DeClutter Your Music

Besides cleaning and organizing, decluttering also means getting rid of or rearranging things. Have a feedback problem when the volume goes up? Try moving microphones and guitar pickups away from amp speakers, and look carefully to make sure none are pointed towards each other. Humming can be caused by defective equipment—track down the culprits before you invite others over, and repair or throw out the bad items (some may have warrantees—look for these and old receipts and file them away in case items can be returned for exchange or refund). You should do this on a regular basis when you practice, and try to solve problems before gigs or rehearsals so your precious time is spent doing music, not maintenance. Stock up on good strings or other needed items when they go on special, and have a place for your surplus stock that is easy to see and keep stocked—you don’t want to run out just before an important studio appointment or gig, either, and toss or find a way to creatively use bad or old stuff to get it away from new items. My first drummer actually made and sold clocks built from his broken cymbals, and I’ve worked with many a guitarist or drummer that would throw their used picks/sticks out to delighted fans at gigs because they couldn’t bear to just toss them into the trash. I’ve had fun shipping my defective guitar pedals to my retired engineer father, who has had a blast tearing them apart to find out how they tick—he is now experimenting with coming up with his own line of tube-based and solid-state equipment. If it is an instrument with a lot of family sentiment attached to it, ask other family members if they would be interested in getting the item—getting my sister’s wooden clarinet to take to college meant getting first clarinet parts instead of the seconds I’d get with my leaky old plastic model. Many school programs, too, are hungry for equipment for needy students; so generous musicians often donate their older amps, instruments and accessories to a local music group. If nothing else, I’ve disposed of many items at flea markets, garage sales, and the local paper/bulletin board or on consignment at a local music store. No sense in tripping over stuff you aren’t using, or needing to rent storage space to keep it in when you may already be strapped for

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