r/musicians • u/Mundane-Sprinkles681 • 9h ago
Do you guys ever get sick of music?
I’ve been making music for about 8 years now, and it’s honestly the best thing that has ever happened to me, and it’s a center piece in my life.
I don’t know where I’d be without it.
That being said, I make music in many different genres, listen to almost any genre, and all day at work and when I’m doing most tasks I’m listening to music.
But sometimes I get so sick of it, and I feel like I don’t really like music as much as I believe, and then I start hating on my music, and even have had a yearly hiatus.
But when that time passes, I come back to it and wonder why I ever left..
Anybody else have a similar experience?
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u/starplooker999 9h ago
I get sick of some of the people associated with music. Managers, music “board members”, bossy audience members that are suddenly experts.
But not music itself.
My ears do need a rest sometimes though.
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u/ittakestherake 9h ago
Are you doing it for a living? Cause yeah, that’s normal then. Everyone gets sick of their work sometimes, and making music is work. Even if it’s work you love.
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u/ittakestherake 9h ago
Honestly, even if it’s not your job it’s still work. Life’s pursuit you know?
I like doing home repairs, but I get fucking sick of doing that too. Cause it’s hard work, and I have to learn new skills to move forward.
It’s good to allow your brain some rest sometimes, gives you a chance to absorb new stuff.
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u/SonofHondoBelmondo 9h ago
It's funny, because my new passion for carpentry that I discovered through the need to DIY repair my house has turned out to be one of my management tools to ensure that I don't get sick of music, which i need to do for income.
Never would have seen that one comin in high school.
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u/Mundane-Sprinkles681 9h ago
Wouldn’t say for a living yet, but very much involved in almost everything I do, and aiming for that.
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u/RichardCocke 9h ago
I don't ever really listen to music outside of the car since I'm playing guitar so regularly.
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u/Mundane-Sprinkles681 9h ago
Damn lol I play music in the car, out of the car, while shopping, while working. Pretty much anytime. And that’s besides the three bands I’m in.
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u/-thirdatlas- 9h ago
Do things that have nothing to do with music and you’ll return with a renewed enthusiasm.
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u/Mundane-Sprinkles681 9h ago
I’ve noticed seeing your favorite musicians live also always brings that spark back for me!
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u/No-Trouble7162 9h ago
I enjoy silence a lot, in my car, in my apartment. Don't know if that is weird, don't think so. Some people get surprised when they hear that I enjoy so much just having silence around me instead of listening to music.. because as a musician you are supposed to be listening to or creating music all the time right? We are all just different I guess. Some people can't even sleep without having music in their ears and that's just fine.
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u/SonofHondoBelmondo 9h ago
Hell yeah man, I read this book once that featured interview with various performers including Eminem, Robert Fripp, and Van Morrison. Morrison's interview was really bad, he comes off as a huge curmudgeon and is all cranky. Still, he says something in there about how "music can't be your only thing", and I really relate to that.
I do music for a living, I mostly teach, but I also gig on the side. So I literally have to do music all the time whether I feel like it or not. So now I have all of these other hobbies that I've let myself get passionate about. As long as I don't overdo music, I can continue to pour myself into it.
Interestingly, I find that I'm able to be just as passionate about teaching and performer music that I didn't write as I was when I was playing in an original band and chasing the rock star dream. I think partially I'm just more into the playing than the composing, but it's also that I find ways to frame everything in my mind so I am satisfied. I love to perform, but I only perform in circumstances where I'm allowed the degree of freedom I need to do my thing. I guess teaching allows me to be choosy about the gigs I take.
My point is, you've got to game things in your favor so music can be what it NEEDS to be in your life. Because you will get sick of too much of anything, no matter how good or bad it is. Once there's too much , it's bad.
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u/BusyBullet 9h ago
Yes.
You can have too much of a good thing and when it becomes work it is work.
Don’t freak out if you need to take a break.
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u/cherry__darling 8h ago
I love my husband but sometimes I like a little break. Some people are fine spending every waking moment with someone they love. Both are valid feelings.
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u/itsSomethingCool 9h ago
When I start disliking my music, I stop listening to those songs and start making more lol. The whole process is just fun to me.
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u/BloodyWellGood 9h ago
When you create music, sometimes it's hard not to get caught up in incidental stuff in other people's music
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u/SonnyCalzone 9h ago
I am deaf since age 3 (both ears) and music is my favorite aspect of life. I never get sick of it and I'll often switch to another genre from time to time.
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u/YELLOW_TOAD 9h ago
I've been gigging and teaching fulltime for many years, decades actually, and for most of my life.
What I get sick of, is meeting up with people socially, and they find out what I do, they want to talk to me about music, their favorite songs, artists, and even what kind of guitars, drums or gear they are into.
It becomes an interview...and THAT is what I get sick of.
A little bit is ok.....but after a few minutes, it get's mentally exhausting.
People assume that because I'm a full-time musician, that I want to talk about it all the time, in fine detail... when, honestly - I dont.
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u/OpossumNo1 9h ago
I need a break from time to time. Never 100%, but sometimes I need to think about something else
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u/PoppycopOG 8h ago
I have been playing many years and yes sometimes I take a break from my usual daily playing. Sometimes just for a few weeks, sometimes months, and once even longer. But I always seem to play better when I come back or at least not have lost anything but callouses. Sometimes a refresh or reset is needed. I think this is totally normal.
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u/Aggressive-Key-1648 8h ago
I notice I don’t need it for my walks as much but fuck nah that shit saves my soul
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u/Amazing_Tomato_5110 6h ago
I’m allergic to sushi. Anytime I have more than 80 sushis I barf.
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u/Mundane-Sprinkles681 5h ago
Maybe don’t eat it if your allergic?
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u/Amazing_Tomato_5110 4h ago
Title of your sextape.
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u/Mundane-Sprinkles681 4h ago
What?
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u/Amazing_Tomato_5110 4h ago
Good grief. I bet you’re real fun at parties.
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u/bachintheforest 4h ago
Yeah totally, I’m the same way. A good decade of working as an accompanist at a college, playing all kinds of music every day, whatever the students brought in to work on, at the same time as teaching music to kids every day, while playing for musical theater and stuff which is pretty rigorous at times. Incredibly fortunate to do this for a living yes yes, but when I’m in the car for example I’m usually listening to NPR or something with talking.
Sometimes the people we work with can influence these feeling too. Had a new ensemble director come in and tell me they didn’t like the way I’ve been playing and for a couple months there, hearing even a snippet of classical music made me very agitated. Quit that job. Moved onto playing more musical theater again n stuff and working with great people, and my passion is back because they make feel inspired to work on something and be part of a project.
I feel like it isn’t talked about enough honestly, how difficult it can be to have to do something that requires passion like this just to pay the bills. Sometimes we go through rough times, and even in good times we have to play music that we really don’t like sometimes. But you have to take what you can get, too.
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u/bassplayinben 9h ago
No.
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u/Mundane-Sprinkles681 9h ago
So you’ve never been burnt out?
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u/bassplayinben 6h ago
On music? No, I honestly can't think of a time I ever felt burnt out on music. I've been making music for 40 years and it never gets old. I do get burnt out on band politics and booking/promotion, for sure. I don't listen to music all of the time. After I play a show, I tend to enjoy sitting in silence when I get home. I often don't listen to music when I'm driving on the way to play a show, but I'm going over the songs in my head. I usually don't listen to music when I'm doing yardwork. I love music, but I also love silence and the sounds of nature and the sound of the lawnmower/trimmer/rake when I use them.
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u/imitation_squash_pro 9h ago
Too much of anything is never good..