Workers tune out slowdown blues with music

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Los Angeles: For optometrist Howard Levy, nothing eases the tension of daily eye exams and mounting paperwork like strapping on a guitar and jamming with fellow eye-care professionals in a rock band dubbed OffAxis.

Levy, 56, who lives and works in the Southern California town of Carlsbad, near San Diego, said the recession has only escalated the headaches of his job—last-minute patient cancellations, bounced checks and insurance aggravation.

But the music is totally a stress buster, he said. It’s the passion of our souls to play music, create music, bond with all these people and take our mind off our daily routines.

He is among a growing number of individuals in the US work force, many stressed out by tough economic times, who are indulging their inner musician by dusting off old guitars, drums and other instruments to pursue after-hours lessons and garage-band gigs.

Steven Cox, CEO of TakeLessons.com, a music-instruction business based in San Diego with a network of private music teachers in 400 cities nationwide, said 2008 was a banner year in revenue, numbers of students and lessons booked.

Business continued to climb in January and February, marking the five-year-old company’s two best months to date, all despite a slumping economy. Or, perhaps, because of it. I think the economy has something to do with that, Cox said of the trend, adding that the downturn has coincided with a higher proportion of adults, many of them white-collar professionals, showing up among his clientele.

He cited the case of a 54-year-old investment banker in New York who recently signed up for lessons on the clarinet, an instrument she studied as a child. And she said, ‘You know what? I work a lot. I have a very few number of free hours, and I just want to do something that’s stimulating my brain while I can relax,’ he said.

Cox declined to give specific numbers for his business, citing proprietary issues. The company is privately held.

But Joe Lammond, head of the National Association of Music Merchants, said his member retail shops have seen a surge in music lessons and recreational musicianship among middle-aged customers that predates the recession but has been heightened by it.