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Also, I have a hard time with criticism, but then aging don"t we all!

 

I'm going to tell you a short story about why criticism doesn't matter.

 

Many years ago my band played a concert in Philadelphia. At the time, there was a morning newspaper and afternoon paper. Each one reviewed the SAME concert.

 

One of the reviews was extremely positive, the other one was extremely negative. Okay, that's half the story. But the other half is that it was the **same things** they reacted to!! For example:

 

Positive review: "I loved that they just got up on stage and played one long set, and didn't stop until it was over. Didn't mess around at all, nothing but music."

Negative review: "The band didn't interact with the audience at all, they just got up on stage and played one long set. There wasn't even a break."

 

Positive review: "Then the guitar player [that was me, LOL] started playing these amazing sounds from some electronic box. It was great, never heard anything like it."

Negative review: "Then the guitar player started playing all these electronic sounds, they weren't even like music, it was horrible."

 

That happened when I was 19 IIRC. Taught me a valuable lesson I've never forgotten.

 

Right now on YouTube, I have music videos where some people think the material is awesome, and others think it's horrible. Note that it's the SAME music video in each case.

 

Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

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Even The Ramones were criticized for being bad musicians.

Well, they were. ;)

 

 

 

 

[actually I don't know that. They could have been virtuosos for all I know. :D ]

 

Everyone has an opinion, Paul. And they all stink, and they're all posted on the internet. Here's an example.

 

I live in a neighborhood where some things have become controversial. The naysayers, once they get started, will post incessantly about it, some of them multiple times. A few will retort, but not many. Then, in person, people will come up to me and say, "I totally agree with what you posted, thanks for doing that." But, they didn't post anything online about it.

 

My point is, you never know who is out there, agreeing with you or digging what you do. They might tell you, they might not. You can't say for certain if what you're doing is liked more or less than disliked. All you can know is what you know, which is, do you like it? Well, do you Paul? :poke:

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Nothing can make you feel as bad about anything you care about (including yourself) as social media. Turn off your Twitter account. Don't turn off your Music Player Network account.

 

Wise advice :)

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Nice story, Craig!

 

A few years ago I put up my electric cello for sale. It was the reason I created my Youtube account - somebody, understandably, wanted to see a demo of the MIDI functionality. So I made a crappy video of the cello being used to trigger a Korg M3 61 keyboard workstation.

 

One Youtube comment was along the lines of "This is crap, I don't get it", it was posted from an account that those sort of ill-considered comments come from - some semi-anonymous person without their own content or anything

 

Another comment was a positive one, from a player who later taught as an instructor at New Directions Cello Festival. By that time though I had already sold the cello to a music teacher based somewhere in New England - I would have been honored to sell it to the other guy instead.

 

This experience taught me to enjoy the good comments and ignore the useless ones. There's no good reason to respond to a comment that doesn't show any honest effort to communicate and understand.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Paul:

I know I've had times that motivation was hard to come by (sometimes not feeling good, other times overwhelmed by my perception of the difficulty of what I was attempting). I'm guessing that most people do have this at some point or points.

 

One of the things that getting old has taught me is that what was normal for me in my 20's (or 40's) is no longer normal. For example, I didn't really start working on learning piano until in my 60's - even after five years, still slow finger movements. Strange, because I can still do runs on clarinet as fast as I could back in high school, although COPD has means lack of breath for any sustained playing).

 

However, I've also learned to take joy and happiness in what I'm able to accomplish, and do a lot less comparing to what some other person can do in the same accomplishment. If you're not gigging for a living, your music should be more of a source of pleasure; but NOT a race. I'll never be a pro musician, but I make a decent living in electronics. Most of the folk here very likely play considerably better than myself. But, I do feel that I add some good stuff to the band that I'm in, very possibly because I try to feel for what a particular song needs that isn't there, even when it means laying out.

 

Don't be so hard on yourself. It's not a competition!

 

Jim

 

Howard Grand|Hamm SK1-73|Kurz PC2|PC2X|PC3|PC3X|PC361; QSC K10's

HP DAW|Epi Les Paul & LP 5-str bass|iPad mini2

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Jim

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Paul, you've posted a lot over on the KC about various gear you've bought and not connected with. The conclusion of all that seemed like you didn't really know what you were looking for. Would it be incorrect for me to assume you haven't had formal music training? I only ask because I think something a little more structured could be what you need. Sell all that other stuff you've bought but keep the digital piano. Spend the money from the sold stuff on private piano lessons. The structure will guide you as to how to spend your time. Your motivation initially will be not wanting to embarrass yourself by showing up unprepared, as well as wanting to get your money's worth. However, in a little while, that motivation will come from a sense of accomplishment from the progress you see. What you learn will easily translate to any bright shiny object with knobs that you choose to buy, except it will be more rewarding because you'll know what to do with it. Just my two cents.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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No, I haven"t had any formal training, apart from 21 years of piano lessons. Which never amounted to anything? I Was taught the classical John Shaum method. Hated to practice as well. Too, be honest I never had an interest in playing the piano. Although, I had a fascination with pipe organs, and latter synthesizers. I was told, I had to learn the piano, in order too play the organ, so I just quit, and gave up. I can play scales, and chords, and figure out the notes on a keyboard, but never really pushed myself to want to go further. It"s the practicing I had issue with, because i never had any real talent. I know, you have to practice to better yourself.

 

I still don"t know why I really bought a piano?

 

Maybe, I just like to bitch more, than anything else.

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