if no one was ever going to hear your music would you still make music?

[wesleyt]

Absolutely! Virtually no one hears my music now. I'm still very much a beginner; I've learned a lot but there's still so much to learn. I'm in it for the journey and personal growth.

I hope to share more as I progress, but music for me is very personal. I'm the only one I need to satisfy with my music. And I am happy with my music so far.

Btw, Sendy, I love your answer. I totally relate to that discovery feeling. It's marvelous.

[ras.s]

I think dancing is about receiving and it doesn't need audience, unless it's a performance, obviously. But it's certainly more fun to dance with people than by myself.

But there's something special about being in the flow while sharing one's music.. (why you cut that one out, Sendy?)

[Jace-BeOS]

Yes. i don't make it to have others listen, but i do want them to. If i have no audience, i kind of don't feel like what i made exists, but i still want to create.

[ghettosynth]

I think dancing is about receiving and it doesn't need audience, unless it's a performance, obviously. But it's certainly more fun to dance with people than by myself.

Not that I want to derail the thread, but the only reason that I like dancing at clubs/parties more than at home is because the sound system is better. I hate when people get close to me when I'm dancing unless I'm specifically engaged in some form of couples dancing, e.g. swing.

And no, you cannot rub your ass all over my crotch, it destroys my groove.

[Sendy]

I think dancing is about receiving and it doesn't need audience, unless it's a performance, obviously. But it's certainly more fun to dance with people than by myself.

But there's something special about being in the flow while sharing one's music.. (why you cut that one out, Sendy?)

Because I completely overlooked live music (it's not something I do much), and I realised what I said wasn't true. So I edited it away.

[Tricky-Loops]

But let's be honest: Even the most desperate, loneliest painter had a muse somewhere who appreciated his work. Nobody creates something to be completely ignored.

[ras.s]

ghettosynth, yea I agree. I was thinking more of the experience of all the people dancing and being there myself, all sorts of moves swinging around freely while the soundsystem is thumping, everyone enjoying themselves. It isn't about audience though. Well I guess it is for some.

Sendy, ok. That "performance" flow is a own category of feelings altogether..

[Sendy]

But let's be honest: Even the most desperate, loneliest painter had a muse somewhere who appreciated his work. Nobody creates something to be completely ignored.

Before the internet, I created hundreds of tracks that only I heard. Occasionally the opportunity arose to play one to a friend or whatever, and that was nice, but it certainly wasn't the prime mover in my creative cosmos. A lot of the music I was making was just too weird for most people, because it mixed genres and broke rules.

It so happens that a lot of the creators I look up to, also create primarily for their own amusement.

[Tricky-Loops]

It so happens that a lot of the creators I look up to, also create primarily for their own amusement.

When I wrote articles for the newspaper & magazines, I wanted people reading them - the more readers, the better. I wouldn't have written them for my own amusement or to put them on the wall...

[knockman]

I'd switch to making field recordings of trees falling in the forest.

On a serious note, yes without a doubt. As it is, I spend a lot of time making music for myself - mostly noises from old junk through echo machines and triggered sounds, etc. but I rarely record any of that. The stuff other people hear are my songs but that's a fraction of the music I make and many of those remain 'unreleased'.

[Sendy]

Performing with others is something I really miss from being in a band. The synergy from just jamming. We're audience and player at the same time. The problem is, it's hard to meet serious people in the area where I live. I was willing to put up with crazy ego-tripper characters and music I didn't 100% care for, just because of the positive aspects of playing with others.

[Tricky-Loops]

Time for a break...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wENI58mXZPE

[highkoo]

I definitely would persist. I have. I do.
I dont really think about the audience for most of what Im doing.
Although, it is always interesting to hear what people think of your creations, regardless of what it is that they think.
I love feedback, technical or aesthetic, but the point is that I dont care if people like it.
Not a single beat has ever been created or changed for the sake of the audience.
I sort of dont get the point of doing it any other way.

[Sendy]

It so happens that a lot of the creators I look up to, also create primarily for their own amusement.

When I wrote articles for the newspaper & magazines, I wanted people reading them - the more readers, the better. I wouldn't have written them for my own amusement or to put them on the wall...

An article is primarily an act of communication rather than art. It's created to share an opinion. But on the other hand, I know plenty of bloggers who carry on blogging despite low readership numbers. Because the act of writing it's-self is a way of sorting our thoughts out. One of the reasons I enjoy the discussions on here and even on youtube (yeah, I know!) is because simply writing what I think helps me realize what I *really* think and what I *think* I think, then the feedback from others helps me calibrate that response.

But besides, an article, written to share an opinion, is generally wasted if not shared. Art is quite often created simply because it can and must be. It's quite popular in the world of "outsider art" (terrible term, but hey ho) for the artists to toss works aside once they're completed. I can relate to that a lot

[Tricky-Loops]

I know plenty of bloggers who carry on blogging despite low readership numbers. Because the act of writing it's-self is a way of sorting our thoughts out.

There are also a lot of people, especially women, who are writing huge diaries only with their thoughts... For me, this would be a waste of time, I always think thoughts are there to be forgotten, nothing is older than the thoughts of yesterday...

But then, for people who write lyrics, this can be helpful!