With a host of distractions, the grim realities of earning a living, and the need to sleep and eat from time to time, music may be taking a back seat in your life. I’m not just talking about playing; I’m talking about listening, too.
It’s been a while since CDs started their decline, and the move to digital has left some of us caught between formats. How do you carry your music around? Do you listen to an MP3 player, or have a catalog of music on a phone? Do you haul CDs (or cassettes) out to your car when you’re on the road? For many listeners, it’s an awkward combination of all of these things, and the result is sometimes that we listen less and hear less new music. Try these five cures for that problem.
If a fellow musician took the time to share some music with you, put aside whatever else is going on for a minute and give that music a fair hearing… especially if they gave you a CD. Those cost money! Build up your musical karma by checking out every new track you get. You might get totally inspired.
You can even do this if you’re at work during a lunch break, coffee break, or bathroom break. Your managers are probably listening to their friends' bands at work, too. Just don’t expect anyone to listen to your tracks if you put everyone else’s music aside for later.
Take some time to learn how to use iTunes, your smartphone, or whatever allows you to make your music portable. Make sure you upload all the music you own to that format. Get rid of redundant albums and tracks, remove stuff you don’t like, and clean up all those demo versions of that song you just can’t finish. Your playlist should be an endless river of stuff you like, putting you in a permanent good mood and pouring inspiration into your head whenever you press play.
If you drive and it’s at all possible, make sure that gadget is compatible with your car stereo, so you can just plug in and go. Make sure any great new stuff you acquire gets on that playlist right away.
If you’re even more obsessive, go ahead and make different playlists for different moods, routines or audiences. Your church banquet music shouldn’t include the Geto Boys, for example, nor does Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute, belong on your workout playlist.
It’s amazing how many workplaces forbid listening to music. If management resists having tunes at the office, find out their reasoning and figure out a workaround. If it’s content, style, or the potential for annoying your customers, there has to be some sort of compromise.
Maybe there’s a space that’s not open to the public. Maybe music can at least be permitted in a break room. If customers shop at your establishment, music can be a great mood-setter, contributing to your brand and boosting sales. Perhaps corporate can be convinced to spring for a proprietary music service.
Do you wake up to an annoying alarm? Why not hack your life and start your day on the right side of the bed? Use an app like this one to create a wakeup playlist so you’ll get out of bed with a smile instead of a groan.
The best wake-up songs ever are probably the Beatles “Here Comes the Sun” and Bob Marley’s “Jammin,” but you must have your own favorites. And for those looking to hit the ground (violently) running, try out this classic by Korn… but check with your bed partner first. Nu-metal in the morning is more than some can handle.
Not counting cars, how long has it been since your music came out of real woofers and mids? Have monstrous hard rock tracks been chirping at you through dime-sized speakers? That should be against the law.
Good-quality stereo speakers are one of the easiest and cheapest things to pick up used, especially now, during tag sale season in most of America. There’s no excuse: get a receiver and a set of three-way towers and crank it. Your neighbors will thank you, and you’ll have more music in your life.
Jesse Sterling Harrison is an author, recording artist, and part-time farmer. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, three daughters, and a herd of ducks.