I am a junior in college, and over the past two years, I have slowly been getting burned out. I think most college students go through this, and it looks different for every major. As a music major, I was slowly losing the joy of playing my trumpet.
It was a slow enough change that I didn’t even realize it was happening. Especially because I was still getting spikes of dopamine every time I would master a solo or technique and get to play it in front of people.
The type of practice I was putting in was good for me on a skill-based level, but because I was playing purely to get better, I wasn’t playing just to play like I used to.
Over the summer I met another college trumpet player who still had the “fun” mentality. He only sounded great about half the time, but he was always incredibly happy just to be playing. He would memorize his favorite melodies, and I don’t think I ever saw him not playing.
Hearing him play over the summer was a second wind that let me start playing for pleasure again instead of with only improvement in mind. This is exactly what I needed.
I started small by adding stuff to my practices like improvising over the karaoke versions of pop songs I liked, or memorizing my favorite licks so that I could string them back-to-back just for the sake of having fun. It never sounded great or was “correct” in a music theory sense, but that wasn’t the point.
The most important part of getting out of my burnout, and the thing I think that anyone who is experiencing burnout should get out of this is variety. I was significantly happier when I was doing different things than I was when I was on the grind to improve.
Now that the school year has started, I am trying to keep the same spark I got over the summer, but being busier has given me less time to do new or different things than my studies.
On the bright side, I have been able to bring the same ideas from the summer to the rest of my schoolwork. I’ve started reading and studying things outside of my class requirements just because I find them interesting or think they would be fun. I recommend anyone whose classes are feeling like they are starting to drag on to do the same.
So, if you find yourself stuck in a rut or uninspired, whether it’s with your studies, your art, or any other pursuit, take a step back and ask yourself: When was the last time you did something just for the fun of it?
