Getting Back to Making Music

The Drift

I was disconnected. And something needed to change.

Last year I was incredibly busy with music, without actually making much.

Planning and delivering lessons, preparing to launch my video-learning platform, upgrading resources, rebuilding the curriculum based on student feedback, updating the website, refining ideas, organising, journaling, reflecting, and lots of self-education. The list goes on.

Everything I did felt relevant and meaningful. And it was relevant and meaningful. My teaching and business goals are now much clearer, and the learning experiences I offer students are now much improved. All as a direct result of the time I invested into student feedback, reflection, iteration, and execution.

But throughout the year I started getting a creeping feeling that something was missing. Most of my attention was focused on improving the way I support my students. To the point where I totally neglected my own music-making practice. I’d completely stopped writing any of my own music, at least with any meaningful degree of consistency.

And being surrounded with music on a day to day basis, whilst not actually working on much of my own, became more and more uncomfortable.

Something needed to change.

The Realisation

As is customary for most of us towards the end of the year, I spent some time reflecting..
What's going well?
What needs to improve? 

It was then I realised I’d fallen into a trap. One clear message emerged, and it screamed at me.

“Ian. You don’t want to be that teacher who doesn’t practice what he teaches.”

Kind of like wanting your personal trainer to actually care about their own health. Someone who leads by example. A practitioner.

It’s far too easy as busy adults to let our most important habits and practices fade away. Especially when we’re trying to develop and maintain in so many different areas.
Life is busy. I’ll get to it as soon as… [insert your favourite procrastination strategy.] 

Yet the thing is, I knew what I was doing. I knew I was ignoring my music-making. And I was ok with it (at first.)  I knew I was in a season of work where I wanted to express my creativity in a different way.

I was busy improving the foundations of my teaching business…  a creative act in itself. Work which I enjoy.

But I took it too far. To the point where music-making wasn’t even a low priority. It was simply non-existent. I ignored the whisper.

Eventually, that whisper became a scream. It was time to change things up, heading into 2026.

The Decision

Music-making needed to become a core daily activity again because, without it, I felt incomplete and frustrated.
It was time to start being more intentional about my own musical development.
Time for me to get back into student-mode and stop coasting.

My teaching is always more inspired when my own creative practice is thriving.
The excitement for making music was back. I’d neglected it for too long. 

As a quick side note, I’ve experienced this multiple times before, but as I’m getting older (and hopefully wiser), the pain of having to ‘re-start’ my creative habits is becoming more and more uncomfortable. I mean, life is short… get on with it, man!

Starting is always harder than continuing. The longer you put it off, the harder it feels to start.

From a purely logical point of view, it made sense to get back into motion, so I could stay in motion.
Fortunately, the inner drive to make music has never left me (even when I’ve ignored it). So it was time to start honouring this fact.

What does this mean in practice? It means: make music every day. If you don’t stop, then you won’t need to ‘re-start’.

So I’ve chosen a clear container to drive the new behaviour I’m seeking. I’m aiming to finish five pieces of music by the end of March. A four-track piano EP and one dance track. I have 90 days, and I’m committed to showing up on each of them.

This isn’t about trying to write perfect pieces of music. It’s about restoring a part of my identity that makes me feel alive. Like, really alive.  It’s about doing the thing that never fails to make me feel more content. When I actually do it..

This isn’t a dramatic decision. This time round, it feels like the natural thing to do. I’ve started already and I’m feeling pleased..

The Work

Staying consistent with daily music-making is the primary objective here. The five finished pieces of music are just the by-product.

Working on the piano EP will help sharpen my song-writing and playing skills, without distraction from the DAW.

Producing the dance track lets me go a step beyond the song-writing, and into the ever-inspiring world of sound manipulation. 

Right now, daily consistency is everything. This is the work that matters most. Making a little progress every day is how music gets written, recorded, and finished.

And each finished piece of music builds momentum, skill, and confidence. 

If you’ve read up to this point then it’s pretty safe to say that something I’ve written here has resonated with you.

When was the last time you finished a creative project?
If it was recently, good job. Keep going so you avoid the trap that I fell into.
If you’ve been stalling, procrastinating, or telling yourself you’ll start on Monday, what decision could you make today to begin making progress again?

Creative animals need to feed. So, go and eat something, you creative beast!

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Thanks for reading,
Ian