When was the last time you sat down at your instrument and played music for fun? I mean, not music you had to practice or prepare, not the music you're teaching this week, but music you chose to play for yourself, for your own enjoyment?

So often as professionals, we don’t make time for this. We assume that the music we’re being paid to learn and practice and teach will also count as the musical satisfaction we need to keep going in our careers. It will satisfy that creative need we all have, the need to create and be challenged and experience something new.

But then we have to face reality: who has time to play for fun?

The problem is, this can become stifling. Instead of making music as a form of expression and creativity, making music becomes something we have to do, a task on our list. In short, it becomes work.

And when it becomes work, we lose that spark of inspiration, we miss the connection to the creative process, that feeling of making something personal, real, and deeply authentic. We lose some of the meaning behind why we started playing in the first place.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way.

The inspiration, the connection, the spark—you can get it all back. The key is making time to play music for fun and prioritizing it.

In case you're not completely convinced yet, today, I'm sharing four reasons why playing your instrument for your enjoyment and creative expression is really vital to your music career:

Four Reasons Why You Should Play Your Instrument for Fun

1. It connects you to your art.

For so many of us, our day-to-day work includes numerous non-artistic things; things like email, scheduling, paying bills, filing paperwork, paying taxes, and planning. We know this is all part of the job, but it’s easy to let all of these things take up the majority of our time, to prioritize them. And when that happens, we sometimes end up diminishing the more artistic parts of our job, like singing, playing, rehearsing, learning new repertoire, etc. in favor of checking things off our list.

Does this seem like mixed-up priorities to you? At our core, we are musicians and artists. We are creators. And when we lose sight of that or let it get buried under the daily and weekly tasks that are a part of life, our work begins to suffer. It starts to feel less like creativity and more like work.

Are you familiar with this feeling? Can you relate? 

One way to reconnect to your art is by playing your instrument.

1. Set the timer for 20 minutes (or 15, if that’s all you have right now).

2. Take out your instrument (or warm up your voice for those of you who are singers).

3. Open one of your favorite books or collections. No agenda, no expectation, no goals here—just a few minutes to play for yourself and reconnect to your art.

4. Play through some of your favorite pieces or do something that challenges you and helps you get into a flow experience.

5. Sightread a few pieces in a new book or pull out a Bach invention or prelude to work through.

One of my professors in college used to talk about the ways he stayed connected to music and his art. One semester, he challenged himself to learn a Bach prelude by ear. Let that sink in for a moment. Learning a Bach prelude by ear, without notation.

He listened to the piece while doing the dishes and at other points during the day and he didn’t sit down to work it out on the piano until he could sing it all from memory. Then, he spent some time each evening working out bits and pieces at the piano until he had the whole piece learned. One day, one step at a time.

Isn't that inspiring? And this was purely for his own creative development and musicianship.

I encourage you to make time for this. Put it on your calendar or your to-do list if you have to. This is such an important part of what we do.

2. It reminds you why you started.

It’s easy to get caught up in the busy-work and menial tasks of a job—or running a business, if you're a freelancer or portfolio musician—and lose sight of the bigger picture. Why did you choose to be a musician? Why did you start the work you're doing? Spending a few minutes playing your instrument for your own enjoyment helps bring things back into perspective. It helps you remember why you started, and more importantly, why you chose to make music your career.

What is your why? What inspired you to pursue music and to make it your profession?

Take a few minutes to write down your answers. Then, spend some time playing your instrument. Practice being present—listening, feeling, breathing, creating.

3. It’s an escape.

Music is a breath of fresh air, right? In the midst of stress, overwhelm, indecision, burnout, a worldwide pandemic—whatever you might be facing today or this week—music is an opportunity to experience freedom, a momentary escape from all the things of life that crowd our hearts and minds. It’s an invitation to rest in the midst of the hustle, to take a deep breath in the midst of overwhelm, to slow down and savor something in the midst of all the busyness.

Practice playing your instrument for a few minutes and I think you’ll find you feel more relaxed and ready to return to the necessary tasks in your day, refreshed and renewed.

4. It inspires and rejuvenates your work.

Whether you’re a teacher working on lesson plans or an administrator tackling your inbox or a freelancer working on budget spreadsheets, taking a break to play your instrument can help you power through the less-artistic, sometimes mind-numbing parts of your job, overcome creative block, and return to whatever work you have on your plate today with renewed energy and passion.

Why is this? Because playing music helps you stop thinking and find clarity. It helps free your mind to think creatively again.

Related post: An Inside Look at My Creative Process

It also helps you connect to your core. To listen and be still. These are practices we don’t often incorporate into our day, but they are so necessary and vital, even, to living our best lives and doing our best work. Everything in balance.

How can you challenge yourself, a little each day? What small steps can you take to continue learning and developing your musicianship?

Challenge

I thought I'd end this episode with a small challenge—and this is for me, too:

I want to challenge you today to carve out a few minutes each day this week to sit down at your instrument and play. Just play. Or sing. Don’t spend this time practicing music for your next gig or brushing up on your students' repertoire. Play something for yourself, for your heart, and mind, and soul.

Let me know how it goes! You can connect with me on Instagram: @ashleydanyew. I’d love to cheer you on.