Music Isn't Always Fun

Music often stops being fun for a lot of us. The bills get too much to keep up with, the band and/or songs aren't bringing in even a little to offset their expenses, and often the significant other is complaining of neglect. Unfortunately, the prizes don't tend to go to the most talented artists, the luckiest, or the ones with the most money-it is usually the ones who just plain refused to quit. Here are a few ways you might be able to use to make music a little more fun, again.

BARTER

Sometimes we can't get our music to pay, but we can barter our services to those who can use them. Try playing like I've suggested before for the local orchestra, your church, or even a local children's activity group. Volunteer for your local songwriter's or music convention so you can get in for free instead of paying to go-our big local one, South By Southwest is holding a meeting tomorrow night for volunteers you might consider attending if you are in the area-all the biggest reps will probably be there, so it would be worth a few hours of work, and might even get you far closer than you could as a regular attendee to those who could help your career. Try telling your pals you'd love just sitting in on their practices, and see if you can learn some of their stuff-they might really appreciate it if a musician gets sick or has a conflict, and they will have a ready helper-perhaps they could help you with a demo later or a cut of the monies to pay you back.

BRIBE YOURSELF

Sometimes we just need a little incentive to try a little harder. Tell yourself to just try signing up to some freebie tip sheets, and send a demo off to at least one person each month, even if it is just a new song to an industry pal to critique. For doing this, treat yourself to a tiny splurge, like a generic soda from the local store machine if you can only afford the quarter for that, and not for a small bottle of bubbly. Spend a night with your family, then write a song about it afterwards to 'justify' the time spent if you feel it might be interfering with your music. Better yet, if the kids are a bit noisy, sample them and see if they don't behave better if they hear their yells and screams ending up on a joke rap or techno tune-the laughs might more than make up for any bad feelings about your spending so much time with your instruments, or their taking you away from them. Write a song about your sweetie, and give it to him or her as a present-it may change their mind about your talent or the time you are spending, and the sincerity in it might be just what you needed to get a song signed.

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