Confronting The Struggles of Being a Musician
Unlike what movies have projected the life of musicians to be, there is minimal glamor, and a lot more goes on behind the scenes than one would expect.
Musicians go through many frustrations every day. If you are one yourself, maybe the thought of banging your head against the wall, tearing up your music notes, or throwing your drumsticks across the room. There can be a lot of things that are building up all that frustration and hindering your ability to make good music.
Fortunately, there are artists who can help you move past that dilemma. Consider the advice given by Peter Graigs — a revered musician, recording artist, and multi-instrumentalist. From a young age, Graigs was raised listening to rock, progressive and hard rock, and heavy metal and eventually grew up with the goal of becoming a famous musician one day.
Naturally, that is easier said than done. There were many obstacles along the way, but he was dedicated to fulfilling his dreams, and soon enough, he became a thriving musician and even co-founded the band ‘Sinisters Army’, where he plays as the lead guitarist. He has also performed with many bands over the years such as Trax, Sillian, Scars of Grace and many more.
Being a successful musician is never going to be easy — but we might be able to help in reducing that burden off your shoulders by various ways to confront it.
Practice Timing
One of the biggest problems that musicians face is not having enough time or space to practice. And since the saying goes, ‘practice makes perfect’ not having enough time for it can be a leading cause for frustration.
The best way to deal with this is to book your times to practice ahead of schedule. Make a plan where you can add in some time to practice where you will know that you will actually have time to dedicate to it. You can also change the way you practice and allow other musicians to join you and work together in a productive environment.
Organizing Approach
It can be difficult to start a new song, and looking at a blank paper in front of you for too long can be pretty damaging for your mental space. You might be asking yourself — where do I start? What genre should I pick? Will the audience love it? And so many more questions that can overwhelm you.
What you need at this point is to stay organized. Try to make the most of your practice times and use them wisely while staying focused. Take notes about everything so that you can remember helpful things like breaks, keys, and time signatures. You can also use different tools like a recorder to help you keep track of certain melodies while you work towards completing the whole song.
Overcoming Artist Block
Every musician goes through a phase where they can’t seem to make any music and are stuck in artist block. Fortunately, the more you go through the experience and come out of it, the better you get at understanding what your triggers are.
Once you have identified them, it will be easier for you to avoid them or find ways that can help you get out of them. If that does not work, it is important for you to take a break and figure out some ways to get inspiration by going outside and just giving yourself some time to relax.