While endlessly fun, travel can be a rather disruptive thing when it comes to daily routines. If you are used to playing music religiously, things can come to a screeching halt here.
Being isolated from the things and places you love can be quite tough, especially if the things you’re passionate about are all back home. For example, a study of 2,000 business people found that more than two in five disliked being away from home, and one of the big reasons was living out of a suitcase for prolonged periods.
Therefore, if you’re a musician, being away from your bigger and bulkier instruments, or fellow bandmates, can throw a wrench of sorts in the works. If you’re not keen on putting this part of your life on pause for a longer while, then here are some tips to help you stay in touch with your tunes!
Create A Travel Playlist
If you face limited playing time, then you could try to balance things out by upping your listening time. Create your very own travel playlist, and give it a listen when you’re in transit, or simply roaming the streets or pathways of wherever it is that you are.
How does listening improve your playing? Well, it can help in the same way that all good writers need to be great at regularly reading literature too. It develops your ever evolving education in music, opening the door to further inspiration, insights, and techniques. All musicians have a good ear, so train yours during the duller periods of travel.
A travel playlist can also capture your mood in this specific window in your life. Once you’re back home in the full swing of things, you will have a handy reference point that you can constantly check-in with. If you’re an artist, a diary can be a wonderful tool for articulating your feelings, and playlists can serve a similar function.
Find a Studio
Just because you’re going overseas, it doesn’t mean you’re barred from all types of rehearsal and play. If you’re a player of the guitar, violin, or any other smaller and packable instrument, then why not take it with you?
You can even find a quality rehearsal studio in Germany, courtesy of Pirate Studios. Their proberhaume in Berlin is equipped with high-quality equipment, from amps to drum sets that are poised for your usage. Microphones are also in supply in any number of their rehearsal and recording studios, and its all affordably available for your use whether you’re a beginning musician or a seasoned professional.
Ultimately, it’s simply important to remember that you do have options. While extensive travel can tamper with your playing music routine somewhat, companies like Pirate Studios will always have an artist’s sanctuary in various cities that you can visit in times of need. Whether you want to lay down a new idea or get fully immersed in a concentrated writing session, you’re never isolated from the action for long.
Try Online Lessons
If you’re too busy to play anything elaborate and meaningful during your adventures, why not give your skills a bit of polish by playing music for a few minutes every few days?
From your smartphone or laptop, you can engage with a variety of online music lessons from the comfort of the accommodation you’re staying in. Even if you’re relatively proficient, chipping away at a new cover here and there might just be enough to whet your appetite until you can return your uttermost potential back home. For now, a few quick lessons could well suffice.
Making music is a muscle of sorts, and it needs to be used regularly or it will be fade away. That doesn’t mean you need to compose the next hit every week, but only that you need to practice here and there, regardless of how busy you are. Look up some play tutorials that reflect your level of skill and keep trying to improve. Remember, in playing music, you can always raise the bar in your proficiency.
Listen to/Watch Yourself
Sometimes, the best teacher is yourself. If you look or listen back to past recordings of your playing, then you can reflect on what worked, and of course, what didn’t!
You can only perfect your art if you’re open to critique. Of course, you shouldn’t take this to a level where you become so self-critical that you become self-destructive. The Guardian published an article about a man who failed a somewhat rudimentary piano exam, yet the comment section was filled with supportive comments of ‘keep trying’ and ‘just play for fun.’ That might be a valuable lesson to learn when you’re trying to play and travel at once.
Perfecting your craft is to be commended and traveling is the perfect opportunity for some self-reflection. Email friends and family to send you clips of old recording sessions, or if you roll solo, take some practice footage you filmed yourself with you. Ultimately, traveling can be a great time to figure yourself out, spiritually, mentally, and indeed, musically.