Before making my hobby resolution, I started trying to use my lite version music software. (My audio interface included Ableton Live Lite for free.) Mind you, I've had this software available to me for nearly 10 years. This time, just like all the other times I tried to use it, I was having a lot of trouble. I couldn't find the sounds I wanted. I had trouble understanding how to record in it. Why doesn't my music sound as good as all the demos I found online. (Yes, I read the manual. Yes, I used the online help and tutorials. Still confusing!) Browsing around the web I found so many almost helpful resources, but for some reason I felt I was missing some key knowledge.
Finally, I found a "music software training" site offering a set of free videos that provided a bit more insight for me. Following these tutorials, I very quickly reached the limitations of my software. I started to realize how basic my free version is. Now I had a decision to make. Do I sink a bunch of money into the Standard version, start all over with some other software, or just give up?
So this was the backdrop, when I recognized that if I was ever going to do anything satisfying with music, I was going to need to do something drastic. This is when I told myself, music will be my hobby. I also told my wife and my daughter, since this decision indirectly affects them as well. At least the effect is supposed to be indirect. (Maybe we'll talk more about that in another post.)
Let me explain what I mean by "hobby". This is not just a thing to do to pass the time. I believe a hobby needs to be creative and productive. It usually needs to be technical in some way, meaning that there are techniques you employ in the creative or productive endeavor. There may be legitimate hobbies that do not include all these elements, but I require all these elements if I'm going to intentionally expend my precious time. Doesn't sound very relaxing? Well think about people who do gardening, quilting, hunting, fishing or golf. When you invest yourself in things you enjoy, you can reap worthwhile inner benefits. So for me, a hobby is actually a serious enterprise. Like any of those other hobbies I named, I can invest some of my time and money into it because I have a purpose in it. I can occasionally violate rule #1 (Pay for nothing) and not lose any sleep over it.
At the same time, it's just a hobby. It's just for me, and I can make of it whatever I decide I want. I don't have to have the latest or the coolest music toys. I don't have to buy the best, when some free or cheap tool is actually good enough. I actually have responsibilities that compete for my time and money. I have other goals and dreams. I don't want to overcommit or overinvest in this thing. But I am serious about what I am doing. I do want to learn. I do want to create.
In the end, I gave myself permission to spend a few hundred dollars on the Standard version of Ableton Live. Less than a week after this, I rediscovered a website called Coursera that has free courses on everything from cooking to programming to history to art appreciation to . . . MUSIC!!! Introduction to Music Production, Introduction to Ableton Live, Songwriting, and more!
I signed up for both the music production and the Ableton Live courses simultaneously (big mistake, I should have done one after the other). With the very first assignment in the Ableton course, I immediately transitioned from thinking "How do I use this software?" to "What do I want to do with this piece of music?" I started with a REALLY SIMPLE two bar, two chord pattern and it EASILY developed into a nearly complete song. After laying down most of the music, lyrics formed in my head. Within one week, in the right forum, with the right information, the right tools, and the right internal motivation I was finally doing what I've wanted to do nearly all my life - making music. How awesome!!! But not only this, the two courses I took required me to find and use tools related to remote collaboration, education and knowledge sharing, all related to life goals I have apart from music.
So now, my "little hobby" has become so much more than just a way to bring a little more enjoyment and satisfaction into my own life. It's become the pathway into EVERYTHING I want to do with my life. So, while I ended my last posting saying that Rule Number 1 is "Pay For Nothing", violating that rule judiciously has actually kickstarted my journey into music creation, production, and beyond in ways I would never have imagined.
I would love to hear your stories about how you made the transition from wishing to doing in some meaningful aspect of your life. How did you overcome your obstacles? What gave you the courage or boldness or stubbornness to press on? What are you trying to do next?
Until next time, go make some music!
