Music Burnout - Temporary Condition?

Lately for the past few weeks, have had no motivation to practice and compose music. Somehow this new hobby photography I find more interesting because 1) it is a new medium 2) it remains creative 3) it can be more active and you can travel and capture moments 4) experimentation and missteps appear to be tolerated better in the visual arts 5) the info for the mechanics is more accessible.

I foresee it being temporary this music burnout but unsure. At a party with pianists and musicians I wanted to play some pieces and did. I just have no motivation to do the nuts and bolts practicing and study that enables a musician to flourish and explore. I do hjave the quintet which nwo should just be 2 movements. I have a good idea of where and how I'd like to present it in performance too. I am just concernced by this complete lack of interest in study/practicing.

Has anyone undergone a similar experience? What did it feel like? How long did it last? Did you go back to music?

Welcome thoughtful responses - any spamming or snarkiness I will report to the admins and ask the response to be removed. This is a big beware for trollers to stay away from this thread.

Chris sometimes you may want a break from music and do different things. Photography...etc other stuff but you have great knowledge of music and great composer. You know you love music even sometimes you feel like you're getting away from it and doing other stuff.

I suggest to not worry about it and enjoy your break a little bit then you will turn back.

An accurate description of my musical career could be that of a pendulum: big creative outbursts, lasting several years, followed by a "dry spell" lasting months or even years. So yes, I can relate to the idea of a temporary "pause".

I started composing during my teenage years, and got a lot of works composed between 1993 and 1998. But afterwards, as I progressed into the law school, I was no longer able to compose that much (not to mention I had to do it solely by handwriting). So the following five years (up to 2003) were totally unproductive in terms of music. However, I finally got my first notation software and my interest in composition was suddenly resurrected. Prior to 2007 I composed a number of new works and revised most of the earlier ones. But then again, I drifted away from music - this time owing to a master's degree in Europe plus a rival interest in fiction writing. By mid-2011, however, I was burning again with the desire to compose (or rather, with a lot of musical ideas becoming too much of a nuisance to keep ignoring them), and this led to my third "compositional outburst", in which I'm still living.

So, don't worry, enjoy what you're doing - and rest assured that your "dry spell" will eventually end. Moreover, you're very likely to be a much better composer when you get back at it ;) .

I'll go for one or two months at a time without writing anything maybe twice a year because I need time to recoop after various projects. During that time I always feel like I should be composing, but instead I "procrastinate" with other interests, and I get heavily involved in them. I generally don't stop playing an instrument, but I freeze up when it comes to composition. During this time I think "What's the point? Why do I bother when composition itself feels like a struggle, few people appreciate my music, and my prospects of living a financially stable life as a composer are slim? Maybe I'd be happier doing something else." Then I realize nothing makes me as happy as music. No, I did not say composition. Composition is, for me, a painful process. But the rewards of the final product are great: I get to discover and work with incredible performers (these are the people that truly motivate me), I get to see the work grow through rehearsals and possibly revisions, and there's nothing quite like hearing a freshly minted piece outside of my head and outside of Finale. It's thrilling. And music has this elusiveness and intrigue that doesn't compare to anything else I study; I feel like with each composition I'm working toward a better understanding of what music is or, at least, what it is to me.

I think most of us feel burnout at some point or another, and you might as well go with it and follow your other interests. It's important to take time away from the concerns of composition and just relax or discover new interests. If you aren't expanding your horizons and having new experiences, you're going to run out of things to write about. Oh, and go out dancing. Seriously.

Perhaps it would be helpful to consider all your interests as being outlets of the same creative impulse. It's much better to have something on the go that you want to do at a certain point than force yourself to compose because you feel as if you should give priority to one discipline or artistic medium. Unless your project is actual work with a deadline, composing should not become a chore and you should only come to it when you have something you want to write and feel ready to do so. Often, taking a break can be helpful to step back from something. I always have a few weeks of the year when I don't practice one of my instruments, so that when I come back to it for a new project it feels fresh and my ear is more ready to analyse how to improve my playing. I think it would be more worrying if you felt you had nothing to say or no ideas for new projects.