Time in the Real World

Last week I was reminded why it’s so important, both as a composer and as a human being, to have a real life. All I did was go to a great exhibit at an art museum. I know this isn’t earth-shattering, but I hadn’t done something like that in a long time. I’ve been extremely busy lately with various projects (both musical and non-musical), and have been feeling the pressure of these projects so much so that I haven’t actually been doing anything that isn’t related to them. Re-reading that last sentence, it doesn’t seem all that odd that I haven’t been doing anything else, since isn’t that what most people’s lives are like? Go to your job, come home, go about your routine, et cetera.

And then I read some old comments on our blog, and I found this one (which is a comment on this post), thanks to our commenter HKL:

“… experiencing life outside the studio, even when we aren't producing art, also contributes to our artistic life (is this a little bit of a cop-out? maybe, but I also think it's true...)."

I don’t think it’s a cop-out at all. Every time I experience “life outside the studio” (which, I suppose, should be every day but sadly, isn’t always), I am reminded how great it is to get outside (both literally and figuratively).  My emotional, physical, and yes, artistic well-being depends on it.

I finished a huge composition project a few weeks ago, and I’ve been too busy and too tired to start working on something new. I also hadn’t had the urge to compose, either, until I went to the art exhibit I mentioned earlier. Suddenly, I had all these ideas I wanted to try based on several of the paintings I saw. Now, maybe going to an art exhibit isn’t really “real life,” but to me, last week, it was. Getting outside to take a walk, interacting with people, experiencing real life, is so important to being a composer. Art is said to imitate life; yet how are we supposed to imitate life if we are so busy creating art that we don’t have time to experience life?

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the duties I prescribe for myself as a composer: besides composing, there’s listening to others’ music, blogging, reading other people’s blogs, working on the new music ensemble I’m staring with several other composers, working on my website, applying to competitions, networking… and that doesn’t even scratch the surface of all my non-musical duties. Between all of these tasks, in addition to spending time with friends and family, I rarely have any free time to just get out there and take a walk, go to an art museum, or sit quietly with a cup of tea.  Or at least I feel that I don’t have that time. Maybe we should remind ourselves of how crucial that time is, that if our ultimate goal as composers is to create great music, then we can’t afford to let ourselves miss out on experiencing life and making sure we make time to do something other than all those musical and non-musical tasks we assign ourselves.

Last year I once complained to my mother that I felt I didn’t have any time for myself, and she suggested I take up a hobby. I couldn’t understand how taking on something new would make me feel like I had more time, but I think she was on to something. Somehow when we have more going on we manage to squeeze more in, and if allocating time in my day to a non-musical hobby will force me to take some time for myself, then that is important time that I should use to “experience life.” Even if my hobby is something like knitting. Who knows, maybe my next piece will be based on a crazy knitting pattern.

I know that none of what I’m saying is new, or really all that profound. But I do know that if I need to be reminded of it, then there probably are other people out there that could use some reminding as well. What do you do to give yourself a break from your musical life and experience real life?

Posted by Sarah