Ways to stave off Fatigue in our own music

[OneWorld]

I think it was her that said "You know, I realised the harder I worked, the luckier I got"

It was the golfer Gary Player...though to be fair a lot of people have been credited with that line

Did he ever write any decent tunes though? because as we (musicians/writers/troubadors/divas/minstrels etc) know, any of those occupations is the most gruelling endeavour of all, although putting a shift in at many of the thankless jobs many people have to do, comes a close second

[OneWorld]

OK I know I am going to get rotten tomatoes, but has anyone here been impressed by the Stock Aitken Waterman series? Yes I know it is off the shelf, Primark equivalent of pop music, yes I get that, and that is all they aspired to do, they (SAW) never intended to go up against Wagner, or Bowie, or Dylan etc, they simply went out and rattled the pot hoping to get lucky, and they put some graft in, and it paid off, they were simply earning a crust and came up with a formula that would result in tunes that where for example you get a DJ booked for a wedding do, and the DJ looking around the room and there was just one bloke stumbling about doing a dad dance, and the DJ thinking "How can I get people to their feet - easy, reach for ABBA, or SAW.....sorted, result"

Last week there was one instance where they brought Kylie in, but the way things worked out, they only had her for a few hours, she'd never been in the studio with SAW, she had a flight back to Oz in a few hours. SAW had a track but no lyrics, they wazzed off some words, Kylie took a look, ran through them once then next time around came up with a top 10 hit !!!!

I have noticed one common characteristic amongst the successful, well musicians anyway, and they say, or certainly give the impression, once it gets to the point where there is fatigue, switch off the kit and go for a pint, or sack the thing off completely. I mean would a builder continue building if he stood back to review his work and ended up looking at a wobbly wall. Fatigue is the body (and mind's) way of saying "output is not inversely proportional to input - you're on a hiding to nothing"

[Drew Stephenson]

I can't remember if it's been mentioned earlier in the thread but after a fruitless evening afternoon yesterday I was reminded that even when it feels like you're not getting anywhere, challenging yourself to learn something new, especially if it's at the edge of your ability, is a good way of staving off fatigue.

[OneWorld]

I can't remember if it's been mentioned earlier in the thread but after a fruitless evening afternoon yesterday I was reminded that even when it feels like you're not getting anywhere, challenging yourself to learn something new, especially if it's at the edge of your ability, is a good way of staving off fatigue.

After having read the book by Aspley Cherry-Gerrard - The Worst Journey in the World and the book by Shackleton I think 'fatigue?' I ain't seen nothing, it's all relative. Once while living on a farm in an impoverished country in Latin America, I watched a young woman with about the same physique as Olive Oyle- eg no muscle on her, I watched her turn to each morning with her pick and shovel and dig a trench over several 100 yards through rock and hard earth to be able to run a pipeline from the well to a storage tank, and this was in temperatures of +40C, the work she did would have bust the back of an MMA fighter I'm sure, but she toiled on day after day to the point she was almost falling over with fatigue, but she took a lug of water, a little rest then soldiered on. At night time she studied and went on to become a successful lawyer in the US

We do sometimes perform well under stress, that is what drives us on, because at times we have to experience pain in order to put pleasure into context. The trick is knowing when to stop, before you drop. Certainly when doing physical work, working whilst fatigued can be dangerous eg having accidents with dangerous machinery and tools. If the efforts are more cerebral then the dangers are of course less apparent but I can envisage situations where people over-work and I guess that could lead to mental problems.

Thus far, speaking for myself I find when output is quantitively and qualitively dis-proportionate to the effort put in, I wrap up for the day, the song will still be there tomorrow, it won't run away. Strange how you can go on a quest of all consuming passion to find that 'lost chord' but the efforts are futile, then you go back to the tune the next day and it's the first chord that falls off your fingers and off you go again.

[tea for two]

When we see such Women from various parts of the world that began their back breaking daily work from as little as age 5 all through to age 80
we can only feel awe and even reverence.

::

The creative force of the universe, of creativity, of creation itself including us is the Divine Feminine.

Hence in some cultures faiths the Divine Feminine is worshipped.
Whilst in some other cultures faiths the Divine Feminine is hidden in coded words.

::

Some may wonder why is there such an abundance of sincere male music makers, male makers of music gear, male involvement in the making of music particularly in comparison to Women.

It's because through Women were created all these sincere music men hence Women don't need to do any of these.

Moreover the inspiration all these sincere music men find including us on SoS it's from the Divine Feminine creative force.

[tea for two]

Ways I've posted on this thread are things I do myself that worked (at least for myself).

One thing I have done subconsciously which I only twigged very recently (as I was doing it subconsciously)
which I consider perhaps one of the most important :

I'm not attached to the music I make.

I work on it, I feel like giving up on it, I get exasperated at myself swearing a lot at myself, I even revel in it.

Yet I'm not attached to the music I'm not holding onto it too tightly.

This enables ideas to flow, enables pieces to be completed, as well as enables avoiding fatigue fairly easily.

This is so because even though the music we make is made physically by us
it doesn't belong to us
it's a donation to us.

If we can feel see music we make this way as well as not holding on too tight becoming somewhat detached then we can make music pretty speedily alongside staving off fatigue fairly easily.

[Arpangel]

I’ve come to a conclusion, and there is one.
Fatigue has no purpose or place, in music making.
If you feel stressed, or under "fatigue" then don’t even attempt to make any music, at all.
For the muse to take affect, and for you, to literally, and spiritually "take-off"
the mind has to be free of earthly thoughts, and influences, if we are blessed with this ability, it will just happen, we have no control over it, but you have to open yourself up to the "possibility" of it happening, and that means no earthly concerns, or distractions, and it also means being "ready" to harness the moment, and actually be in a position to make the most of it.

[sonics]

If you feel stressed, or under "fatigue" then don’t even attempt to make any music, at all.

I've heard this often, especially on this forum, but the reality for many, including myself, is very different. In fact, I disagree completely!
There have been so many occasions in my career where I, or people I know, have had to create in less-than-relaxed conditions. Last-minute changes are common in many fields. You learn to trust the skills you've developed and get on with it. To produce anything, you need to get on and start the process. Do not sit and muse over the muse.

There is a time for thought, for contemplation. That's where the ideas gestate and flourish. That time is essential, of course, but it's not necessarily the same as your music-making time.

I haven't even started talking about the wonder that is music therapy...

[OneWorld]

If you feel stressed, or under "fatigue" then don’t even attempt to make any music, at all.

I've heard this often, especially on this forum, but the reality for many, including myself, is very different. In fact, I disagree completely!
There have been so many occasions in my career where I, or people I know, have had to create in less-than-relaxed conditions. Last-minute changes are common in many fields. You learn to trust the skills you've developed and get on with it. To produce anything, you need to get on and start the process. Do not sit and muse over the muse.

There is a time for thought, for contemplation. That's where the ideas gestate and flourish. That time is essential, of course, but it's not necessarily the same as your music-making time.

I haven't even started talking about the wonder that is music therapy...

Which makes a point I take as a given - in the words of one hard working lass "Different strokes for different folks" or in music I suppose we'd say "Different Plucks for different Chucks (aspiring Chuck Berry's !)

There is no universally applied wisdom, method or perspective - some might get by on the pressure and fatigue, some might wallow in woe and become inert brought on by fatigue. All I know is that if we were all the same what a boring heap of rock planet earth would be - vive la difference, and foithamore, sometimes we work best under pressure and sometimes we don't, best just accept it and roll with the punch, happens to everyone, a bricklayer gets up in the morning and whistles his way to work, other morning he grumbling and cussin' all day long and can't lay a single brick - welcome to planet earth I tell 'em

I remember a documentary about some musicians who worked for Disney and they were working on something where as usual, the music was an afterthought. The film was a tryout for a new 'star' so the goalposts were changing all the time. Till it came to the point where Disney oiked them into the office and said "This is going to be a great movie, and I want great music to go with it, let me listen to what you've got"

Disney had a tantrum and tore the music up, rejected it out of hand and as good as locked the chaps in the studio. This was about 3:00 in the afternoon. They came out later with some of the best film score of its time.

In the documentary they were asked what was their secret, what drove them on and inspired them and one replied "Easy, it was the thought of a kick up the ass and being shown the door and not being able to put food on the table, for the family, what more inspiration does a man need?"

No arty fahty stuff, it was a case of 'Sit down at that piano and knock out a bangin' tune!'

[Arpangel]

First of all, I think we need to use a different word, fatigue in my mind is stress induced by over working someone, or something.
Disney? Please, he was enough to induce stress in anyone, Disney represents everything I dislike about the medium, and the country it originated in.
When I think of Disney I see Mickey Mouse sitting astride an aircraft carrier, or sitting above the door of McDonalds.
Grotesque, over drawn, over produced rubbish.
We can endure problems, that irritate us when trying to make music, but I find it cathartic, or therapeutic, actually dealing with these problems, I wouldn’t call it stressful, or fatiguing, it’s all, part of the process, and adds to the feeling of achievement afterwards.
As for being locked in a studio to "bang out a good tune" I wouldn’t know anything about that.