In any environment where one exercises a job or a passion, there will be a time when you will often feel demotivated and unsure if you are still pursuing your dreams.
Start by recognising if you are tired or bored. There’s a clear difference between being tired and in need of a break, or being completely bored with your band. Let’s look at a simple definition:
Being a tired musician means that you feel emotionally drowned and demotivated. You have lost your passion and you need a break to recharge your batteries. Your creativity will feel deflated and you have a constant battle with songwriter’s block.
(If you are only having trouble with songwriter’s block, you will find the article I wrote about avoiding it super helpful.)
Being bored as a musician means that you are feeling unchallenged and not stimulated enough to suit your musical knowledge and performance ability.
If being regularly bored is a problem for you, don’t miss the guide I wrote about How Not To Be Bored With Your Band, right here
Now that you know the difference, we can have a look at which aspects mostly lead to musicians becoming tired or bored.
Do Bands Ever Get Tired of Performing?
As a youngster, you learn to play an instrument that you like. You master the instrument and start performing live. But when you commit to a band, you know that the product delivery would mostly come from stage performances.
No, bands don’t get tired of performing live since it’s their proven passion. There are, however, elements around live performances and being on tour that let band members feel like they need to take a break.
These are:
Being away from home
Bands get tired of performing because of being away from home for long periods of time.
For many bands, being on tour is a massive highlight. You get treated well, you meet new fans and see new places. But after spending a few months on the road, everything starts to look the same. Then you know it should be time to return home and spend time with your loved ones.
Most bands have a routine for this:
- 6 months of the year they spent on recording new material (music and videos) and practising for the tour.
- 3 months of tour and performance (3-4 gigs per week)
- 3 months of holiday and family time
A routine is crucial for musicians to stay mentally healthy and fit for an extended career.
This post was written and posted by De Wet from startingmyband.com on 13.04.2023. The content was stolen from me if this blog post is seen anywhere else.
Not being with family
Missing out on important family moments is a huge factor in bands getting tired of performing.
The biggest challenge about being on tour comes especially when you have smaller kids at home. That is the biggest source of homesickness and with good reason.
There are important family moments that you are missing out on and important skills your kids should be learning from you. While most spouses are supportive of the other living out their dreams, it’s just as hard for the travelling party to miss out on the family highlights.
It is possible in most cases that these families can visit each other during the tour period for a day or two just to see each other and calm the worst homesickness.
Not getting enough rest
Band members can get exhausted from not getting enough rest and mainly living from caffeine.
When you perform regularly, your working time switches from daytime to nighttime. This is a challenge for many since there are still things to be done during the day.
Try to keep your daily routine balanced. If you didn’t manage to sleep enough at night, plan a nap for yourself before sound check.
It’s ideal to have a nap before sound check since the sleeping time also recharges your system to be sharp and ready for the gig.
If you are a beginner or intermediate musician and you would like to have some extra tips and guidance for sound checks, don’t miss the post I published about it here.
Satisfying Expectations
Bands get tired of constantly having to live up to the expectations of fans, managers, producers and labels.
This is not an easy challenge to deal with. This is where most musicians become rebellious since they want to perform what they want and not always adapt to all the other parties.
I guess this is understandable. Being an entertainer sometimes also means adapting to what the audience wants to see or hear as well as giving so much of yourself.
Normally during a concert, the band or musicians would like to add something special to their show to please or impress their audiences, but also to gain a bigger following.
Do Bands Ever Get Bored of Performing?
Weeks in and out, bands will perform their songs, show after show. Sometimes even the same playlist and others with some slight twists and tweaks. But don’t they ever get bored of the same stage routine?
Yes, bands become bored of performing if their shows start to feel repetitive or if they feel unambitious. Other factors that lead to boredom are conflict within the band, unchallenged musicality or not playing their taste in music.
Let’s take a closer look at these factors and see if there are ways to prevent this:
Repetitive Sets
Band members can become bored with performing live when each show starts to feel like the previous one.
Before a series of shows, bands usually sit together with their producers to figure out a proper set list for their shows.
These gigs can vary between an hour (for festivals) or 2:00-2:30 hours for a full-on main concert.
The possible varieties of setlists one can set up are huge. If bands tend to be lazy to change and adapt these, it can become very boring and repetitive to do the same thing over and over again.
The solution would definitely be to take risks and mix things up. Reflect with your band to discuss what you can do better for the next gig.
Conflict Within the Band
It is normal to not always agree on everything, but it’s not ideal to have a situation where oil and water don’t mix.
Band members will become bored with a project rapidly if they don’t get along with the other members.
Leaving these situations unchanged will lead to band members losing interest and trying to find something else instead.
Make an effort to solve band conflict as soon as it occurs.
If your band is struggling with members losing interest because of unsolvable internal conflict, I wrote a 9 Step Plan to solve Conflict in your Band that you would find very helpful.
Unchallenged Level of Musicality
Being unchallenged can make one feel like you are stuck in a ditch, struggling to escape. Make sure before joining a band that the members are also on your skill level.
It is also possible to work with members that are at a lower level, and you pull them up by motivating them and teaching them new skills.
This is especially possible when the skilled member is ambitious and takes on more of the workload in a band.
I coached a band in the past where the lead guitarist was ‘Out Of This World’, and the rest of the band was totally below par.
The lead guitarist realised this and made an agreement to support and join the band for half a year before he would reassess the reality of the band making it.
I felt that this was a very mature approach to the situation.
The band end up playing a decent series of gigs, including a short tour before the lead guitarist had to move out of town for work-related reasons.
Not Playing Your Taste of Music
Playing in a band that is not to your taste in music will lead to boredom in a short space of time.
Make sure that the type of music that you like is also the type that you exercise daily.
There is a way to prevent this:
In my experience, I played in a band where 2 members were punk rockers and 2 members more for the alternative scene.
We gelled extremely well and came up with a sound that was unique. We also discovered that there’s a market for our music and we were proud of the manner of discovering a unique sound.
This is only possible once band members are committed, and ambitious, and they feel respected and comfortable in the band set-up.
This has a lot to do with the chemistry within a band. If you are keen to improve the chemistry of your band, as a settled unit or as a new band, don’t miss the blog post I published about it.
It will give you some key tips to reach your goal and make sure that all your band members are on the same page going forward.
You can find the 4 Ways to Improve the Chemistry in your Band here.
Being Unambitious
Being unambitious and feeling goalless will lead to a certain boredom for your band.
That’s why it’s crucial to set up a list of short-term and longer-term goals with your band members.
Having goals creates excitement, ambition and direction for your band.
Each business has a vision and a mission. See this as the same for your band:
- Where are we heading?
- How are we going to reach that?
This will create the structure for all your band members to stay motivated, keep practising and deliver valuable contributions to reaching the goals of the band.
Do Bands Ever Get Tired of Performing Their Own Songs?
Yes, bands get tired of playing the same songs over and over, but it’s manageable and preventable by making minor tweaks to improve the songs, and by changing up their setlist.
This does sound like risk-taking at first, but it’s using your creativity to the benefit of your band and for the entertainment of the crowd.
I remember as a teenager visiting rock shows of my favourite local bands. Sometimes there were even about 10 bands performing.
The hottest thing for me attending these shows was to hear these bands playing songs a little differently than what I was used to. They delicately placed interesting chord changes or melody varieties which made it a unique experience altogether.
This made attendance at concerts absolutely worth my while because I got more than I expected.
I wrote a massive guide to making money from your band and how to get the bookings. It takes you through the journey of beginner band to pro.
Don’t miss the post about Steps to Reach Your First Paid Gig – From Zero to Hero, right here.
That’s all for today folks.
Until next time!