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

[classic]

I asked this many years ago, instead of digging for the thread I thought I would ask again to see how people feel today. The question doesn't need much explaining and there is no right answer, just curious

Well, no on listens to my music, I dont show it to someone.
So............

And I still make it, just for my own pleasure.

[fese]

I asked this many years ago, instead of digging for the thread I thought I would ask again to see how people feel today. The question doesn't need much explaining and there is no right answer, just curious

Well, no on listens to my music, I dont show it to someone.
So............

And I still make it, just for my own pleasure.

Same here. Despite all their faults, i really like to listen to my own songs. Only recently have I given some of them to others for listening and got some positive feedback, so maybe I should do that more often.

Only thing is I am really not that good coping with criticism or indifference, I take that very personally because I put so much work in my stuff and have to overcome my musical and technical limitations (or not) and I am constantly amazed that I really can do that, not being a trained musician/songwriter/producer. I can understand how it feels if pro musicians get bad reviews in music magazines by people who have no idea just how much work it is creating and recording music... I mean, say you have a new born child and some stranger says to you: "god, that one is ugly and boring and your previous children were so much better!"

[sjm]

I make music because I enjoy making music. I love tinkling around on the piano jamming away when no one is there, although I have no inhibitation about playing if someone else is in the room either. The pleasure I derive is in the creation.

Sure, it'd be nice to earn millions making music and have lots of hot groupies and a hard drug addiction, but the rewarding feeling for me is a personal one. That doesn't mean I won't play anybody my music - some people even ask to hear it, and I'll play a song to friends I make music with if the situation is right. And yes, it's nice when they say "hey, that's pretty cool". But to be honest, I already know whether the music is any good or not, which songs are better than the others. I do have a soundcloud page; I don't have any urge to go around posting spam links to it in the hope that I'll garner more listens and likes. I'm not really into the social media thing anyway.


What I do like is playing live - it's incredibly rewarding if you only do it every now and then. I'm lucky enough to be able to perform every now and then at great locations and in front of hundreds of people who all have a great time - when the crowd dances along and sings along, it gives you a real jolt and when you've given a good performance, the feeling is very rewarding. I reckon it would get old soon if you were doing it every day though.

I also love making music with other people if they're on the same wavelength. It's great to be able to come up with something that's different from anything you'd come up with on your own. I like the way the collective can become more than the sum of its parts. It's a bit like playing football with friends - you can't really play on your own, and playing as a team is much more rewarding than playing as a bunch of individuals. I don't think there's many people who go for a kickabout in the park in the hope that thousands of people will watch them play and laud their great Messi-like skills. Again, it's all about the pleasure of the activity itself, not whether or not you get global acclaim.

In a similar vein, my wife is very artistically talented (visual arts) and also has no urge to show off her work, but still derives great pleasure from the act of creation. I'm sure she likes it when I say that something she has done is really cool, but that's not why she's doing it.



----

Of course, if I were really pedantic, I'd point out that "no one" as per thread title would preclude me from hearing my own music. Obviously I wouldn't get much pleasure from playing the piano if I didn't hear it - so at least one person needs to listen, even if it's only me, myself and I.

[vurt]

yes of course
i do everything i do for me. i have so much stuff here no one will ever hear

[foosnark]

I've performed as part of a group for hundreds of people at a time, bathed in applause. But aside from a few seconds of solo, it wasn't my music. It was just... being a living playback device for someone else's recording. I put lots of energy into it, but I also spent the whole time terrified I would screw up. I stopped doing that because it was taking too much away from making my music --

-- my own music that nobody else (or almost nobody else) hears.

[The_Hidden_Goose]

Yes I would.

Pretty much no-one hears it now!

[Hink]

thank you everyone, interesting comments...of course no one ever hearing your music is a bit unrealistic but that's not the point and I can think of some scenarios where one might not share their music or have someone to share it with...still unlikely.

For instance, covers...I haven't done one in years but sometimes I do a cover of a song I liked or played back in the day and I think they can be a good yardstick for gauging growth. But covers and the internet is not really a good idea, I record covers for my listening only (but I have shared them). Of course I'll play them for Denise (maybe) but not for many other people. If someone comes here and wants to hear me I would hope they want to hear my creations. If they are a fellow musician we would likely be jamming, but rarely will you hear me say "wanna hear my music?" If someone asks, sure...otherwise I do not force it on people.

I am also not one of those guys who has to play his guitar for everyone that walks in the door, rarely do I have people over. The complex I live in is going downhill fast, I really do not want people knowing what I have in here. In 4 years here at this apartment (actually 4 years on 7/7) 3 time have I had a fellow musician here, all three times guitar players. All three times they were more interested in playing with my gear than I was interested in playing for them (which is typical of me and not an issue).

I finish and share songs when I tire of playing them, it would shock people to know how many takes of a song I will do on guitar. I really dont have to record it every time of course but I still do because I can. The last song's folder is about 32 or 34gig.

I also think we all need to accept that when we see a play count on our songs online many of those plays are just for 30 seconds or less.

So is it realistic? Well, all the years, all the takes, and the few songs I have posted suggests to me that if I have shared like .1% at best of all the music I have recorded and if you factor in the fact that often the whole song doesn't always get listened to it could be like .05% of the music I have created has been heard (keep in mind I have not been in a band since 1987). So 99.9% or 99.95% is close enough for me to say without a doubt I would keep making music whether anyone heard it or not. I play to bring my heart and soul peace, perhaps someday some else might find peace in my music as well but that's not why I write it.

Actually that happened once, a good friend I met on the FL forums was having a biopsy and sent me a PM here from the hospital asking for a link to one of songs while they waited and it did bring them peace. I dont think there is a better compliment than that

[RunBeerRun]

I guess people will hear my music one day, it's not of my choice lol, I'm bored with music. It's not a matter of a crappy overcompressed autotune blasters album or something, but a live show, an improvisational album isn't good for too long, it's the same jam.

[trimph1]

Some old lady knitting blanket and shawl after blanket and shawl that no one will ever use... I don't see how much different the situation would be. It happens all the time and there's nothing wrong with it, because the point is in the crafting and not the product. Still, there is something just slightly eerie in it.

But, sure, I do it (not knitting).

My wife told me about an older woman in town who went into a quilt-making binge. Some 80+ quilts...all stored in onion skin paper with dowels where the folded sections were found in her bedroom when she passed away. My wife now has them.

BTW...these were done in the late 19th century. Still as good as new...

[ghettosynth]

I guess people will hear my music one day, it's not of my choice lol, I'm bored with music. It's not a matter of a crappy overcompressed autotune blasters album or something, but a live show, an improvisational album isn't good for too long, it's the same jam.

Preach it.