Anyone else have a home studio that is not used much due family obligations?

[Tube World]

Anyone else have a family, kids, and responsiblities so your not working in your studio the way you want to? Dont' get me wrong, my kids are priority, but I wish I had more down time for my studio. Writing songs, coming out with new ideas, getting some more gear here and there. With so much going on at home, it's hard enough to practice guitar, and bass and keep my chops up.

[The Real MC]

Not me but I know friends in the same boat. It's called compromise.

Lots of professionals juggle families, recording, touring, etc. Look at Rush - Alex and Geddy started their families in the 70s. Alex is a grandfather now.

[dano69]

I hear you. I think this is a problem for most musicians. When my son was first born, I used to try and force myself to spend time in the studio. I did this by not sleeping much. Needless to say, I got very little done, because I was exhausted!

Now that my boy is more independent (he's twelve), I find it much easier to work on my material. Sure, there are still tons of obligations, but I find it easier to be creative if I just relax and not beat myself up.

You'll be OK. As time goes on, you'll find the time to get things done. Remember that any day where you can practice for 30 minutes is a good day. We're incredibly lucky!

[kafka]

I only played guitar occasionally, and didn't buy a single piece of equipment for a dozen years after my first child was born. I eventually started writing and recording again, but I'll still go a month without putting down a single track. I play guitar almost every day, but it's tough to get good practice or writing in. That's life for you. Gotta choose your priorities, and just make the best of it on the rest.

[Delphino]

When I got my daughter and available time shrunk to a minimum, the few moments I got were the best moments ever and a new start for me musically. So much inside needed to come out, obviously, cause i didn't realise it at the time morr than that i was very happy about all my new music...

[BillSimpkins]

Dude, you have a couple free interns running around your house, use them.

[drBill]

No problems with that here. I have them all well trained.

[JoRillo]

Ahh the joys of being young and childless.

[Beat Poet]

I guess something to remember is that actually having somewhere at home where you can go and play/record music is such a blessing. Naturally being a drummer, I can't play in any house that isn't detached. Just to do session I have to do a seventy mile round trip to my parents' house. I rack up about 350 miles on the road a week, just going down to record. In my current place (which I'm desperate to get away from) I've had next door banging on the wall just because I've been playing acoustic guitar quietly, and banging on a practise pad seems to be too loud as well.

[filipv]

well, peace of mind comes when you stop looking at your studio as an investment which should pay for itself. Look at it as a hobby.

Many people spend loads of money on fishing equipment, vintage cars, train sets, model planes and god knows what else.... My hobby is music production. When I told that to myself I began actually enjoying and stopped feeling guilty.

[idylldon]

Originally Posted by filipv

well, peace of mind comes when you stop looking at your studio as an investment which should pay for itself. Look at it as a hobby.

Many people spend loads of money on fishing equipment, vintage cars, train sets, model planes and god knows what else.... My hobby is music production. When I told that to myself I began actually enjoying and stopped feeling guilty.

Agreed.

I built a freestanding studio in my backyard about a decade ago and have used it primarily to record other people and generate some extra income while my daughter was growing up. It's worked out well because I was always home while working in the studio and had a lot of flexibility when scheduling sessions. Now that my daughter is away at college, I'm pretty much free to do what I want in my studio with no time constraints. I still primarily hire the studio out, though, and am working towards having a big enough client base to generate some extra income when I retire. So far, the plan has been working well and I have as much time as I want to work on my own projects.

Cheers,
--
Don

[Kris]

Playing, practicing, and recording my own tunes has been cut to an absolute minimum since kids entered the picture. Wouldn't have it any other way!