![]() Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Grant Maloy Smith agrees that experience outside of music gives you perspective to make your music that much more meaningful. While sometimes that’s true, more often it means one got ‘real.’ And ideally, as a consequence, we do become better.” Get some perspectiveįor indie artist Phil Robinson, it can be very helpful to “step away from ‘the trees’ once in a while and regain a clear view of ‘the forest.’ It’s also helpful to re-adjust some macro-level ideas when you’re a little bit removed from the daily trenches.” “A common misconception, is that the reason one can see or hear the flaws in past work is because one got better. “Like, when you listen to a demo or reel you sent out five years ago and go ‘wow, no wonder they didn’t call me. “Having been a producer pretty much exclusively for the past few years, I think it’s all about getting emotionally detached from one’s creative process,” says producer Emilio D. Taking some time apart from music may make your fingers a bit rusty, but also may give you new ideas and drive.” Get real ![]() “You can fall into a trap of sounding repetitive over time and get stuck in a rut. Little solutions will pop in there - ways to repeat spontaneous elements from a first recording session, for example, or a savvy lyric tweak.” Time away can get you out of a rutįor guitarist Alex Prol, taking a pause can help break bad habits and stale practices. When I’m not physically working on something, the project is still stewing in my mind. “Breaks are just reality that we can use wisely. Leighton also points out that creating music often takes more time than planned or expected. “If I’m recording, it allows me to listen and think about what needs to be done with the piece.” “Taking time out allows me to incubate,” says songwriter and spoken word artist Anne Leighton. Sometimes musical ideas come to fruition quickly other times, they need hours, months, or even years to evolve and mature. Keeping your creative muscles active, while channeling them in a different direction, can make your work that much more powerful once you return to music. ![]() “I do some visual art while I’m resting my musical mind, for instance.” “Sometimes, I switch mediums for a bit,” says musician Stefanie Brendler. Taking a break from music can mean redirecting your creative energies to other forms of expression. “So, for weeks, I can be on a major sound design project and then I get a job composing a soundtrack, where all that sampling enhances my ideas and abilities.” Switch up your extra-musical endeavors I can incorporate all of that into composing scores when I get back into it.” “I come back with new skills and new audio experiences. “When songwriting, producing, and remix work is down, I jump into other creative paths like sampling, sound design, sound effects, and voice over production,” says composer and producer Justin Lassen. Taking a break doesn’t have to mean pausing music work entirely it could just mean temporarily shifting your focus. Sometimes, taking a break from making music can give you the opportunity to learn to do it better. Winger recalls one fortunate moment where he got stuck in a traffic jam with legendary audio engineer Ed Cherney Winger found Cherney’s stories (and his occasional phone calls with the Rolling Stones) informative and inspiring, especially once he returned to the mixing board himself. “I also got to spend a lot of time with Grammy-winning engineers and producers who are a lot better than I am at mixing.” “After coming back to mixing … I think I have a much more discerning ear for what is important in a mix,” he says. ![]() In that position, he listened to a far broader range of music than he ever had before - and it gave him a fresh perspective. Producer, engineer, and musician Michael Winger took a nine-year hiatus from mixing records to serve as Executive Director of the Recording Academy’s San Francisco chapter. Here are some thoughts from a wide variety of indie artists who have all benefited from taking a break. Musicians of many styles and genres have found time away helpful when it comes to their careers and creativity. When I come back, things feel more vibrant, creative, and alive. The reasons have varied - travel, family, other projects and commitments - but more often than not, the result is the same. Taking time to practice, perform, learn, and experiment musically will make you a stronger artist, but taking a break from music can be helpful as well.Īt various points in my career, I’ve temporarily stepped away from making music.
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