Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
Tysonviolin
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:12 am
Contact:

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by Tysonviolin » Wed Feb 27, 2013 4:49 pm

Quit your day job. At that point you will surprise yourself with your resourcefulness. That's what I did and happiness ensued. Keep bills low and create. I have a studio and a live sound business to augment my income but its all from music now for the past 6 years. I will never look back at that scary day I quit my day job.

Ajbbklyn
Posts: 392
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2007 9:39 pm
Location: New Hope, PA
Contact:

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by Ajbbklyn » Wed Feb 27, 2013 4:51 pm

My question is: Why do you feel the need to pretend you're someone else on the job? Is your workplace that stultifying? I mean, we all play roles to a certain extent in our professional lives. I work in a corporate environment for one of America's best-loved financial services companies (*cough*). But, I am who I am. While we are obliged to act in a professional manner on the job, there has to be room to be ones self. And, this gets to the crux of the matter: it's deeper than just making music vs a day job. You need to feel comfortable in your own skin.

The King James version of Ecclesiastes says, "To everything turn, turn, turn." But, the original translates more closely as, "There is a time for everything under the sun." This includes a time to make music as well as a time to work the field. Believe me, I am not minimizing the choke-hold that you feel within the constraints of your workday existence. But, you should be able to incorporate creative expression into your life. And, you should not stifle your inner self simply because you feel you can't. You'd be surprised how many people would welcome the chance to interact with the "real" you.

Full disclosure: I'm 56 years old, married, two grown children who are out of the house, and my Senior Vice President is a fan of my music videos.
Andy Baum
(nicht der österreichische Musiker)
http://andy-baum.com

Kent_in_CO
Posts: 159
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:45 pm

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by Kent_in_CO » Wed Feb 27, 2013 5:00 pm

Follow your heart, man! The worst thing in the world would be sitting around in 10 or 15 years, regretting that you didn't do it. PLUS, you have a supportive wife. That's amazing.

Not to mention the fact that you currently feel unsatisfied with your life, and have a hunger to create that isn't being fed.

The downside is that, as a general rule, it's hard to make a living with music. Also, the long hours spent earning a relatively small income could actually suck the joy out of the music. That said, you have five years of savings, so money wouldn't be a concern for awhile.

What if you took a balanced approach, where you focus on music, but spend XX hours a week freelancing or doing some part-time work? That way, you always have income, and you'd be better-positioned to re-enter the job market in five years if you find that music isn't paying the bills.

Best of luck. : )

Kent // SEVEN7HWAVE // http://seven7hwave.bandcamp.com/
Hong Kong: 2050 A.D. You're about to inject a dose of mind-altering nanobots. This is the soundtrack to your trip. https://seven7hwave.bandcamp.com/album/cyberia

eddiex
Posts: 1782
Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2010 2:51 am
Location: portland oregon

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by eddiex » Wed Feb 27, 2013 5:31 pm

i am 38, i have been feeling as you have lately. however i did give it a pretty good go in my late teens early 20s. i didn't make it :lol:
my opinion, don't quit your day job, especially with your level of responsibility (wife,kids) they may be supportive now, but in five years, if stuff isn't working out for you in music,and the bills are coming in that can't be covered..... you will have a bitter family. they, especially your wife (no matter how supportive she is now) will resent you, if you can't help take care of them.
i say give it a go as a weekend warrior. money goes quick especially when there is no money coming in. you can still work hard at trying to make it, while having the safety net of a day job. i know it is more difficult, but if you want it bad enough, you can make it happen.
cloud>https://soundcloud.com/eddiexdarko
i love you,please don't die.

73*
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 11:03 pm

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by 73* » Wed Feb 27, 2013 5:45 pm

Timbeaux wrote:Hi,

iam in the same position as the thread starter, but iam 31 now. When i was younger (16-20) i started making music with my pc and i had several gigs and was kind of succesfull. But i dont wanted to risk too much, so i studied and got a job after that. now iam at his point of desperation.

I have the same suggestion to just gettin fired and making music when i want to make (I have some money to stay alive for some years). But i would say its just a lack of motviation in my job, which is caused by the time i spent for it (50 hours a week).

My solution for this is to try to set my working time down to a 1/2 or 3/4. So i will have more spare time to do whatever i want. Maybe u should try the same first. Isnt it possible for you to get 1 or 2 months unpaid holiday to trying out? Maybe u change ur mind after that.
As I mentioned in my original reply to the OP, I was/am in this exact position. If you are going to quit your job and want to focus on music, do so while attending University. Get a degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, or just straight up Computer Science, work your ass off and if you're lucky you could end up working for Ableton, Native Instruments, Universal Audio, or one of the many other Hardware/Software companies. To me that sounds far more appealing and likely to provide long term stability where one could support a family, plus if the music tech industry crashes your skills are immediately transferable to other sectors.

theswiftone
Posts: 84
Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:35 pm

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by theswiftone » Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:22 pm

I've got one name for you that some people may know. DJ Derek.............. The guy must be 70 something and he's a Bristol based DJ (thats in the UK if you don't know) who plays mainly Reggae.... He's also released a compilation album. Not the exact same thing I know, but if your DJ'ing you can play your own tracks. If you play your own tracks and there good enough you'll get attention. Get enough good attention who knows. You only live once........... Oh god did I really just use YOLO! Forgive me........... Anyway the point I think I making is your never too old. You may not become a superstar DJ/Producer, but you'll hopefully be happy and big bonus if your music makes others happy. But I agree with what people have said. Do it in stages. Don't just out and quit test the water first for yourself and your family.

Image

Observer-A
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2011 6:48 pm
Contact:

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by Observer-A » Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:43 pm

If you truly love your art, pour all of yourself into it.

Otherwise you will end up with regret and always wonder what could have been.
Ableton Crackhead and Habitual Drum Hitter
Observer-A.com
DustedGroove.com
Soundcloud

Vocane
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:17 pm

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by Vocane » Wed Feb 27, 2013 7:09 pm

lowshelf wrote:
Vocane wrote:Although you write a moving story it is not near enough to really comprehend your situation and provide advise. First of all ,I suggest you to go to a psychiatrist if you haven't already.
That is lolz but unfair. I recall a great story about a roundtable discussion of psychiatrists are discussing their own virtually identical feelings of unfulfilled dreams and finite time. If the doctor doesn't live any longer than the patients...
We as mankind are imminently prone to feelings of dissatisfaction and unhappiness. This also true for psychiatrists. This doesn´t mean psychiatrists can´t help us. On the contrary, much of our feelings of unfulfilled dreams and general dissatisfaction follow patterns that are very common among men.

In my first point I wrote psychiatrist which is obviously wrong, the correct term is psychologist. A common mistake that people make and for which I never thought it could one day happen to me. The TS doesn´t have mental health problems, his issues reside more on the important crossroads in life. I still believe that talking to a psychologist can be incredibly helpful. A ´stranger´ is more objective and can prove insights which could be difficult to find on your own. Our reactions are in a way also bits and peaces that a psychologist could provide. In essence we should charge the TS money :P

su
Posts: 199
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 6:09 am

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by su » Wed Feb 27, 2013 7:27 pm

I'm digging all these stories. Mine is very close to Ajbbklyn's.

51, two older kids out of the house (but not quite yet off the payroll :-)), working at a high level in my field. I think the advice to follow your passion is great, though I personally would caution against ruling out other avenues of life, even gasp! a full time job!, from which you might derive satisfaction. In my 20s, I felt very much like you did and had some early success with music that I might have purveyed into a living. But now I have this career which is very gratifying in many ways *and* music which I spend a fair amount of time on and is also very gratifying. I guess I'm cautioning against going from one extreme to another.

Best of luck in whatever you decide.

lowshelf
Posts: 483
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2011 7:35 pm
Location: UK

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by lowshelf » Wed Feb 27, 2013 7:54 pm

Vocane wrote:In essence we should charge the TS money
:lol: Now we're getting somewhere! We all get paid, the OP gets a healthy taste of poverty, and any leftover small change can go towards starting up a club night. Because when you're tired of uninspired dead-eyed peers with their smarmy inconsiderate attitudes and fakeness, a nightclub is the obvious solution.

thegoodsirjames
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 6:18 am

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by thegoodsirjames » Thu Feb 28, 2013 2:55 am

It is so inspiring reading these posts and the PMs that a few people have sent me, thanks a lot everyone (I have replied to the PMs by the way, but some replies seem to be stuck in my outbox, not sure what's going on there). Who needs a psychologist when you guys are here and you all understand what the music bug means :D

I get the point about transitioning slowly that a few people have made. Problem is I feel I have to really devote myself to something full time if I'm going to progress with it - and I also believe you probably need 3-5 years to master anything worth getting good at. So for me it's probably going to need to be an extreme change if I want my focus to be on art and creativity. I could make some changes so that my life is still about my business 'career' but with more time to focus on a fulfilling hobby like music, as some have suggested. That might work but it doesn't seem very appealing at the moment...maybe I just have to come round to the idea.

And it is music I want to master, using Ableton - it's not just about mastering the software - good points made about that. It's not only about mastering music either, really - it's about pouring my life and soul into creative expression and growing through the experience. It might involve any other kind of artistic expression along the way, I guess. If I knew I had 6 months to live or if I didn't have kids I would do this right now - I wouldn't waste another precious moment sitting in dull meetings discussing budgets. I guess it is the fear of not being able to support myself or my kids in 10 years' time which is holding me back.

Really interesting comments too about being yourself at work. I find this difficult because basically 'myself' is very informal, says the wrong thing, isn't very corporate, has thoughts and opinions that some people (at least where I work now) would probably find abnormal or edgy, plus I would like to be talking about music all day. I work with governments in very conservative places, on projects involving their schools and young people, and I owe it to the people who are paying me to be the kind of person everyone feels comfortable with. There is often no electronic music scene in these places and sometimes, if such a scene starts developing, a politician or religious leader will stand up and say this devilish hypnotic stuff must be banned (a bit like the UK Criminal Justice Act 1994 :D ). And because of the nature of my work, the house, car etc are all included with the job. So focusing on music will require a significant leap away from all of these.

In any case there are some great ideas and suggestions on this thread and I'm going to ponder them all. Really good to hear from the guys who have made the jump and to learn how it's gone for them...thanks.

Zygi
Posts: 356
Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:10 pm

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by Zygi » Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:32 am

thegoodsirjames wrote:I work with governments in very conservative places, on projects involving their schools and young people, and I owe it to the people who are paying me to be the kind of person everyone feels comfortable with. There is often no electronic music scene in these places and sometimes, if such a scene starts developing, a politician or religious leader will stand up and say this devilish hypnotic stuff must be banned.
Well, that made me certain you should jump on the electronic-music-education ship. It would be a great continuation of your current work. There are plenty of things to do, you are familiar with the "market", etc.

It's not sitting in the studio and playing with sounds, which you can do anyway, but it still can be a big jump forward, away from your job.

littlepig
Posts: 567
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2005 7:48 am
Location: UK, London

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by littlepig » Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:56 am

I work with governments in very conservative places, on projects involving their schools and young people, and I owe it to the people who are paying me to be the kind of person everyone feels comfortable with.
Hey, stick with the job and insert subliminal messages in your music. You are ideally placed to widen the horizons of these young people. Think of the satisfaction you will get from being a mole :)

Then after a few years of developing your talents sponsored by these conservatives you can start revealing your true colurs. You might get a good pay off when you get made redundant.

Don't just jump, make your situation work for you!

73*
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 11:03 pm

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by 73* » Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:35 am

littlepig wrote:
I work with governments in very conservative places, on projects involving their schools and young people, and I owe it to the people who are paying me to be the kind of person everyone feels comfortable with.
Hey, stick with the job and insert subliminal messages in your music. You are ideally placed to widen the horizons of these young people. Think of the satisfaction you will get from being a mole :)

Then after a few years of developing your talents sponsored by these conservatives you can start revealing your true colurs. You might get a good pay off when you get made redundant.

Don't just jump, make your situation work for you!

I think this point right here is some excellent advice. If you end up deciding to leave and make the switch, initiate the change by starting to be who you really are at work. Eventually your employer will feel the need to give you the brass handshake, and if you're lucky, the five years worth of savings could be 10 years worth of savings. And perhaps more importantly you would actually run the 'risk' of making a meaningful difference in the sector of society that you deal with. Become the voice of dissension, use the remainder of your time at your job to push for a paradigm shift. Best case is you might become more appreciated and end up enjoying what you do, worst case you get fired and receive a healthy severance package all the while having a very cathartic last few weeks/months on the job. The only risk is that you may burn a bridge that might need to be recrossed if the music doesn't pan out.

sowhoso
Posts: 846
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:14 am

Re: Who has dared to follow their Ableton passion?

Post by sowhoso » Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:45 pm

asking total strangers on a public forum what to do with your life? and you want to be a professional musician?

are you really married with kids?!!!

and a bunch of strangers giving their advice

this is so fucked up

already 3 pages in less than 2 days...totally fucked up

Post Reply