An "arrogant" question

[Superbobus]

Tonight I went to this bar to hear a band play for a local radio broadcast. This band is hot in Holland now and they play all good pop festivals and get lots of good publicity. I liked it, good grooves, nice breakbeats, great samples and sounds and a jazzy touch but nothing special happening with the keys. Have you ever had this feeling: "I'm sure I could do that job much better..."? I definitely know this feeling but I'm not busy with it anymore since:

1) I want to concentrate on the bands I'm already in and make good music and

2) I don't have time for and don't feel like being jealous anymore.

How do you guys handle this?

[Steve LeBlanc]

no comment...

 

[schmoron13]

Don't you think that Tomatito (famous guitarist) would like to earn as much as the lead guitarist for Blink 182? Stephen King sells many more copies than Salinger, and I'm pretty sure Vanessa Carlton or Alicia Keys aren't better pianists than Keith Jarrett...so why bother comparing how wwell you play...as a music major, I constantly had to come to terms with the fact that others without my "skills" made it, but you never know, in 4 months, you could be on stage withsome better thinking that it could be them...don't let it bother you and just have fun

[Superbobus]

I don't bother. I have enough stuff to work on to get things going. That's not it. I'm wondering if any of you guys have had this feeling (and I'm pretty damn sure about that) and how you solved it.

Maybe it's an open door I'm kicking in...

[Steve LeBlanc]

I think everyone has had the feeling at least once or twice.

 

How did/do I deal with it? I tell my wife how I feel...she in turn tells me "Get over yourself you egomaniac!"...we both laugh and I forget I ever had that feeling.

[karmadude]

We are all Legends in Our Own Minds.

[DJDM]

Show business success and raw ability are almost unrelated. Except to say that they both require hard work and some talent...

My $.02,

- DJDM

[VanZea]

Now I'm realy wondering what band you saw?

 

Grtz,

Jeroen

[Superbobus]

Yeah, I saw that one coming but it would be totally uncool if I dind't tell you. The band is called Floris, a dance oriented band with lots of samples and grooves. The keyboard player wasn't bad. What he was doing just didn't move me, that's all.

But what the hell, I still have a very promising career behind me.

[Markyboard]

I can often find someone to listen to and feel I'm great. Then I can listen to someone else and say "I suck". Its all a matter of perspective.

[Magpel]

IMO, The only comparisons worth making are to the talents that I admire and feel dwarfed/challenged by. Sure we've all compared ourselves favorably to other working musicians, but what does that avail us? The bittersweet (mostly bitter) satisfaction of being better than a mediocrity, albeit a successful one perhaps?

 

No judgment here, Mr. Bobus--I'm not talking about you, just honestly answering your question. Yes, I've spent more than a few evenings in the back of a bar with my arms folded, thinking it would sound better with me up there. But it's just such an overall unrewarding and unproductive feeling. I'm more likley to feel this way if the performer in question clearly thinks the world of him/herself, and most likely to feel this way if the performer is a chops-obssessed egoist who is not relating well to the ensemble, rather getting off on his own fumes.

 

Now the other feeling: standing in the back of the bar thinking, my God, I should just give it up. An unrewarding but *productive* feeling...

 

John

[Postman]

Yes, I've had the feeling, but there are usually three things that stop me from feeling it for long even though I'm a better player:

 

1. Song writing ability: the guys on stage write songs people want to hear. I don't.

 

2. Stage presence: the guys on stage are fun to watch; they put on a good, high energy show. I try, but I don't really succeed.

 

3. Singing: they're always better singers than I am, and that's what people want to hear.

 

Lastly, who cares if I can play better than them. They got the gig, I didn't. More power to 'em.

[henryrobinett]

Originally posted by Postman:

Lastly, who cares if I can play better than them. They got the gig, I didn't. More power to 'em.

That about sums it up for me, although I rarely compare myself to other musicians. I never think about it. Rather I rarely do. Different universes.

[realtrance]

I have moments where I come out of my music trance to think, "hey! that last bit was better than anything I've heard on CD for a long time!"

 

Reality for me, though, is that it's all in bits and phrases and moments of inspiration.

 

I don't get jealous of other musicians, I just admire them for the sustained effort, time, attention to detail and committment they have for working through both the inspiring and uninspiring bits to put together a whole CD, or performance.

 

I think it's that prolonged effort, more than the moments of inspiration, that leads to success, that along with a lot of luck, of course. What looks simple and effortless is often very much not so.

 

rt

[VanZea]

I have his CD (of Floris). It's got a nice sound, good songs, but the keyboardplaying left a few things to be desired.

 

Grtz,

Jeroen

[marino]

Ehi, being "good" totally depends on what music you're playing. I'm sure Allan Holdsworth would have lots of thing to teach to Eric Clapton, for example, but I'm not sure if Clapton would really need them for his music.

 

On the other hand, I know I'll *never* play like Glenn Gould or Keith Jarrett. (Oh, really? )

 

I meet mediocre musicians who make ten times the money I make, pratically every day. That's life, or better, that's the music biz. If you allow this to damage your attitude toward music (or your digestive tract), you will not last long!

 

Carlo

[S_Gould]

I never ask myself how well I COULD do what someone else does; I ask myself how well I do what I DO.

 

Scott

[Rick K.]

Personally, I feel as if there's something that we all can learn. Each one of us has talents. The talents have a common thread for us as keyboard players/musicians on this forum. However that's where is typically ends. I'm not the best soloist. I'll admit that. But I'm a damn good texturist. I can fatten up and fill-out the rest of the group. I know that's my talent. I do watch people I admire for their soloing abilities as well as get ideas as to what I can do to better myself. To sit in judgement of another's abilities, talents, or whatever is poison to me. I try like crazy to avoid that. If you stop growing, you start to die.

 

Rick

[PianoJazz1951]

...the streets, not to mention drug and alcohol treatment centers have seen more than their share of frustrated geniuses-and tons of them musicians.

Enjoy your talent, have fun with it and come to grips with the reality that recognition (or even acceptance) is not worth becoming frustrated over.

[Dan South]

There've been a lot of times where I felt that I was better than the guys on stage or on a record, and most of those times I was wrong. It's a lot easier to knock it than to DO it. Given the chance to evaluate my skills in excrutiating detail over the years, I no longer take any effective performance for granted.

[sudeep]

gosh...sometimes thats my biggest fear...if im playing live and there is a REALLY good keyboardist/pianist in the audience out there thinking "that guys SUX!!!!".

 

i know i shouldnt be thinking that..but hey all i can do is tell myself that im out there doing what i enjoy and occassionaly get paid for it. And if that fails...I just tell myself Im better LOOKING!!! hehehhe

[Byrdman]

Originally posted by realtrance:

What looks simple and effortless is often very much not so.

 

rt

Indeed, effortlessness is usually the result of huge amounts of work. I'm in the computer software business where people will say " we just want something simple" as if producing something simple was not way harder than producing something complicated.