One man bands.. and time management..

[SuitcaseOfLizards]

How does everyone manage?

I'm a guitarist/bassist that has learned keyboard and now is learning to track, mix, and master a bit. I find myself not having enough time to actually *get good* at any one thing any more! When I just played guitar, I improved over time.. added bass, managed to get better on both.. then got hooked on synthesizers and learned to play keys, barely.. everything else ground to a halt. Now I feel like I'm spending all my time just to stay in the same place!

Is there a trick to it, or am I just being stupid by trying to learn to do everything? I've considered dropping an instrument to get some time back.. not sure it'll help, though.

Comments? Advice (other than "go away" lol)?

[cuppa]

exact same story here,

guitar/bass/keyboards with a wife and a kid as well, i'm getting about 4-5 hours sleep and sometimes manage to fall asleep behind my desk at my 7.45 am to 4.45 pm dayjob
the wife and kid are the most difficult instruments to master
hence the nick cuppa, since I need massive amounts of coffee to get me through the day...
there simply aren't enough hours in day to do it all,
unless one would be extremely focused, but that is really hard after a day's work...

[Kajiki]

You have to choose your instrument, no?
But maybe 2 instruments is manageable. There are lots of people who mastered 2 instruments like Mingus.

My teachers always told me that I need to practice consistently to be good at instruments. If you can spend 90 minutes a day for each instrument, you'll be good at all of them. But it takes a lot of discipline to do boring things everyday for years. If you change your instruments because you get bored easily, you should forget about becoming a master... So in conclusion, I think you have to choose and commit to one or two instruments.

[Sicklecell666]

I f**king hate doing all the instruments..but that's the trade off for having quality & content control.

I'd much rather collaborate, & I'm nearing a point where that's gonna be happening with more than one person on more than one project, which is way more fun I think. If I get to where I onlyhave to do guitar & bass, I think my output would be much, much greater..

[Ja.x]

My story could be the same, except that I know I'm leaving guitar behind And it's not a problem of managing time within music, it's a matter of managing time at all with so many things to do: I work, I'm attending a master's course, I do my music, my own webpage, the cover art for my CDs, and still must find some time to get fit again See my problem?

Thanks god I have grown up kids and no bitching wife around

[Shane Sanders]

Add half a dozen design related pieces of software into your nightmare (and the necessity of staying current with them in order to eat) and you'll have some idea of my dilemma. I fall behind in something all the time, if one is looking at it from a professional point of view. There will always be someone more gifted, more capable, more dedicated. Being consistent finishing projects will help keep the feeling of being overwhelmed at bay.

BUT, my one great blessing for which I give God all the praise, is that I am really an artist. I truly burn to conjure things out of thin are and I truly become a non-ego in the process. It is the most liberating thing I know as far as "doing" things is concerned.

My old composition teacher used to say that it was best to concentrate on the things you were weak in, rather than major on the things that came naturally. Sometimes I agree with him. It's a coin toss, I suppose.

[RWA]

the wife and kid are the most difficult instruments to master

Ain't that the truth

I my case..... I started out playing drums and picked up guitars and keys along the way. But I've been doing all 3 for about 20 years now. Also started home-recording 10 years ago (PC-recording for about 3 years now). And I've kept playing in bands all that time (up till a few months ago).

Bottom line is it just takes years to get the hang of all the instruments and learing how to do proper recordings. I've been playing guitar and drums in different bands which is great for your skills because you're forced to learn how to play stuff. I'm still not that great a playing keys..... but it suits me.

As for playing bass and singing... I'm just not very good at it and apart from some bassparts in the past I never bothered trying. You can't do everything you know. So... for those parts I collaborate with others. You just have to if you're aiming at high quality. For me this turned out to be the best of both words. Bands usually have a slow working flow (you can't agree on stuff, others take to much time learning or writing their stuff, they leave the band........) and things are going much faster now + I like being in control of my own things. On the flip side it's nice to have some one else step in to do the part you're not very good at; they do it a lot better and a lot faster then you ever could. BUT.... I'm still calling the shots because I sort of "hire" them to step in.

MY ADVICE: it's nice to do your own thing and be in control but KEEP WORKING WITH OTHER PEOPLE TOO! I have 2 other projects running (one with a singer and one with a multi-instrumentalist/singer) and it keeps things interesting. In fact... those are the projects I enjoy the most and are very inspiring. And it's a great way to devide some work so you don't have to take care of every detail.

Trying to fit all that work into my life (along with a fulltime job and a wife and kid) is hard. I dedicate almost all my free time (and some sleeping hours) to it to get it done. My wife understands..... but isn't always happy about it..... But it's the only way. Other wise you end up with half finished projects everytime that die eventually.....

[SuitcaseOfLizards]

Thanks for all the feedback! Seems like I'm crazy to try to do it all.. I was kind of coming to that conclusion but needed a reality check before I went off and did anything radical.

Guess I'll focus on keyboard and vocals, and find collaborators if I want anything else! That saves me time, trouble, and expense (as well as gets me an hour more sleep, whew).

Glad to know I'm not alone!