Time Management for Musicians: Finding Balance

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Time Management for Musicians: Finding Balance

Рет қаралды 31,586

Күн бұрын

Josh asks: "With my day job, it's hard to make time for consistent practice. All the things with deadlines take priority, then practicing and writing fall by the wayside.”
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Bob Reynolds is an American jazz saxophonist and Grammy Award-winning member of Snarky Puppy. He's toured with John Mayer and Larry Carlton and released 9 solo albums, 4 of which made the Top 10 in Billboard's Jazz Charts. A pioneering educator, Bob has coached thousands of musicians through his innovative Virtual Studio. He is a D'Addario Woodwinds artist, amateur surfer, and popular KZfaq vlogger. He lives with his wife and kids in Los Angeles, CA.
“A self-assured saxophonist and an unassuming yet effective composer…”
NEW YORK TIMES
“…Reynolds flexes an assured hand with melding hip-swiveling jazz and funk as a bandleader.”
LA TIMES
“Some of the freshest, most compelling, and most soulful music I have heard recently. Bob Reynolds is an amazing musician, with something very exciting and original to say.”
Joshua Redman, Grammy-nominated saxophonist
“Bob is one hell of a saxophonist! His sound is rich and his execution is effortless.”
Michael Brecker, Grammy-winning saxophonist
LONGER BIO
Saxophonist Bob Reynolds is an in-demand jazz performer, educator, and sideman, as well as a Grammy Award-winning member band Snarky Puppy. Born in Morristown, New Jersey in 1977, Reynolds grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, where he first started playing saxophone at age 13. Although he listened to a range of music as a kid, by his late teens he was a dedicated jazz student. After high school he honed his skills at Boston's Berklee College of Music, where he mentored with George Garzone, Hal Crook, and others. As a leader, he debuted with 2000's The Bob Reynolds Quartet, followed by 2006's Can't Wait for Perfect. That same year, he joined fellow Berklee alum John Mayer's band and spent the next five years with the pop star, touring and appearing on such albums as 2008's Where the Light Is and 2009's Battle Studies. In 2013, he returned to his solo work with Somewhere in Between, which reached number one on digital jazz charts. He then made his Snarky Puppy debut appearing on the genre-bending group's 2014 effort, We Like It Here. Two years later he was back with Snarky Puppy for the Grammy Award-winning Culcha Vulcha. In 2017, Reynolds delivered the EP Guitar Band, which featured appearances from Kneebody bassist Kaveh Rastegar as well as fellow Snarky Puppy members Robert "Sput" Searight (drums) and Mark Lettieri (guitar). In 2018 he began touring with 4-time Grammy-winning guitar legend Larry Carlton. He also released the albums Hindsight and Quartet which both landed in the top 10 of Billboard's Jazz charts. A passionate educator, he cofounded an annual summer retreat for adult saxophonists called the Inside:Outside Retreat and he's coached thousands of musicians through his Virtual Studio, a ground-breaking web-based teaching platform he built and has operated since 2010.

Пікірлер: 129

@addedlane 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for giving a real life example that your still working holding yourself accountable

@LorenzHargassner 4 жыл бұрын

"I don't care about musical styles. I care about deadlines." - Duke Ellington

@bobreynolds 4 жыл бұрын

Yes! Good one.

@LorenzHargassner 4 жыл бұрын

@@bobreynolds - Hey, bookworm, ever tried "The School Of Greatness" by Lewis Howes? Helped me out a little in the last half of year with that kind of stuff. I figure you'd love that one, too... My recommendation!

@bettersax 4 жыл бұрын

watching this as I procrastinate instead of making my next video...

@bobreynolds 4 жыл бұрын

☺️ whoops!

@bobblues1158 4 жыл бұрын

It´s great listening to another musician going through this conundrum-but man, it is subjective and in a fluid state all the time. Be prepared to improvise at all times. And that is our thing. Great to see you again, Bright Moments!

@SeanMcCarthyMusic251 4 жыл бұрын

Dave Douglas came to my university for a week this semester as an artist-in-residence, He talked about spending weeks at a time (2-3 I think) just writing music for commissions that he has or for his own projects and not spending very much time on the horn, and then spending weeks practicing, rehearsing, recording, and/or gigging. But he was very specific about not practicing much during times of composition, he's a diverse and prolific writer and an amazing trumpeter so it was interesting for me to see that you don't have to do both at the same time and you can still be successful at both.

@bobreynolds 4 жыл бұрын

Makes a lot of sense and comforting to hear as I do similar

@lorishepherd5321 4 жыл бұрын

Bob, I absolutely love that tiny clip of your son, and noticing that his playtime has its own soundtrack🧡.

@bobreynolds 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Lori. :) nice to see your (avatar) face here. Hope you are well.

@karlhunter555 4 жыл бұрын

“Aquanauts” really has a catchy theme, my kids sing it a lot too.

@coltoncrawfordjazz 4 жыл бұрын

One of your best videos Bob! I like the “seasons” concept. This is life changing advice.

@ToastedCigar 2 жыл бұрын

Great advice! I have a bad habit of trying to do everything: practicing, writing, playing in bands, and music studies. I also study languages as a hobby and everything just piles up so that I have barely time to sleep. Recently I have started to prioritize and organize things according to their importance, but I think I should also try doing things more seasonally, because burn-out is no joke.

@2saxy 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for making this video Bob! Really helpful!!!!!

@JudahDaniels 4 жыл бұрын

eyyyy

@ezphd 4 жыл бұрын

Here's a crazy suggestion, via KZfaq: use settings and play all your videos at 2X playback speed!!! Actually, sometimes this isn't a bad idea to audit out "filler" and find the gold on which to focus. Also, apropos the 4 quadrants-- try to be sure of your motivation for each task's classification. Sometimes, one can get crushed under the number of items classified as "Important and Urgent," without realizing one can be "making the perfect the enemy of the good." Sometimes, hyper-organization can be an illusion and serendipitous "golden chances pass (us) by." More can be noted in this vein, particularly by as old a procrastinator as I.... still, balance is often found in quiet moments when we pause in efforts at mastering the universe by beating the universe to a pulp. I suppose quiet moments can be programmed into the schedule, as long as they are actually honored by not playing them at 2X speed. Just sayin'.... stay safe and well, all!

@JonathanArcangel 4 жыл бұрын

pleeaaaassseeee make the practice book

@azibegrey9624 4 жыл бұрын

Me toooooo

@bcmsax 4 жыл бұрын

Great Vlog...The cutting of 2 burners is a realisation/revelation that a lot of us either ignore or are too afraid to sacrifice whatever they may be!

@zebra3stripes 4 жыл бұрын

Planning his day in that level of detail demonstrates a lot of maturity. So does eating dinner at 4:30.

@vishnusriram 4 жыл бұрын

Getting Things Done has really worked for me in some times! Writing everything I wanted to do started really helping me sort my thoughts out.

@JulianFernandez 4 жыл бұрын

So true about not leaving things for the 2nd part of the day. There´s ALWAYS something that comes up!

@ryankcmusic5570 2 жыл бұрын

Can’t wait for the Saxophone Power Hour book.

@Chazgd 4 жыл бұрын

Super inspiring Bob thank you for making the time to make this video and share this wisdom with us! I also love that in the to-do list of your diary you scheduled in time for "Dinner and Relaxing", I think it can be easy to forget just how beneficial downtime is, certainly is something that I've struggled with.

@cascade9584 4 жыл бұрын

Really liked the idea of imagining your future not as one constant rigid schedule that you repeat 365 times, but instead a dynamic one, as presenting itself in different waves. Or as you said, seasons. Good video, Bob.

@luvkayakn 3 жыл бұрын

I love these life management talks. It's so important to managing our desire to be better musically, and balance relationships and jobs.

@JoshHou 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the insights! I'll be considering seasonality and try to go easier on myself if I'm not making progress on everything at once. It's oddly freeing to have "permission" to just set aside some things and focus on a subset of goals at a time. Thank you for the advice!

@rj6342 4 жыл бұрын

Reaaaaaallly needed to hear this. Thanks so much, Bob! Hope you and the family are staying safe and healthy!

@newmaniamusic 4 жыл бұрын

So refreshing seeing Bob saying he struggles with all the same stuff we do. Great honest advice! Thanks, Bob,

@jordel0577 4 жыл бұрын

Great content here Bob. An additional concept that has helped me on finding the balance for not getting frustrating, is something that comes from Franklin Covey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which is planning your things to do at no more than 80% of your real capacity. Doing it in that way will allow to absorb your daily, weekly and even monthly non predictable things. Thanks Bob! Loved the seasonal concept. Since I’m a husband, father, engineer and an active musician, the sacrificed aspect has been always the friends, which has made feel guilty in certain way. So now I’ll bring the seasonal concept to figure out the best and simple way to catch up with them...

@bobreynolds 4 жыл бұрын

Never heard the 80% concept before. That makes a lot of sense. I’m gonna try it!

@katherinehall4200 4 жыл бұрын

It reminds me of what Sput has said about what one of his mentors told him about always doing performances at less than your max capabilities. I wonder whether the concepts are related.

@Marcosls2015 4 жыл бұрын

Well said...Derek Sivers and Hugh Grant mention variations of that too in his interviews with Tim Ferriss.

@mikeaehm 4 жыл бұрын

Doing some important things like practicing in the first half of the day is really a crucial thing... thx for your personal perspective.

@dmanafo 4 жыл бұрын

Love hearing this Bob. I'm in my 40's and grateful for doing lots in life, but have ALWAYS wrestled with this too. Constantly reviewing my effectiveness and fruitfulness. Seems like an ongoing process. Hopefully I'm getting better. Not doubt you do accomplish lots, your capacity for music, arrangement, youtube, etc. is commendable. Love your music.

@hezekiahdaggett2179 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks homie. Gonna start mapping out my days and sticking to it

@FlorisV82 3 жыл бұрын

I am a jazz musician and composer for cinema, and besides that, work as a consultant for the FranklinCovey company in Europe and I REALLY NEEDED TO HEAR THIS! 🤣 As always, thank you for the amazing content you put out there and the willingness to show yourself with such authenticity!

@samormson1440 4 жыл бұрын

As always-fantastic and inspiring advice, but dang man-wearing a tie during quarantine? THAT is impressive.

@bobreynolds 4 жыл бұрын

Hahahaha. Felt like getting dressed up for y’all!

@scottquickel6462 4 жыл бұрын

Practice and record 1st thing in morning! Clearer head and emotions in the morning.

@exerciserelax8719 4 жыл бұрын

Great stuff... Lessons for life, beyond music. I'm 40+ and just figuring out how to do this stuff now. If I had been on top of it during college maybe I wouldn't have dropped out of music school and would be in a different place now... But it is what it is. Young viewers, listen to this man, it's up to you to make the most of your life.

@samcmassey 4 жыл бұрын

Excellent advice and beautiful playing - thank you!

@guywithdogs 4 жыл бұрын

Great concepts and insights in this video. The fact that you can take the time (make/find the time) to continue to produce these videos boggles my mind to some extent.

@kentbyron7608 4 жыл бұрын

Love the humility and sharing about you not having time management under control, it's just an illusion. That was extremely helpful and very encouraging in itself. Thank you for your honesty. Inspiring!

@TheBobrossmusic 4 жыл бұрын

Looks like we ready many of the same books. I can also relate with the season of fatherhood. I have 2 kids myself under 10 and I’m always considering how to beat use my time.

@henryholt1359 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Bob, in the end it's all about the sound and the "Groove".Love your work Brother.

@camiloochoa1239 4 жыл бұрын

Man, what a great advice.....thanks soooo very much for sharing so honestly your points of view. I'm in a similar boat, trying to figure out how to use better the amazing time God gave us all . kids, trumpet, wife, ....you get it.....thanks soo much....also for your sound with i really dig..........speaking as a trumpet player.......be blessed.!!

@camiloochoa1239 4 жыл бұрын

Msn, thanks for the like... I would love to study some jazz with you, how can I get in touch?... Would be an honor for me to study with someone like you.... I live in Manchester UK at the moment. 🙂 🎺

@goncalocorreia3203 4 жыл бұрын

Your videos are very important. More formal, less formal, totally informal, 5 min or 20 min, you *always* manage to share something important, some powerful insight and that is golden. P.S.: Two things: 1) for when some vinyl editions of your records? And also why did you never choose to put out vinyl also? 2) Make the practice book and consider one sold already. Thank you Bob

@saltcathedral 3 жыл бұрын

Best video ! Thank you Bob! Great advice!

@sheskimusic 3 жыл бұрын

Another great video, Bob.

@SansibarRacing 4 жыл бұрын

Great episode! You mentioned one super important thing but you then moved on rather quickly: to get things done it is important to surround yourself with people who you like, you trust, inspire you *and* can do work for you. Janek in your case. There are of course things that you cannot "delegate" (we should avoid this word in our context, because I'm not talking about dirty work), like playing with your children. But when I look for example at my workplace, there are few super successful colleagues who always overachieve their goals, plus have good time for hobbies and family. Even with all the books there, they can't help you with the fact that you have 24hrs each day minus sleeping. You can only be productive if you have a team or friends who eg work on your (common) stuff while you are playing bricks with your son. It is often super hard to find these invaluable people, and of course you have to return favours etc. But I strongly believe that in such "symbiotic" relationships you as a team get done much more than each one individually.

@imadlebiar1546 3 жыл бұрын

thanks, best of luck, keep rocking and stay safe!

@jamespetrone1104 3 жыл бұрын

Reealy appreciate you putting this stuff out there and how honest it all is

@chrisneyman 4 жыл бұрын

You guys are into Octonauts too?!?! That is my 3.5 year old daughters favorite show! I think we've seen every episode a million times!

@ml-ei3nz 4 жыл бұрын

16:00 you give probably the best advice.

@vintagevinylvets1187 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Bob, longtime fans here. We really enjoyed this video, it was very helpful.🙏🏻🎧🎷

@adriancoulson 4 жыл бұрын

Great stuff Bob, thanks for letting us in.

@legoblox01 4 жыл бұрын

On that list of tunes to learn I see Bolivia. Such a killer tune

@echoes675 4 жыл бұрын

I've been trying for weeks to remember the name of a tune. When you showed the camera ( at 4mins) your notebook the name jumped right off the page!! BOLIVIA!!!! Freddie Hubbard's version on Blues For Duane album is smokin!

@pcorneliusmusic 4 жыл бұрын

Dude. I remember those Jerry Bergonzi clinics (from your schedule notebook).

@frankzona9867 4 жыл бұрын

Hey Bob, great video. One request.........write the book.

@mitchell5016 4 жыл бұрын

Man the SBA sounds killer

@marklang7486 4 жыл бұрын

I think it's the Bob that sounds killler, not the horn..

@TheeColdpleeWeezer 2 жыл бұрын

I love this topic in this context. Great video Mr. Bob!

@luisvillanueva5725 4 жыл бұрын

I'm impressionated about that you transcibed the solos of Sonny's on The Eternal Triangle, that's my goal, I hope someday i can do it.

@MusicbyCiaran 4 жыл бұрын

This is so helpful, thanks Bob!

@TheBlavid 4 жыл бұрын

Ha Ha Bob! The end of this cracked me up... you look so spaced out by concentrating on your own playing. ;0) I think btw that practicing 4 till 10 pm in your high school days definitely falls into the category of work! You just weren't getting paid for any music stuff then... but of course it was the very foundation of your career right? (along with your filmmaking experiments as a youngster!). Thanks this was very helpful. The seasonal approach is a great idea, as is the idea of defining your roles.. Also as a fellow father of young kids I just appreciate your viewpoint. It adds a whole extra element to the juggling act of life, creativity & taking care of business! Best as always, David.

@jorgelopez9620 4 жыл бұрын

GREAT TIPS

@willysaxmusici001 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Bob. Love from Kenya, East Africa.

@alexchaviramusic 4 жыл бұрын

This sort of reminds me how Casey Neistat talks about how he organizes his day to get so much done. His trick is just that he barely sleeps.

@bobreynolds 4 жыл бұрын

I tried that for a few months when I started these episodes in 2016. It works...for a bit...until everything falls apart. (Also my littlest was an infant during that time.)

@alexchaviramusic 4 жыл бұрын

@@bobreynolds I've tried it before as well, it never works for me, I just break. I think the trick for him is that he's technically not a human

@philjudd3473 4 жыл бұрын

Yep been there and done that and unless your system is designed for it you end up in a very unproductive place..not to mention it takes ages for your body to get back to what it needs...or did for me...

@SonnyGreenwichJr 4 жыл бұрын

Over from Keith's channel, I've smashed all the smashers! Salutations from darkly cloudy and ghostly quiet Ireland! ☘️☮️🤘🏽🤠👍🏽☮️☘️

@SheltoniaNation 4 жыл бұрын

Haha haha! I’m in the same season of father hood. It’s so damn hard to balance the things. Thanks for this video. “Because in the night we save the day!” -PJ Masks

@SheltoniaNation 4 жыл бұрын

I also just realized that you guys were playing Octonauts and not PJ Masks. Between those two, Daniel Tiger, and Puffin Rock I get easily turned around. I’m sure my dad felt the same way about Transformers, GoBots, and GI Joe.

@Rohanguitar 4 жыл бұрын

that horse sax pillow is amazing

@sebastiansprotte2551 4 жыл бұрын

0:35 uuh yeah man! I'm currently transcribing the same solo! It's killing! Would like to hear/see another vlog about transcribing.. Maybe about some solos which influenced you a lot, what exactly was interesting about them, which different ways you use to work with them? How do you work with fast solos/fast tempos in general? Thanks a lot! Greetings from germany

@sonicacoustics9176 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome content! This is really helpful! :)

@filipbrezovsek1465 4 жыл бұрын

I always find inspiration on your channel, thank you!

@javiersantiago8025 4 жыл бұрын

Hey Bob! This video couldn’t have come at a better moment. Just yesterday I was having a recurrent argument with my girlfriend about balancing piano practice and study time with quality time with her. This video really put things in perspective and its awesome to hear that such a great musician like you was able to also maintain a relationship. I was wondering how would you organize your practice sessions in terms of breaks? How long do you practice before taking a break, and how long are those breaks? Right now I’m doing an hour of practice and 15 min break. Thanks Bob!

@javiersantiago8025 4 жыл бұрын

Something that does help me save time to practice and have more time for the relationship is waking up earlier and buying healthy ready made meals. And the Freedom App also helps to block out apps and websites while practicing.

@telamaes 4 жыл бұрын

Always inspiring Bob!

@RickySweum 3 жыл бұрын

Great tips on time management and life goal setting. Thanks, Bob.

@bladejohnson4784 2 жыл бұрын

At 17:10 he's just playing by himself right? I could almost hear the swing beat from the drums even though it's just him. The pads hitting the instrument almost sound like someone playing brushes on a kit. Pretty sick little idea, really pushes those non existence drums.

@billducker7404 4 жыл бұрын

Good Bob. I love your sound on the Mark 6. God bless you and yours. Bill. UK

@NelsonRiverosMusic 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this.

@ABC97613 4 жыл бұрын

So informative Bob, this motivates me to make the best out of my life :)

@ClearColorCloud 4 жыл бұрын

Extremely helpful, thank you!

@forresthale9529 4 жыл бұрын

I found my way over here from Janek's channel. I am so curious what the book is, on top of "Keeping It Saxy." Maybe you'll say, by the end...

@johnchapin7707 4 жыл бұрын

"Let's line up ALL OF THEM!!!, do, do, do-do, do dahh psssst" Way cool. That little nut has not fallen far from the tree! Seasons. Yeah!

@austinburrington6434 4 жыл бұрын

I like the game you got on the table, I've got "keepin' it saxy" too!

@vincentgaglio5106 4 жыл бұрын

Wow, Great stuff to think about

@philjudd3473 4 жыл бұрын

I really look forward to these...but may be watching them instead of doing what I should be doing...:-)

@paulgrass4855 4 жыл бұрын

Hey Bob!

@shaddjimenez4524 4 жыл бұрын

Can you film a video based on self development books that you recommend? It would be a very helpful video, as I can just get those books instead of getting tons of books based on their title.

@sergiog.4093 3 жыл бұрын

Maybe in a stage like yours the moment has come to simplify and just focus on your kids and playing. And not reading more of those books...but I´m not sure

@slowjammerukdog 3 жыл бұрын

Just discovered you, Bob. This is the second video of yours I've watched, and I got great stuff from both (the first was the excellent Patterns for Jazz vlog). I deeply believe that the answer to this time-management question is to follow David Allen's Getting Things Done system...the only problem is that in the two years since I read it, I haven't found the two or three spare days I need to get it up and running. I try to follow it as much as I can, though. I'd really like to know if you've had a similar experience (but if you don't have time to reply, I'll understand!). Cheers, and thanks so much.

@davisginn1298 4 жыл бұрын

Hi Bob, love the video and have an ever-present question. I often can dream up many goals I’m passionate about, create a schedule and a long term deadline to achieve that(for instance I’m trying to finish my first album by a year and a half from now and currently have the ideas and base material for 9 tunes), and often have the passion and energy to make short-term (like a week’s worth of) progress. My biggest hurdle that I’ve only overcome a couple of times in life has been the medium term, the 3-4 months in to a 1year project or something, I lose track of my schedule, get so overwhelmed by it, don’t hop back because it feels like I can’t and move on feeling frustrated. I would love to hear any advice you have for this. P.S. Your burning B+/A- effort is really inspirational to me, and to many of my friends as well, thanks again for a great video!

@richlabedz3978 4 жыл бұрын

You’re so inspiring!

@deafprof 4 жыл бұрын

What a cool guy!

@MegaRas73 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Bob for all your advice, do you believe in writing out your own solos as a way of learning to play changes?

@elilewis1170 3 жыл бұрын

Bob you're so fucking cool

@olivermorris6386 4 жыл бұрын

Hey Bob, would you be able to do a video on some good breathing exercises to do before practice?

@vincentgaglio5106 4 жыл бұрын

Make the practice book for us. Now. Lol

@lucianogb59 2 жыл бұрын

Man thats awesome, where i can find your video playing eternal triangle? Thanks for all

@johnskamnakis2501 4 жыл бұрын

I guess you read a book titled "How to find time to read a book". Just kidding. I saw about 50+ videos of yours during quarantine. I was a bit late, I know...

@bobreynolds 4 жыл бұрын

☺️

@Dvilch 4 жыл бұрын

Hudson is hugeeee now

@jakemadonia 3 жыл бұрын

hey bob im a red wing grad and own a music store in huntsville alabama, would love to work on your horn and can travel with the band with our new mobile repair shop/bus. not a sales pitch but have been a fan since i started playing as a young musician. whenever you need anything its on the house