doing something right! It’s no excuse to be frantic and disorganized all day every day. Get on top of it and develop good systems.
Good luck, and thanks for reading.
Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 084" This Micro Lesson jams out on a Pop-Rock Ballad in the key of, "E Minor."
The chord progression applies a common; I, VII, VI Minor key drop-down in the first three measures.
Measure four is unique in that it uses "G" "C" and "D" arpeggio ideas to turn the phrase around back to the top.
Each measure of the ballad begins by clearly establishing the chord with the musical phrase then moving into double-stop ideas or single-note ideas.
The effect is strong, pulling the listener along anticipating each new melodic concept in each new bar of music. The phrase can easily be performed using a pick, but Hybrid can also work for various parts of this line as well. Enjoy! Micro Lesson 084: "E Minor" Pop-Rock Ballad
VIDEO: Influential fingerstyle guitarist Preston Reed stops by "Acoustic Guitar .com" in the latest episode of their Acoustic Guitar Sessions...
Inspired by Jorma Kaukonen's alternating bass fingerpicking and the American Primitive stylings of John Fahey and Leo Kottke, Preston Reed has developed his own unique multi-voiced fingerstyle technique, which he has dubbed "integrated percussive guitar playing." In the interview with Reed, he discusses these influences, along with other "tapping" players such as Eddie Van Halen, Jeff Healey, Stanley Jordan, and Michael Hedges.
In addition, he recalls his first real performance--opening for Allen Ginsberg, of all people--as well as the influence he's had on a younger generation of players like Kaki King. Reed also talks about how he developed his custom Mark Bailey acoustics: a long-neck baritone and a jumbo. Best of all, he performs a pair of impressive numbers from his most recent release, In Here Out There: the groovy "Funkin' at the Junction" and the delicate "Waltz of the Snails."
Welcome to... "Micro-Lesson 083" This Micro Lesson works through a Folk-Rock style riff in "D Minor."
The riff covers scale patterns from 5th through to the open positions and uses a lot of sixteenth-notes to build the quick push that's felt across the entire phrase.
Starting from the 3rd and 2nd guitar strings, the main segment of this riffs theme applies two hammer-on's and a pull-off lick to carry the phrase from the higher to the lower registers.
There's a 1st and 2nd ending that uses the 5th and 4th strings to either turn the phrase around, or wrap it up. Watch the abundance of hammer-on's, pull-off's and slides. And, take your time learning the phrasing.
Also, once the general idea of this part is developed, try to test the use of, "Hybrid" picking. Several sections of this riff can really benefit from the Hybrid technique. Enjoy! Micro Lesson 083: "D Minor" Folk Rock Riff
In this weeks GuitarBlog we will be working through a number of Two-String scale ideas for playing melodic lines and for soloing.
To start with, players will learn how to comprehend how they can establish a method for learning different two string scales. A method is introduced on to establish how the basic alignment of a particular two string scale you'd want to use. How it would sit on the neck, as well as, what differs with it's function are discussed.
Then, we'll cover how to create an interesting melodic phrase, (and the importance of committing both the fingering and it's neck pattern to memory).
In no time at all, you'll be able to use these ideas around your own fingerboard and apply them to start composing your own "two string scale" melodic ideas. With a little extra effort, you could also begin using them in your solos. Enjoy this week's Guitar Blog, and be sure to check out the related videos listed below!
