more time for music

Anton · Post by **Anton** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:46 am

Hi,

I don't expect a solution for this but I would like to share my frustration a little bit with other synthesizer enthusiasts:

When I was a schoolboy I started to listen to Jazzrock protagonists such as Herbie Hancock, Billy Cobham, George Duke, etc. because the boyfriend of my best friend's sister played keyboard in a fusion-band which was fascinating for me from the first minute I heard this kind of music. He had a Fender Rhodes, a Moog Prodigy, and a Hohner Clavinet which I found really cool and is still the kind of sound I like most.

At that time I also started to play keyboards on a piano as well as terrible electronic machines and I spent a lot of time with learning to play Jazz and Fusion and listening to my keyboard heroes and trying to reproduce their style. Unfortunately, in my school time as well as later at University I was never able to afford the cool keyboards I always wanted use. No Moogs and no Rhodes.

Now, years later I have the money to buy the equipment I like. I have a voyager, a virus TI, a Nord stage, a Nord electro, a good mixer, a MacBook pro with Logic etc. But wait ... I have also a time-consuming job, a wife and two daughters (4 years and 4 months old), which is very nice, but leaves only very little time for playing with my beloved keyboards. So all I can still do is practicing one evening per week after work with my band using my Nord Electro only and sometimes I am playing around with the Voyager for one or two hours. That's all. And that's frustrating for somebody who would actually like play every day.

So what about you? Has anybody similar conflicts between time-eating jobs, families (what else?) and music? as I said at the beginning: I don't expect a solution. I am just curious to hear your stories ...

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:34 pm

Hey be thankful that you can play every day if only for just a few minutes. SOmetimes I don't get to play for a few days.

Maybe youd consider writing your own material and recording it?

This is until things slow down?

Eric

spittingoutteeth · Post by **spittingoutteeth** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:37 pm

Life is all about finding a balance. I've quit higher paying jobs where I was traveling & working long hours so I could ensure I had time to do the things I love. What's the point in having the money to buy toys if you don't have the time to play with them?

Also, I find a lot of people complain about not having time to play music, yet they have hours and hours to research gear, travel to buy gear, move gear around their studios, etc. It's important to make the distinction as to whether you love the music or the technology. It always amazes me to see people with 100k worth of synths who know every bit of functionality....yet never release an album or play live shows.

CTRLSHFT · Post by **CTRLSHFT** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:54 pm

spittingoutteeth wrote:Life is all about finding a balance. I've quit higher paying jobs where I was traveling & working long hours so I could ensure I had time to do the things I love. What's the point in having the money to buy toys if you don't have the time to play with them?

Also, I find a lot of people complain about not having time to play music, yet they have hours and hours to research gear, travel to buy gear, move gear around their studios, etc. It's important to make the distinction as to whether you love the music or the technology. It always amazes me to see people with 100k worth of synths who know every bit of functionality....yet never release an album or play live shows.

This is really well stated, agree 100%.

thermionicjunky · Post by **thermionicjunky** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:26 pm

I suggest giving yourself projects that can be stretched over a period of a few weeks. Use your hour or two to lay down some overdubs on a recording. When I discipline myself this way, I am able to maintain a creative continuity despite my schedule. It's funny, I only have the gear I have because I worked all the time for a couple of years. Now, I've gone back to school full-time, so I have no time or money. But I've done enough recording in the last two years to release an album through a small label.

PS, 4 years old is a great time to start learning keyboards. You can get in some practice time while spending time with your family.

acorkos · Post by **acorkos** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:30 pm

Anton wrote:Has anybody similar conflicts between time-eating jobs, families (what else?) and music?

i too have a family (wife/3 kids), a full-time day job (dentist, own my own business....besides grinding down teeth to benefit my fellow man, add in time for office management responsibilities, light bookeeping/accounting...my guitar amp building/repair hobby has turned into a small side business (i have guys bringing their amps to me at my dental office, as well as a couple of local music shops calling me to handle their amp repairs), so there goes some of my evening/early morning/weekend free time....kids and their weekend sports activites...

anyway...what's helped me find more free time for music is i've learned to live on 4-5 hours sleep a night, and i've gotten used to using headphones

soundxplorer · Post by **soundxplorer** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:14 pm

spittingoutteeth wrote:It always amazes me to see people with 100k worth of synths who know every bit of functionality....yet never release an album or play live shows.

People will do whatever makes them happy. Sometimes what makes one person happy isn't what would make you happy.

So I say, if that non-album-releasing person with 100k worth of gear says they are content, then great. More power to them. If they use gear as an excuse, then they obviously have issues to work out on their own.

What I see more often is someone using the lack of gear as an excuse not to write music, or achieve whatever their said goal is. Truth is, you can write great songs with a cheap Casiotone or a $50 pawn shop guitar.

BTW, none of this is intended to imply anything about the original poster in this thread. I'm kind of in the same boat, except I don't have kids. My wife and I just bought a house that needs a lot of work, so I spend most of my weekends doing fix-er-upper jobs. We recently came to an agreement that one weekend per month would be a "no house projects, do what you want" time.

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:13 pm

Well just for the same of conversation, you don't have to play every day, write a song a month or release an album a year or even gig to be a productive musician.

Ive been playing since 1994, started out learning Nirvana basslines on an acoustic after a handfull of guitar lessons. I bought my first bass soon after, and since then have been able to aquire a few basses, a crappy guitar, a 17 piece drumset with several cymbals, trumpet, sax, theremin and a growing Moog system. Ive only played live less than what I can count on 1 finger (not counting church services) By the time I retire Ill have a huge studio and lots of years of work on all these instruments.

Since 1998 I have recorded 4.5 studio albums, have an acoustic guitar album to record, a double CD of a live performance and a CD's worth of collaborative efforts with several different people.

My goal is to leave behind a musical legacy beyond photographs and oral stories of my accomplishments. Im going to be going to Physical Therapy school in 2 semesters and then Ill be able to bankroll my ambitious synth projects. At that point Ill have all the time I want to spend performing live and the finances to make it worth my while.

Eric

jon_kull · Post by **jon_kull** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:00 pm

Anton wrote:So what about you? Has anybody similar conflicts between time-eating jobs, families (what else?) and music? as I said at the beginning: I don't expect a solution. I am just curious to hear your stories ...

I can go for weeks and sometimes months without touching my gear. Between work, doing stuff around the house, a wife and a child I have no time to myself. I have on occasion taken a sick or vacation day from work just so I can play my keyboards but not that often.

dlearyus · Post by **dlearyus** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:46 pm

I too grew up listening to synth sounds, ELP, Larry Fast, etc etc. couldnt afford a moog when i was 13 in 1971 naturally. fooled around on an old upright piano i had, took a few lessons, never really learned to play but had fun experimenting. when the computer age came about with the IBM-XT i had one given to me so i went out and bought an MPU-401 midi interface and an entry level Roland D-5. used it with a striped tape (for sync) in a Fostex X-26 (for audio). had LOTS more fun experimenting and writing simple songs while i was a bachelor. got married at 33 had 2 kids, got divorced a few years later but I retained custody of the children. the point being i didnt have time for music either for last 11 years (job/kids/house) well i finally had the money in 2006 to treat myself and bought a little phatty LE (i wanted a moog desperatly since 1971) i have a fairly good daw setup, 4 channels, couple guitars and mics, akai mx-73 midi controller, LPTE, D-5, another upright acoustic piano. I still dont have muc time for music, perhaps a few hours a week at best BUT, MY TIME will be coming in a few years and I WILL have the time to persue my lifelong hobby. so i see the gear aquistion as future investment. BTW i just turned 51 and i'll be retired in about 4 years coincidentally kids will be around 20 :). looking forward to it? you betcha :) sorry i havent had time all these years for more music? no way, the time i spent doing my other daddy/work thing was/is worth EVERY minute!

Signed

DLearyUS

Moogin' Into The Sunset

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:17 pm

Nice way of putting it, D.

Eric

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:40 pm

I figure, if I spend all I can on gear now while I'm single and working, I'll have more time to enjoy that gear with my family later on down the road. At least, that's my thinking.

ColorForm2113 · Post by **ColorForm2113** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:58 am

Giving up the rock n roll life for real life is kind of bummer. I had to quit my band in the middle of recording an album to pick up a second job. When I get outta work I usually go to my gf's house and get dinner hang out for a bit , go home maybe tool around a bit(20mins most once a week) but nothing productive, pretty much just to hear my gear again. Go to bed and start again. But every now and then I just stay in and actually get to work on something. That's my plans for tomarrow night

But real life is much more important than rock n roll life, to me anyway. It make the days I actually get to music more enjoyable and appreciated

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:08 am

ColorForm2113 wrote: But real life is much more important than rock n roll life, to me anyway. It make the days I actually get to music more enjoyable and appreciated

Especially when the rock n roll life doesn't buy gear, and real life does. The 20 minutes a day I spend with my gear (on average...tonight I spent a couple hours) is the best time spent.

Anton · Post by **Anton** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 3:50 am

dlearyus wrote:I too grew up listening to synth sounds, ELP, Larry Fast, etc etc. couldnt afford a moog when i was 13 in 1971 naturally. fooled around on an old upright piano i had, took a few lessons, never really learned to play but had fun experimenting. when the computer age came about with the IBM-XT i had one given to me so i went out and bought an MPU-401 midi interface and an entry level Roland D-5. used it with a striped tape (for sync) in a Fostex X-26 (for audio). had LOTS more fun experimenting and writing simple songs while i was a bachelor. got married at 33 had 2 kids, got divorced a few years later but I retained custody of the children. the point being i didnt have time for music either for last 11 years (job/kids/house) well i finally had the money in 2006 to treat myself and bought a little phatty LE (i wanted a moog desperatly since 1971) i have a fairly good daw setup, 4 channels, couple guitars and mics, akai mx-73 midi controller, LPTE, D-5, another upright acoustic piano. I still dont have muc time for music, perhaps a few hours a week at best BUT, MY TIME will be coming in a few years and I WILL have the time to persue my lifelong hobby. so i see the gear aquistion as future investment. BTW i just turned 51 and i'll be retired in about 4 years coincidentally kids will be around 20 . looking forward to it? you betcha sorry i havent had time all these years for more music? no way, the time i spent doing my other daddy/work thing was/is worth EVERY minute!

Well I didn't want to give the wrong impression. Of course being a father of two wonderful children is the best thing ever happened to me and I never regret the decision to start a family.

BTW, in the meantime I have started to discuss the matter with my wife and to my surprise she encouraged me to try to spend more time on music. She offered to take the children one evening per week and one day every other weekend. That's really fantastic!!

Another thing is that one should structure music projects in a way that they move forward even if only a couple of hours are available from time to time. I hope I can improve my way of practicing and recording in this respect.

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