I needed this video. I'll be 46 this year. Had some success with a band in the past, but now need to get my new music out there. Self criticism and procrastination are my biggest enemies.
same here bro. i have made boombap beats for decades, i am 36 now, and i know one dude on youtube that has a good boombap channel, no one is doing it. and i made superb beats back in the day. i decided to make a channel named tetrapak beats and make the best i can, so there is something after me, i wanna spread the knowledge. good luck to us both my brother
Ok i got to speak up. Being an "older" Musician, I listened to about half of these "decisions" and realized NONE OF THIS has to do with 'older musicians' - this goes for EVERY ONE, whether You be a Pastor, a Doctor, a Teacher, a Mom, a whatever...as Someone who's played it ALL from orchestras, opera, Church, R&B, Rock, Jazz, Country,...you name it, HERE'S THE THING You need to do: whatever it is, be it a Dr, a Teacher, a Musician - KEEP DOING IT. For Musicians, NEVER STOP PLAYING. IF it is Your Passion, Life HAPPENS but keep playing. At Times in My Life, I've had to stop b/c of health issues but as soon as I could, I was right back on the keys. Have 5 kids, 13 grandkids and 6 great-grandkids. I made TIME for Family, religion, self-care but I've NEVER stopped playing. Ever. Went to war twice. Never stopped playing. On the fields I practiced in My mind and it worked. Kept composing and playing while I was shooting at times. That phrase "Love what You do and DO what You Love." That goes for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Be open and listen to advice like on here, but in the end, YOUR BEST ADVICE COMES FROM WITHIN. FOLLOW THAT. Be True to YOURSELF. That comes from 80+ yrs of experience.
I'm 76 and still excited about playing, practicing, and improv challenges. After all these years, I've found a smattering of performance success on my third instrument. I kept my day job after realizing I had no talent but replaced talent with many hours and years of practice after finally learning how to and what to practice. I gained more ground in the last nine years than in the 46 years before that. I attribute it to the availability of online instruction, which is the perfect learning medium for me. One-on-one has never worked for me, from school to musical instruments. I needed the impersonal instruction. The personal lessons I tried previously left me liking people even less than I'm naturally inclined to like!
I’ve have/had a LOT of people tell me “you are a great drummer”, I always say thanks…..but I’m still learning!!! That comment shocks most people!! I tell them this…..this is what keeps me humble and still learning….RU-vid and Instagram!! Those young guys is getting it in!! After watching them, I head to my drums to learn some of the new chops to add to my arsenal! I’m NEVER too old to learn!!!
I'm pleased to say that I'll soon be 60 and I have ZERO regrets as far as my music goes. I'm doing it till the icy hand of death takes me out. And possibly beyond that point.
Can I add.......have life balance! A LOT of older musicians I see, all they know is their craft, and "have no life." That lack of balance in life might be one of the culprits as to why older musicians didn't take care of themselves. Try another hobby, or two, or three, to keep mind, body and spirit balanced. And since we are on the issue of taking care of themselves.....find a job, that has healthcare! It saddens me when I see not just regulars, hall of fame players succumbing to strokes, cancers, etc, and the like. And legends needing fundraisers to pay medical bills.....!
I’ve been a church musician for about 22 years (drums for about 2 or so years; 20 years as a piano/organ player), I’m 35, and I regret not investing a lot of time in my craft when I first started playing. Ever since March 2021, I’ve probably invested more time practicing and learning keys in this year and half than probably the previous 8-10 years COMBINED. I’ve seen great improvement in my playing, and I wonder, at times, where I’d be as a musician if I had invested more time especially when I was single. Unsolicited advice to musicians: if you have a lot of free time, USE IT WISELY because if you decide to get married or have other things come up, your time will be more limited. Practice…practice…practice!!!
I'm 67. I have a bachelor's degree in jazz performance from Berklee and a master's in ethnomusicology from New York University. I started playing gigs when I was 15. The pandemic has taken away the majority of my gigs. My social security is minimal because I spent a lot of my career in Europe and never paid much into the system here. I need to make some extra money doing gigs. MY BIGGEST PROBLEM--I can't get myself motivated to practice. In the old days, I rarely practiced because I was playing 5-6 one-nighters a week. That's not happening these days. How do I get myself motivated to practice?
imagine your life with that goal achieved, imagine the satisfaction , and write down what you need to get there, and blindly follow your own path, until you make it. just like in sports. i wanted to make my dream body, i used to go to a park near my house and do 2+ hours of pushups, pullups and dips, and for years and years i was unhappy with result, people told me i am too old, was near 30 back than, but i kept going...now people think i go to gym and use steroids and i am 10y younger...with i do not do, but you get the point..eventually, youll get there...imagine you are about to live 90 years. you still have, 23 years in you...thats a lot. live those years the best you can. good luck.
You just have to pick up the instrument once you pick it up the juices start flowing I go through it every week getting ready for Sunday but my ego will not let me suck I'm 64 been doing it a long time 😅
These are some valuable lessons that older musicians reflect on. I know for me, there is one that is related to one that you focused on. You talked about continuing to learn. I would add to that the need to change your style. I used to play for a church for 15+ years. Eventually, I was no longer feeling that style. So, I discontinued so that I could upgrade my style and, yes, learn some new things to stay relevant. Another important regret that a musician of any age can face is that of no longer having fun making music. When the fun is gone, the spirit of your musicianship suffers greatly. So, continue having fun!!!
My main question at 45 was, am I happy with the few hundred songs I've written and recorded so far if these were all? Its so good to be able to answer "yes" 😁 I have no regrets, even if very few people listen to them. I know I put all of myself into them and they keep evolving.
Number 6 is the one I struggle with the most… at 50 years old I have hundreds upon hundreds of track ideas, and have been making music for 20 years, but only a couple of tracks released.
I have to say, Terrence, these are some of the only videos that I watch straight through, without cutting it short and searching for another video. Super helpful. Super interesting.
The regret thing is more people who never found another passion in life. If you leave music you need another creative outlet to take it's place. That is better than chasing a dream which becomes unhealthy longterm.
One of my biggest regrets was being willing to just "jam" and play easy stuff and things like blues progressions out of sheer laziness instead of being diligent and really working on my playing. Another thing was being content to work with mediocre and down right bad musicians, just to be in a band. When the band you are playing with makes you sound worse than you really are, or if you can never do a solo on your instrument because the whole song will fall apart if you do, because you stopped playing chords and holding down the foundation of the music, and the other guys don't really know what they are doing, then it is time to move on. A lot of bands like that stay together just out of friendships and stuff. If you are serious about music you have to treat it like a business sometimes, and for example, if your best buddy is your drummer, but can't even keep a basic beat, then you have to make some serious decisions, or else continue in mediocrity. A lot of musicians have tremendous potential but are not willing to put in the work to be the best that they can be. That was me. I was too busy getting high back in the day and acting like a fool to take it all seriously, which was really stupid. I guess I expected success to just fall on me out of the sky or something. Well, it sure didn't ! There are countless musicians that have waited all of their lives to be "discovered" because of ideas they got watching movies like the Buddy Holly story or other biographies of famous performers that gave them the impression that one fine day some big promoter was going to see them, and then they would be on their way to the big time. Most of the time, that never happens.
These are very useful and wise guidelines. You did great research and distilled the most important ones really, really well. These are guidelines in any field, not just music, and I will keep these in mind as well as a Bible teacher. Not learning is probably the most fatal one out of them all, though that may depend on each individual. But that's one mistake I strive with all my might to avoid. In my experience if you do the right learning the right way, you can avoid the other regrets. Peace.
I truly wish that when I was in highschool that I would have been in choir and involved in drama. Drama because it would have helped me be a better entertainer, and choir to be a better singer and see beyond my abilities Both would have helped me with networking
I’m 28 and have been playing guitar and writing my own music since I was 12. Stage fright and just a lack of confidence has kept me from playing for other people until I worked up the courage to go an open mic about a month ago. The place was completely dead with only 2 people in the audience. It was still nerve wracking but it was good practice.
I'm 62 years old I was a musician for the best part of my life and I consider myself a success because I was a musician and I worked now as far as being famous and Rich didn't happen which is probably good cuz I probably would have partied myself to death I had a good time I've had a good life I'm a success
Best thing I’ve done is join the AFM, and work for Disney for over 20 years….14 years as a full time musician. That pension is really helping with most gigs gone, or not paying enough to even take the gig. College, private lessons, and Berklee helped too. Just trying to get to 1,000 subs on RU-vid🙏
Preach on brother! All good advice (and not just for musicians) 1. Not trying (should've, could've) - taking risks, following passions 2. stop learning / growing 3. caring too much about what other people think (negative or positive), put you off your path 4. being overly concerned about fame or money, instead of what you're giving to the world 5. not taking care of themselves - bodies and minds 6. not putting out music (perfection). "Done is better than perfect"
56 here and I'm still playing a lot, however, I do wish I would have learned MORE music, and more complicated voicing. In fact, I'm going to go practice right now!
Listen… You said there is a universal thing that is true in This Life. # 1 We all have to make a Living .. make income … The problem is with most musician .. They live in a Fantasy world outside of the real world that most People live in. # 2 When you make $ money .. invest it into something that People have Need for # 3 Do not Believe the hype of what People tell you # 4 .Take care of your Health .. Now these things are extremely important … Most Musicians fail to realize that That ultimate “Fame “ comes with a “Heavy price” I played Drums Professionally all over the world … I found out early what this gentleman is saying.. I Thank -GOD I decided to Follow Jesus .. Seek first the kingdom of GOD and All his Righteousness and ALL these things will Be added unto you .. At 72 still playing my drums ,Happily Married ( original WIFE) 43 yrs . Pension, Social Security ,401 , paid Home in Ga.. Now i ask myself ?? Would i be here if i was still playing music Full-time ???? Hummmm Ans.. Hell NO !!!!
60 must be the magic age… I’m honest…I never tried, I always listened to too many people, my wife passed recently so I don’t eat right and I’m not as active and at the same time I had to cut people loose, sadly I couldn’t see them for what they were worth when she was alive…Stay away from nay sayers, stay away from both toxic negativity and toxic Positivity people, because both will try to get into your head and start telling you how you should be thinking and how you should be feeling, and after a while you will get tired of it. Just be yourself and go for it and don’t listen to nonsense from people that’s not where you want to go. It’s your life and especially if you don’t have a wife and kids to answer to, get busy,,,just like Frank Zappa titled his album “Shut up and play the guitar” and that’s what the album is about. Now as far as staying relevant,,,I’m a bassist that came up in the 70’s and if you think I can stay relevant with digital music that replaces a bass guitar with digital bass drums, you would never be able to feel me. I think 90 percent of this new age R$B and Strip Hop is garbage and I can’t help it.
One of the smartest choices I made when I was young was to NOT pursue music as a profession! Not that I even had the talent, but I just wanted to do what I wanted to do and not HAVE to do anything. I realize this channel is all about learning what you need to do to make a living in music, but making music I want to make, has always been more important than making a living with music. It's an option! I really do enjoy these tips because I always want to improve, and be more "professional" and I thank you Terence!
really my whole bag is riding herd on large group of local, community musicians and jamming on whatever projects they bring. We wanted to create a community of musicians to foster that creative spirit in us all. Sometimes it's a little noisey! 😉
