Why Musicians 'Don't Need' Mental Support | Music Think Tank

Athletes use mental coaches to enhance their performances, entrepreneurs go to coaches to enhance their business, bankers visit shrinks, but musicians don’t need mental support. Here’s why.

Many musicians had to face hard times during childhood. They used music as an escape. Listening to music and later playing music was their way to deal with life. Music itself can lift you up when you are down. Being able to create beauty at any time, makes you feel powerful. It allows you to deal with the less nice sides of life.

“Music is supposed to be an escape. It’s supposed to be somewhere you can go, where you can be yourself, or be whatever you want to be.” (Joel Madden)

The comfort and empowerment of music works very well, as long as there is no pressure involved in music itself. Once you become more successful in your music, music itself can become a source of stress.

You start to load music with expectations. Music has to give you status and success.

You also start comparing yourself with others, regarding the quality of playing your instrument, regarding the amounts of likes on Facebook, regarding the amount of listeners on Spotify, regarding the amount of shows you have.

But what if music is not your escape anymore, after you start expecting and comparing?

When becoming more successful as a musician, you still expect music to be your escape. And while everyone around you admires you, you think that it would be childish of you to complain. You will sort it out by yourself, you don’t need anyone to talk to about what’s bothering you.

If you work hard enough, you might think, music will become your escape again. And if you can’t escape in rock ‘n’ roll anymore, you might try it with the first two parts in ‘sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll’.

Musicians always have their music. That’s why musicians don’t need mental support, right?

Source: Why musicians don't need mental support (http://ift.tt/2qH9nXM) by Hilde Spille

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