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Overheard a guy at the coffee shop talking about his old band
He said they almost got a gig opening for a bigger act in 2015, but he took a steady job instead. It hit me that I quit piano lessons for the same reason, a 'safe' choice. Anyone else give up a creative thing for security?
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lily1677mo ago
Honestly, the trick is to make the creative thing stupid easy to do. Leave the keyboard cover off the piano. Keep a sketchbook and a single pencil on the kitchen table instead of a whole art kit in a drawer. The goal is just to touch it for five minutes, not to "practice" in a big, formal way. That low pressure makes it feel like a small choice, not a big life change you have to commit to all over again.
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margareto265mo ago
I'll push back on this a little, @lily167. Sometimes keeping something too accessible makes it feel like a chore you're never quite doing right. I had my keyboard out for months and honestly just started ignoring it because it became part of the furniture. Sometimes the deliberate act of getting it out of a case can be the ritual that gets you in the right headspace. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
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stone.lisa7mo ago
My cousin put his guitar in the closet when his first kid was born. He still talks about those open mic nights sometimes.
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murphy.aaron7mo ago
I read a blog post by a musician in Nashville who said he didn't touch his bass for five years after his twins arrived. He finally started playing again by just keeping it on a stand in the living room for easy five minute practice. That small change made a huge difference. It seems like the act of putting the instrument away is what makes it so hard to start again. Do you think your cousin would ever try something like that?
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