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

[debra1rlo]

let go of "good"... music either resonates with the listener or does not...

"good" is meaningless... some people think licorice is "good", it makes me vomit... "good" is entirely useless in describing whether i'll like something or not... and works much better as a greeting or salutation or whatever.

Good day!

[RunBeerRun]

As long as it's not "beatz". Any time beats is mentioned I leave the thread, assuming it's a bad stereotype.

[glokraw]

For the OP, a few questions to ask yourself before you release a song:

1. are there long gaps where nothing interesting is heard?
2. is any part of it a jumbled mess?
3. is there some sonic 'hook', a reason to keep listening?
4. will the levels force a listener to adjust controls of the
typical listening devices ?
5. are there any technical errors, wrong notes, missed beats etc?
Cheers

[vurt]

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

indeed, we should let the constant attacks on the youth of today go unheeded.
it was so much better in the old days, everybody knows that.

[deaf dunderkwac]

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.

no issues no problems no attacks.
I think I might have just improperly joined the conversation.
Possibly in response to ed.
I used the term 'crap' as analogous to 'good'. Meaningless terms.
The whole premise of this thread is amusing to me.

[yellowfever]

let go of "good"... music either resonates with the listener or does not...
"good" is meaningless... some people think licorice is "good", it makes me vomit... "good" is entirely useless in describing whether i'll like something or not... and works much better as a greeting or salutation or whatever.

My music is good, some people don't like it, some do. Do I care? No. If people who listen to it enjoy it, it makes me happy. If they hate it, thats their opinion. I still say it's a good idea to get peoples opinions, as long as they are honest and not just say 'what a load of shite'; that's not constructive at all.

I also notice some people put up WIP to generate any suggestions on how to take it forward; that's a great idea.

(Can't wait 'til I post my next track )

[synthgeek]

I generally agree with the OP's sentiment- if I'm not happy with something, I don't release it. Since most of what I do is just me, no other band members, it's easy enough to get away with that.

On the other hand- I suppose there is a case to be made for the other side. For instance, a band I was in a few years ago did a track that I felt shouldn't be released. Like the OP with his sister, I even told the other guys I didn't want my name on it. We all had other projects, so I told them to release it under one of their other projects. About a year later, we got a deal for a release on DSBP, and since I was outvoted two-to-one, the track in question ended up on the release. Well, it ended up being one of the more popular tracks on the album- personally, I still think it's not that great, but as they say, there's no accounting for taste.

[Chester Desmond]

Well you summed up very well what I was trying to say here:

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.

[eduardo_b]

I generally agree with the OP's sentiment- if I'm not happy with something, I don't release it. Since most of what I do is just me, no other band members, it's easy enough to get away with that.

There does remain the possibility of having a track one feels isn't all that good but can't make better, and perhaps others could see what the problems might be. Then posting for comments would perhaps be beneficial. Less about tell me if you like it and more what can I do to bring this to a higher level.

[synthgeek]

There does remain the possibility of having a track one feels isn't all that good but can't make better, and perhaps others could see what the problems might be. Then posting for comments would perhaps be beneficial. Less about tell me if you like it and more what can I do to bring this to a higher level.

That makes sense. I've done that once or twice here actually when trying new things.

[deaf dunderkwac]

what some of us imply is that the only person responsible for their posting is the poster. Otherwise we lurkers would have nothing to gawk at.

[Chester Desmond]

Then posting for comments would perhaps be beneficial. Less about tell me if you like it and more what can I do to bring this to a higher level.

takes the "good" or "bad" issue out for sure. Although your implication that it could be at a 'higher level' has real esteem crushing potential. It should really go something like:
"I have worked on this composition for a comfortable length of time. I believe that it is quite appealing and thoroughly non-offensive, won't you please validate my opinion by agreeing?"

and we could all say "yes, I agree" or "gosh that is appealing, was that an out of tune guitar I heard alongside the off time drums?"

"yes.. thank the non existent being I do not worship that things like timing and tuning are no longer relevant when evaluating music"

[debra1rlo]

Then posting for comments would perhaps be beneficial. Less about tell me if you like it and more what can I do to bring this to a higher level.

takes the "good" or "bad" issue out for sure. Although your implication that it could be at a 'higher level' has real esteem crushing potential. It should really go something like:
"I have worked on this composition for a comfortable length of time. I believe that it is quite appealing and thoroughly non-offensive, won't you please validate my opinion by agreeing?"

and we could all say "yes, I agree" or "gosh that is appealing, was that an out of tune guitar I heard alongside the off time drums?"

"yes.. thank the non existent being I do not worship that things like timing and tuning are no longer relevant when evaluating music"

yes, tuning was far more relevant in the old days for masters like Jimi Hendrix, for instance...

[eduardo_b]

and we could all say "yes, I agree" or "gosh that is appealing, was that an out of tune guitar I heard alongside the off time drums?"

Or open tuning accompanied by non-rhythmic drumming.

It's all in how you say it...a lesson some learn better than others.

[vespers75]

I'd rather have really bad nonconstructive criticism than complete silence. Then at least I know the person gave the song a listen out of the millions of mp3s released daily.

I sort of see your point, depending on your musical goals and intentions. But for instance: personally, I don't like dance music. Its not my thing, and I don't know much about producing it nor do I care to. But I'm not going to jump in a cafe thread where someone posted their latest "electro house trance" or whatever track just to tell him I think "his music is shit". It might actually be a good track among those who make dance music, but how the f**k would I know? So, its better just to ignore it since I have nothing good or bad to say or recommend for that kind of music. Likewise, I wouldn't appreciate some DJ jumping in just to tell me he thinks my "tracks are shit" either.

was that an out of tune guitar I heard alongside the off time drums?

But those elements could be intentional, as well. One album I listen to regularly (Blut Aus Nord's MoRT) is intentionally almost entirely off time, dissonant, and out of tune. There is such a diverse group of people/musicians here that have backgrounds in entirely different genres and musical worlds, which can sometimes make being objective difficult. What sounds "wrong" to one person might sound "good" to another.