How does suffering make music better?
There’s a common myth that, in order to be a great artist, one must go through endless amounts of suffering. My opinion on the matter is that suffering does nothing to improve your art - it just gets in the way of creating. As long as this ridiculous myth exists, there is yet another excuse for society at large (and in particular the industry) to make our lives difficult and disenfranchise us of our rights.
Musicians, please, don’t do anything to reinforce this idea among non-musicians (or other musos, for that matter). It’s only going to add to the momentum that gets you screwed over in the end. And to all others who would believe and propagate this idea, even with good intentions, I ask you personally to stop and think about what you’re doing: are you contributing to a belief that makes life harder for others? Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding yes.
I have experienced intense hardship in many parts of my life - more than is called for by the number of years I’ve been alive. But it hasn’t helped my art; it has come at those times when things were shaping up well and slowed them down. When those periods pass, my songwriting is still the same as it was.
We don’t need pain to get better. We just need dedication to our art, an open mind that embraces great ideas, and the old mantra that has something to do with practice.
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