Any Long Time Musicians here think about Quitting?

When my brain and body says “No”.
When the phone stops ringing.
When I get “the message”.
Not till then.

 

I'm a long time Quitter thinking about being a Musician, does that count?!

 

I did a similar thing in the early 70s also after watching Alivin Lee at Woodstock. I put it down figuring I'd never get that far.

I was wrong.

I did give up gigging in the late 90s mainly due to a hostile take over by DJs in my area. (I think many had a similar problem)
In the ensuing years I acquired recording equipment and have been having a ball. I miss the stage (or dusty corner) sometimes but this was something I've always wanted to do. So....

Some of the results are on my Soundcloud site.

 

I am. I had two nice bands I was in, nice people, one a kind of alt country/soul band with some originals and the other a gypsy jazz band. We had some great moments, really great.

But late nights, long sets, the driving, the load in and out: it's just kind of lost its charm. I started playing the Irish flute not long ago, and you can't hardly beat a flute for portability and ease of load in and out. It offers me a ton of musical challenges, So I don't know if I go back to gigging or not

 

Never!
Been playing doing something with a guitar ( acoustic or electric) and a decent voice since 1975 high school and just love to play all kinds of music.

Also, ( by quitting my 'real job' too soon maybe)I have now sort of put myself in a situation that playing music is a good portion of my income, and now I think this is ' till death do us part!' But I embrace it

As a local gigger, playing in multiple electric and acoustic groups, I really had a pretty busy last 2 years ( 2019 was the busiest I've ever been, at 61!) and this Spring looked to be ramping up ( Brewpub/winery gigs) but that all came to an abrupt end on March 15.

Hanging in there now, and will adjust to whatever happens with the venues we were playing, hope for the best.

Lots of acoustic playing at home, as always, did a few live streaming or Facebook Live things, which are OK. But I like to play and jam with others.
Hoping for better times, soon!

 

Are you talking about quitting music all together or just quitting bands and that hassle? Never quit music. If you quit your bands and sell your gear, keep at least one guitar and amp. You’ll miss them. Make music for yourself first. Bands come and go and none of them matter.

jh

 

My Dad told me that the only thing in life I should quit is being negative. Look around and the industry is changing before our eyes for now. I see many bands playing music and rehearsing together online. The media is changing. The routines are changing. Some folks are performing online with PPV or just TipJars. Being proactive about a bad situation will help me. It just takes some time to introduce yourself to new ways of practice and performance. I believe it will be a part of the music scene for the rest of time. It might be the only way for now but it helps to stay current. JMHO Have a nice day everyone!

 

I stopped smoking in 1991.

 

My motto has been as long as Keith is playing live (he does have a few years on me), so am I!!

 

Thought you said quilting.
Never quit but took hiatus
During certain time in life.

 

Yes, been working from home going on 6 weeks and have a hard time getting motivated enough to take my gear out. Small house, messy garage so I play on my back porch. Thinking about getting a small modeling amp just to leave out there with a cable. That way it’ll be just grabbing a guitar to play then put away. Thought I’d be playing all day everyday. Just aint happening. Down to 2 tube amps now and one of those is a project that sadly will probably never get finished. Bummer getting old and having to grow up.

 

Not until I stop having ideas.

 

I would, but fortunately I'm an addict.

 

3 bands? I couldn't do that, sometimes one can be hassle enough.

 

I've been playing since the late 60's and still going. Playing in my church now; live streaming.

 

2HB, I appreciate you bringing this up, as I too have had moments in recent memory, or sometimes specific intervals of two or three days at a time, in which I look at my guitar and simply feel no desire to pick it up and play it, although I still look at it with greatest affection. Since my early adolescence I've kind of defined myself as a guitar player, although I devoted my "prime" 39 years to a more traditional profession (and will be ever thankful for the good it enabled me to do for others). And it's a little unnerving to find that now my inner voice sometimes says, "Do you HAVE to be a guitar player? Is there something else that you may be missing? Is it really essential to your personhood that you perform music for others?" I do wonder if it might be a function of getting up there in years. I'll be turning 67 soon, and if I'm honest about it, I don't seem to have the drive or the patience to sit for hours "figuring stuff out" like I did when I was younger-- and I think that was a big part of the fun, that process of woodshedding and marking your progress and feeling yourself getting better and better. Perhaps I've gotten as good as I'm going to get (which is only average, by the way), and just don't feel driven to keep at it, given the relatively limited number of pages likely remaining in my life's book. ON THE OTHER HAND, maybe I'm simply experiencing a normal valley among the many peaks and valleys that we all experience in life; maybe I'm trying to "out-think" things, and just need to chill. Who knows, maybe this is all just the precursor to an explosion of creativity and development? One thing's for sure-- there will always be a guitar close at hand, just in case!

 

The only thing I think about, with respect to playing out, playing all acoustic. Much easier, simpler, very little to move around, more opportunities.

 

I started playing at 12, I'm 30 now, and was never a gigging musician. I'd jam with friends through high-school and college when we all had time. I've considered quitting multiple times. Do I love playing guitar, the gear, etc? absolutely. But with life, stress, mental health, and time and energy constraints I've watched my playing go from decent to okay, and it bums me out. Will I continue? most likely, but as I move forward with my career and life I'm uncertain about my playing.

 

Quit ??? 55 years of playing and I'm just getting started!!!
The best is yet to come...