Do you ever wish you could quit music?

[erniej]

I quit for about 8 years. I still played some at home but I stopped playing in bands. I was disappointed. Sounds like you are too. I got back into it after trying other things because that is just the way I drifted. What has changed for me is that I no longer concern myself with making it like I, the bands I was in, used to do. I play because I enjoy playing. I think it takes a certain level of maturity. A realization that your identity is not tied up in your music. It is something that you do and if you quit no one, not the universe, is going to really care all that much. You are not a failure if you do not succeed according to your definition of success which might be extremely narrow and precarious. So you have to do it because you enjoy it. I only play at jams and open mics now and with friends. I hope to find a group to play with at a grass roots level. I'd like to get my songs out there with a grass roots internet effort. I've started writing and singing. Because it is a buzz. If I never leave the house or the internet with it I think I'll be okay with that. I don't think it will stop there though. Somehow taking away the pressure to make it has made it much more enjoyable and that is all that really matters to me now.

By the way it does not matter whether or not your band sucks or not. That kind of success you were after is very much about luck, being in the right place at the right time, etc. I'd like to believe being a good band would help but from what I've seen that is not always the case.

 

[MatticusMania]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[onydag]

Thanks for your question. I did a couple of tours of the U.S. in my twenties with a band of little repute. I got high off playing every time, but afterwards I never really felt a sense of accomplishment. I actually got quite depressed after shows...as in: "Is that all there is to this?" Lord knows I didn't make any money. The guitar player and drummer were busy chatting up women while I was at the bar being introspective. "He's just like that."

But I continued to practice religiously and diligently, far beyond the requirements of the simple pop-folk band I was in. The bass guitar was the most important thing in my life for better or worse. And I got high off the break-through moments during practice where music would become more alive, more authentic, deeper and richer than it was the day before. I didn't really know where I was going, but I had faith in the process.

I can't speak for everybody, but at 44 years of age, these "aha," moments have seriously diminished. Progress is still happening, but the ascent to [smirk] greatness is almost imperceptible. I never really knew where I was going in the first place, just was curious and exploring.

About six months ago, I quit smoking cigarettes and drinking altogether (no judgment, just good for me,) started exercising regularly and started practicing for hours a day again working on jazz standards, playing tunes in all keys, scales & arpeggios, working on my sight-reading. I have done some 12 hour days in my little cabin last month. No matter how long it takes, and no matter how much time I am perhaps 'wasting,' I am leaving no stone un-turned during my practice. Anything I may have neglected in the past, I just buck up and DO IT, now: never raking/always alternating for instance.

So I started improving again to my surprise, but at a snail's pace. I think I had more fun being a cocky and naive kid who thought he was good but really wasn't. It gets more challenging as I age, because I deeply know: the more I learn, the less I know. In a way it's become harder as I get older because I truly KNOW how much there is to study with no illusions. But the study of music never ends, and it is about how I relate to where I'm at and in the present moment and how I relate to what I don't know in the present moment. There is a great line in the Tao te Ching: "Trying to control the future is like handling the Master Carpenter's Tools. Chances are you'll cut your fingers."

So I try to keep an awareness of my breath, and bring joy to the practice, and remember how amazing it is to be able to make music of my own. Because of a harsh music teacher, maybe a cruel girlfriend, or "real life," getting in the way, a lot of people don't make it to this age at the very least SOMETIMES still loving music, and pursuing the old true dreams past maybe good sense. There is value in that.

Carl Jung says: "If you bring forth what is within you it will save you, if you do not bring forth what is within you, it will destroy you."

 

[ZenG]

Insanity is playing "Mustang Sally" over and over again and expecting a different result.

 

[FilterFunk]

Never wished I could quit.

Always wished I had more time for it.

 

[cool breeze]

A lot of good advice here. From time to time we all burn out on what we love doing and question ourselves. In many instances it's best to walk away and clear your head to regain your perspective. You're putting too much pressure on yourself and the fun has gone away. I've done it with old cars, toy trains and playing bass. Give it a few weeks/ months etc. Bass guitars and amps don't spoil so they'll be there for you. Good luck!

 

[Sav'nBass]

Never. I am grateful that I can still play.

 

[Jon Moody]

I've never thought about quitting music. However, I have been burned out many times on certain types of genres or things that I've switched gears.

In the early 2000s, I was in an original band that was actually pretty good. Despite all my efforts to keep the train moving (swapping gigs in other towns with bands, expanding our touring range, etc..) none of the other guys really shared my passion or desire to really move it forward. Sure, we all talked about "making it" and living solely off of the band, but the follow through wasn't there. So when the chance to step back into freelancing, I started taking other gigs. After three months of that, I quit the originals band and went back to freelancing, specifically in the arena of musical theatre (which, for someone that doubles and can read music very well, is an ideal situation).

I'm at the point with that now, that I miss being ON the stage instead of UNDER it, so I'm looking to transition away from that somewhat and get a couple more singer/songwriter gigs. The money won't be as good, but it'll be a different avenue and something that keeps everything fresh. I also put out a solo album in June, so I'd like to start looking at booking some gigs with that as well.

That's the beauty of playing music. There's so many different opportunities and ways to play/perform that you don't have to get burned out, or stay in that rut for very long.

 

[Pilgrim]

I don't think the OP is a whiny baby, just that he's young and has yet to gain perspective.

Music doesn't control you, you control its role in your life. Most of us will never be professional musicians. Many of us (me included) never WANTED to be professional musicians. You wanted too once, but sooner or later it comes to most of us that it's not gonna happen. That's OK, most of have a number of things we can do and enjoy it. Time for a career upgrade.

Then play when it suits you. You can play with bands throughout life without making it your profession. You'll probably live longer, make more money and have better health care and retirement benefits while you're at it.

Sometimes I'm in a band - not currently. But I have the itch to play, so I'm working toward forming one again.

If you want to play, play. If not, don't. Listen to your inner voices (but not TOO seriously, tha way lies madness) and do what moves you.