Do you need more motivation to make music?

Can you remember when you first started learning an instrument?

I can. I’ve learned a couple to a decent level but learning guitar really sticks out for me. I was so passionate about getting good that I would spend hours practicing.

Days slipped away and I consistently got better and better. I was truly motivated and that motivation seemed endless. All I wanted to do was become the best guitarist I could be.

But if you asked me if I still practice the guitar with the same enthusiasm, the answer would be no. Why is that? Is it because my motivation dropped off? I don’t really think so. I still want to be a great guitarist.

So what gives?
 

I stopped making the time to play guitar

 
You see, motivation will only get you so far. Motivation comes and goes. You might sit down and play your chosen instrument for a few hours but how often will you do that day in, day out?

I’m motivated to pick up my guitar and play but I’m also motivated to work on this site, work at becoming a better mixer, producer and, most importantly, I’m motivated to look after my health and wellbeing.

When it comes to the above, I’m disciplined. I’m driven and dedicated to become better. I know I need to make the time in my schedule to look after my mission critical tasks and I make sure that time is blocked off in advance each day.

My mission and purpose right now does not involve becoming a world class guitarist. My mission and purpose at the moment does involve producing the best possible content for you on Understanding Audio and working in the creative industry as an engineer and producer.
 

So, in my experience, the key to progress is not motivation. It’s discipline.

 
In my early days of playing guitar, I was both motivated and disciplined. Instead of going out with my friends, I would sit at home and play scales, learn new chords, songs and styles until I couldn’t play anymore. It wasn’t the summer of ’69 but it was pretty close!

I had the discipline to avoid the temptations that the summer brought so I could focus on developing a new skill that I wanted to possess more than anything else.

Now, I’m sure you want to make more music and dedicate more time to your craft. That’s great! But I understand that you probably have a job that tires you out and lots of other responsibilities that take priority. I also understand that after a long day of work, you might want to just get home, get on the couch and watch tv or do nothing at all.

And while that might be fun to do every now and then, it’s not going to make you a better musician or progress your production skills. If you do that too often and you’re anything like me, you’ll have nagging feelings of wanting to do better or feel better about your skills.

We live in a world where people crave instant gratification but we all actually feel better when we get our heads down, work at something for a period of time and earn our reward.

The great news is that no matter what your goal – whether it’s to become a better musician and play for fun or become a world famous music producer… it’s all doable. In fact, people with less talent and intelligence are doing it right now!

So you now know that motivation is the equivalent of a light slap in the face but discipline packs the power of a left hook, right uppercut from Mike Tyson! But how do you develop that? Well, just like any skill, discipline develops through repetition, routine, failure and using a system.

If you lack a methodical approach when it comes to mixing, you’ll struggle and your progress will be very slow. When progress is slow, motivation usually goes out the window and the cycle repeats itself.

Ironically, having a mixing method gives you the freedom to be creative and know that you’re on the right track. It’s the opposite of what you might think. I’m lucky that I’ve learned the importance of having a method and using it effectively through years of experience in the audio and business worlds. Despite that sounding like a walk in the park, it definitely took a lot of failure and hard lessons to get me here.

I don’t want that for you. I want you to make much faster progress than I did.

So, I’d like you to think about your current approach to making music:

• Do you rely on motivation or are you disciplined enough to succeed?
• Do you have a methodical approach when it comes to mixing? If not, why not?
• Do you have the discipline to sit down and learn everything about the non-sexy mixing stuff likes editing or gating, or do you just prefer learning about the more glamorous tricks and tips?
• Is there any way you could put a little more time aside in your schedule to focus on making music? Do you have that time blocked off in your schedule?

If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll probably find ways to improve with the answers to the questions above. I know I still have a lot of room for improvement.

And circling back to the idea of becoming a world class guitarist… while I’d love that to be true, I know it’s a lot further down on my goal list. My primary goal right now is to work on producing the absolute best content I can for you on this site and I’ve got many more big, exciting things coming for you this year.

But who knows… when I get through those goals, I might end up becoming known for my guitar chops one day!

 

Now, I’d love to know…

What are your answers to the questions above?
 
Leave a comment below!

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