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How Do You Wind Down After A Gig?

#66
Nothing calms me down like a good bowl of cereal before bed. In the dark, has to be in the dark. Also some very very quiet music that is very peaceful is great for that. especially while eating cereal. One song that comes to mind is dave matthews band's #34.
 
#67
I have a couple of things I do, depending on the night/mood I'm in:

One of the things I do is to throw on some relaxing music for myself with a coffee (Decaf if you can't drink caffeine before bed) and go to a park or somewhere quiet near my place and listen until I start to feel like bed is a good option. It might be some Chopin, Ravel, Debussy, Prokofiev, Cage, Glass, Feldman, Schoenberg, Brad Mehldau, etc.....

Or, if I need something a bit more energetic to start with after a long night of hard music (or if I've been drinking), it might be Koop, Nick Drake (really good on melancholy nights), Mark Farina, Portishead, Bill Evans, etc....

Sometimes, if music doesn't work, I find something I want to learn or become better at and I learn. The problem for me, in this case, is that I sometimes get into long stretches where I don't want to tear myself away from the computer or the book. Late at night is a really good time to start learning electronics or music theory or get through some poetry or short stories that you've wanted to.

I used to have serious issues getting to sleep and I don't drink heavily or take sleep meds, so I understand where you're coming from. I used to have nights where, after 10 hours of classes, I couldn't get to sleep at all and ended up staying up for days, working on pieces for class or various other assignments. I had to learn to force myself asleep for my own personal well-being.

Here are some pieces that work for me (musically) sometimes when I can't get to sleep. They might work for you too:
‪Nick Drake- Riverman‬‏ - YouTube
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‪Koop- Waltz 4 Koop‬‏ - YouTube
‪Brad Mehldau - Paranoid Android (Radiohead cover)‬‏ - YouTube
‪Maurice Ravel - Menuet - Le Tombeau de Couperin‬‏ - YouTube
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Hopefully you find something here to help you.
 
#73
I usually gig far from my home which takes me on nice quiet roads (at least on the way home in the wee hours) - so after a gig, my I give my ears a rest - open the windows and drive home in quietness. nothing more relaxing . . . that is until I get near my home in Queens and the traffic, horns, idiot drivers and city stench get me all stressed again, but by then it's the last nail in my awakedness coffin and it gets me all ready to flop in bed
 
#74
One of my favorites is just to sit in the car with the ignition off in the dark and listen to the random noises of the car setteling down. Usually by the time the car stops making noises, so does my brain. Seems boring but that's kind of the point and there seems to be a medatative quality to it.
 
#77
electracoyote said:
I do this too. Trying to save what's left of my hearing. So anything I listen to as a sleep aid would have to be really quiet and mellow.
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I work in a studio, do a lot of mixing, and there was a time when I would go to a friends place over an hour away for the weekends. I used to keep a lot of comedy on my ipod for the drives. After mixing music all day, I just needed a break . . . and that wasn't (usually) a peaceful drive so I needed something
 
#78
Come home, hang out with one or more of the dogs. Sometimes some light stretching. Check email, do a little reading, and then wake the wife. 20 years married and she's still glad for me to wake her.

If I had a jacuzzi I'd make use of it, for sure.
 
#79
kesslari said:
Come home, hang out with one or more of the dogs. Sometimes some light stretching. Check email, do a little reading, and then wake the wife. 20 years married and she's still glad for me to wake her.

If I had a jacuzzi I'd make use of it, for sure.
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sounds great - never though it could get any better than the dogs being psyched I'm home till I got married!
 
#80
if you have netflix, choose something u havent seen and then play it while laying down(thats important). I find that when i need to sleep, if i watch something like a tv or play with my phone or ipod i get really tired after about 10min.
 

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