Sharing your music.... When it's not very good

[Hink]

That's what we have you for...to tell us the "truth" as you see it.

Not really my thing. More interested in pointing out the glaring flaws in the tired old rhetoric of seething bores like yourself.

[eduardo_b]

That's what we have you for...to tell us the "truth" as you see it.

Not really my thing. More interested in pointing out the glaring flaws in the tired old rhetoric of seething bores like yourself.

But apparently no talent for it.

[vurt]

I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of amateur music on the net and sometimes think some people could really use a huge dose of self-criticism\self-censorship especially if their mouth is bigger than their talent, but am fully supportive and in awe of the freedom people have these days to create and share things like music and art.

I wonder if the emphasis on self-esteem in schools over the last decade plus hasn't resulted in younger people who have far more self confidence than talent and ability to back it up.

isnt that what pop music has always been?
elvis for example, far more about looking good, being cool than being anything special musically.

Back in the day, the media was a tightly controlled entity, so the gatekeepers could and would decide who might make money for them as musicians/entertainers.

id rather make my own decisions, thanks

Now, anyone can and does post their music. No filters, no controls.

f**king yay!
excuse the french.

Among these are people who feel deserving without earning it.

evidence is required here. not so much evidence that it occurs, but evidence that this is anything new.

They famously get hired for day jobs, spend their days texting and listening to music, and then want to know why they're not getting a promotion and a raise.

when you say "famously" how so? how does one famously get a day job?

Don't know about the UK but this is a pretty common story here (at least pre-GFC). They really think they're special. They're also busy posting their music...good, bad or indifferent.

so? are you forced in any way to listen to music you dont enjoy?

[whyterabbyt]

But apparently no talent for it.

Well, given the amount of bleating you do about it, it seems to hit the mark quite well.

What's that utterly fantastic one you came up with? Oh yes, I dont have the 'right' to talk about American history because I'm not from there, I remember now.

[Meffy]

If you want to attack each other, take it to PMs. If you want to discuss the topic, discuss the topic.

[yellowfever]

WOW Why all the bitchiness peeps? I think some people need to use the mute button as this has now degenerated into a slagging match, gone totally off topic and detracted from the OP's original post. Some of you really are so rude.

[androidlove]

i remember thinking when i was young that a whole recording studio could be fit into a small keybaord due to the emerging technologies. i remember feeling a bit worried about the coming onslaught of horrible music. hey, welcome to the future

[eduardo_b]

They famously get hired for day jobs, spend their days texting and listening to music, and then want to know why they're not getting a promotion and a raise.

when you say "famously" how so? how does one famously get a day job?

There's been a lot of coverage and comment about the quality of new hires out of university. It's not that many of them aren't smart, but they seem to expect to do what they like much of the day and be rewarded just for being there. Now where did that attitude come from.

There's nothing wrong with posting one's music. But pretending it's good simply because one posted it doesn't really work. There are more than some who believe all of the self-esteem programs in schools have given many the impression that whatever they do is special because they're doing it. That's all.

[rp314]

Plenty of pompous windbaggery here, so maybe I can throw in some of my own. The fly in the ointment for me is that

1. We're supposed to be clear on whether our stuff is crap or not. "Hyper-critical", "hypo-critical",what if there is some realm for just not having a strong sense either way?

2. And, as a follow up, what if some music tends to fall much more into that difficult to judge category? Maybe some folks do stuff on an already established path and can tell they suck but others may, once again, be doing something that's aesthetically less defined.

Example: the great American Abstract Expressionist painter Robert Motherwell was preparing his first show, somewhere in NYC sometime in the 1930s, with another painter who unfortunately did not go on to become as successful. So anyhow the day before the show as they were finishing with putting the stuff up old Bob turns to his friend and says something along the lines of "Look, if my stuff is really crap, why don't you just tell me and I'll pull it all down and save myself and everyone else from the embarrassment and hassle."

So, if you truly know, yeah go ahead and spare us all the pain. But make sure you know, because you wouldn't want the world to not discover you as they did Motherwell and many other crazy folks before and since.

[whyterabbyt]

WOW Why all the bitchiness peeps?

probably something to do with the attempt to re-animate the thoroughly knackered equine corpse named 'oh noes teh great unwashed are impinging on the territory of the elite' for another turgid slap and poke in the name of self-aggrandizing pontification.

[james0tucson]

This is the sentence where I save you from reading the whole post:
Should one share all their music, even if they don't think it's worth listening to?

Even Leonardo da Vinci painted over canvases.

[Chester Desmond]

I don't get this statement.
Songwriting and musicianship are very seperate qualities.
Some of the best songwriters I ever met or had the pleasure to work with started mainly as crap musicians barely able to tune or play their instruments. Unlike the more common highly accomplished musician playing at the local wedding, they went on and made major achievements/money/whatever you measure success by because of their songwriting. In most cases (lol-not all) they also became accomplished musicians... but it took someone like me to hear that sometimes elusive quality within the, what you refer to as crap and provide the encouragement/empowerment for them to move forward.
In the bad old days it was difficult to get heard by someone who might care... In the bad new days it's impossible to get any heard over the din of disdain

My statement was in response to eduardo's comment and I was simply saying that when there is no bar set about what is good or bad, it is difficult to make an assessment of quality.
To me, you really have to know what a person is trying to achieve in order to criticize their work in a meaningful way. Your opinion or advice about my song is going to be (or should be) quite different if I say I am a hobbyist than if I say I am submitting my piece in order to get a job with a Hollywood composer. I am saying that the person submitting their work should have some sort of a grasp of what is required for each situation. I've known people who were seriously bummed out that they could not obtain a job in the graphics industry after submitting multiple resumes. I asked to see their work and they had 3 gifs made in MS Paint on a website as their resume. The reality of what is required to be professional was clearly lost on this person and no amount of gentle encouragement and refusal to confront these realities is going to change that.
AS for most of your statement, I'm not sure how its relevant to anything I said. I don't recall using the word crap or treating anyone with disdain. I encourage everyone to do what ever they want.
The crap musicians you mention wouldn't have been able to get into the wedding band because there was a certain level of musicianship required to do so. This is the part I was discussing and my personal opinion that certain jobs have certain qualifications and that possibly growing up with an assful of sunshine is not the best way to learn how to assess them. [/quote]

[Meffy]

Last warning: On topic or PMs. Further interpersonal kindergartenklopperei will be deleted without notice.

[androidlove]

a friend of mine asked me if i thought he was a good artist. i replied "yes, if that's supposed to be abstract"

[eduardo_b]

My statement was in response to eduardo's comment and I was simply saying that when there is no bar set about what is good or bad, it is difficult to make an assessment of quality.

Terribly amorphous thing, though, trying to determine quality. One could have the technical skills as a musician but the music could still be dismal or the lyrics sophomoric. We tend to forgive technical competence up to a point if the melody and/or lyrics are compelling in some way.

I think I was inferring that learning the craft of music is part of the process of creating it. This doesn't have to be done it public, but if it is, then one needs a combination of humbleness and a thickish skin. Even constructive criticism delivered in a kindly manner could undermine one's confidence...unless, of course, one feels special.