Rest periods. How much is to much?

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Rest periods. How much is to much?

Postby NightmareRare » 22 Dec 2014 20:06

Hey! What's up my little remixers! I wanted to shoot the breeze about a subject that has been back lashing on me for as long as I can remember, and that is periods of rest and breaks in between writing songs.
So a little about my routine this past year, aside from other things (work, wine, friends ect.) I usually spend between 3-8 hours a day writing music taking 15-20 minute breaks every 45ish minutes to protect my hearing. Problem is while it fits well in my weekly life every 2- 3 months I hit something of a wall and collapse under my self assigned workload and can't seem to bring myself to summon any creativity or even pick up a guitar or open my DAW. I know I need to rethink how much I work but I'm so pleased with my improvement so far I don't want to risk compromising it by slacking off and cutting my studio time.

So here's my question for everypony, how much time do you work and how much time do you give your selfs to rest and recoup your health? Also has anyone else hit "the wall" and if so how did you top it?
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Re: Rest periods. How much is to much?

Postby CitricAcid » 22 Dec 2014 20:43

Regarding the creative wall, a bit of advice I've heard multiple times is to "write something anyway." It doesn't matter if you end up not liking the result and never using it, just make something. Just because you don't feel "inspired" doesn't mean you've suddenly lost the skill to make music. Think of it like practicing your scales on an instrument; they're not always fun, but you have to do them.

Regarding health, if you're pushing yourself so hard that you're endangering it, then instead of asking how much time to take off to recoup your health, you should look for ways push yourself less hard so you don't lose it in the first place.
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Re: Rest periods. How much is to much?

Postby JSynth » 25 Dec 2014 23:03

Its not really a health thing, unless you are playing your music fairly loud. Its really to rest your ears, because they will start to lie to you. The rule I was given by a mentor is 45min of music then a 15 minute break on monitors. If you are using headphones, 30min of music to a 30 minute break.

As for breaks for the creative wall, I sometimes get that. The best think you can do is keep making music despite it. You wont like it, but its far better than making no music at all. Your inspiration will return.
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Re: Rest periods. How much is to much?

Postby Freewave » 26 Dec 2014 08:24

I get generally 2 to 3 days off at time to make music weekly and there are weeks where i just feel overwhelmed to where i need to lighten the load or ignore an optimal release date for a track. It can get most stressful when its time to release an album which really is a tough task on its own as it IS a tough deadline to try to have 12 tracks completed all at the same time and sounding like they belong together. It's also important to realize that a track should be released when its completed as best as possible and not to push out something when its forced. Best bet i can recommend is to not let making music get to you (making you depressed, affecting sleep), take a break and play video games when you need to, start working on other neglected tracks if you need to, and just make sure to take care of yourself. If it's not still fun, it's not worth doing and it's important to enjoy the process and not have it become a second job that you dislike. :geek:
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Re: Rest periods. How much is to much?

Postby NightmareRare » 27 Dec 2014 01:01

Thanks for the tips guys! I guess it comes down to just altering the habit a bit and keeping the mind set from switch from play to work. It's hard sometimes balancing the passion to create and ignoring the knawing desire to improve faster, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. But I'm sure that'll pass.
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