We recently connected with Hank (Chia-Hung) Lin and have shared our conversation below.
Hank (Chia-Hung), so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
I started playing drums when I was around 16. I’m pretty aware that it was a bit late to start learning an instrument, so I try to put in as much practice time as possible. Practice is a good thing. If you want to progress, practice is necessary. But once you overdo it, it is no longer a good thing. As I mentioned before, I practice as much as possible, and of course, I burn myself out. When I burn out, I no longer desire to practice. My body is tired, I can’t focus in the practice sessions, and there’s also no improvement in the practice. When it happened the first time, I tried to push through it, putting in more time to practice, but it was getting worse and worse. It was when I realized I needed to take a break from the drum set and music in general. I gave myself a two-week break, no drums, no practice, just going out, hiking, going to the beach, watching movies, hanging out with friends, just the activities that will make you relaxed. It really helps me release all the tension in my body and mind and refresh it all over again. And when I pick up the drumsticks again after two weeks, everything is on track again. Burning out is very common. You will most likely experience it as a musician. If it happens, step back and focus on something else; it will refresh your body and mind. After that, you’re good to go again!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a professional Drummer/Multi-Instrumentalist from Taiwan, based in LA. I play for Dead Marble, NetherOak, Joshua Gomez, Doheny Drive, and some Asian artists (such as Eric Woo, Sky Woo, Johnson Lee, Mimi Choo, and Yu Yar). I also write my own music. Everything started when I was five years old. I started to play classical music on the piano, and that’s when my passion for music started to grow. Later, when I was around 16 or 17 years old, I found my passion for drums on the electric kit that my parents bought me. It’s like I am addicted to drums. I just love the feeling of hitting the drums and the sound of it; it helps me express my emotions and energy, both mentally and physically. With the knowledge that I already have because of the piano, it is a lot quicker and easier to learn drums. It helps a lot, both rhythmic and reading-wise. Not too long after I started playing drums, I became a huge fan of metal and rock music, which greatly influenced my playing style. I also picked up the guitar later. I enjoy all three instruments, but drum is still my favorite and the instrument that I decided to pursue a career with.
After graduating from high school, I decided to apply to the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles and pursue a career in music. After I got here, I met so many great people and people who had the same music taste. I started playing shows with all the groups I mentioned at the beginning. Always a good time playing live, and this is what I’m looking for. At the end of the day, going on tours and playing shows around the world is one of my career goals. I am super grateful for all the opportunities I have had so far, and I look forward to more adventures!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
They are Passion, Patience, and Embrace. Every instrument is different from each other, with different techniques and different sounds. But if you want to master any of them, you must invest time. If you have a passion for something, that passion will be one of the strongest things to keep you going. “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Everything takes time, especially for instruments. You need to be patient and understand that sometimes, one day of practice won’t make a big difference, one week of practice won’t make a big difference, and you might only see the result after a month or even months of practice. Be patient, believe in yourself, be consistent, and just keep going; your effort will pay back someday. Another thing I learned in my musical journey so far is Embrace. As musicians, we are in a super competitive world. Failures are always around us, but do not get beat up by them! Embrace them, see what you can do better, and move on. There are always more opportunities coming if you keep improving yourself. It’s a learning process; embrace the failures and mistakes, learn from them, and be stronger.
All three of these are actually related to each other. When you are passionate about something, you will be patient enough to wait and keep grinding to improve yourself. And because you are patient enough, you are able to embrace failures and mistakes and learn from them.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Personally, I feel like burnout and feeling overwhelmed trigger each other. As musicians, we want as many opportunities and gigs as possible, so sometimes we might be in too many projects at the same time. I’ve been in this situation before. I said yes to too many people, and I barely had time for myself. Back then, when I realized that, I felt super overwhelmed, and I started to stress about everything, trying to do everything at the same time, and I burnt myself out. But later, I took a step back, calmed down, and planned out everything. I made a list of all the things and made a plan to finish them one by one. It helped me clear my head, and the whole thing was not as bad as it seemed. So what I recommend to do while feeling overwhelmed is not to panic, take a step back, and plan out everything; usually, things will be more precise, and you will be less stressed while you have a plan. Then you just need to finish them one by one.
We should always keep some time for ourselves no matter what and not let work or practice overtake the whole schedule to avoid being overwhelmed and burning out.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanklindrums/
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@hanklindrums
- Other: Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Photos by Orelha
