Accepting Negative Comments |
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Accepting Negative Comments |
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May 19 2014, 03:29 PM |
As musicians, we are bound to be hit hard sometimes. It can be valid and it can be false (like pure hate comments on Youtube). Especially when learning, we need to be prepared to get ʺshot downʺ by more experienced players and also to receive feedback which might kill our own subjective view of the situation and therefor be perceived as ʺnegativeʺ. I have received negative feedback many times in the past. And even nowadays I have to deal with it, with my band Cirse. It seems that the most popular the band becomes, the most haters appear. Sometimes I feel very bad about it, because I don't like when comments are not constructive and are based just on taste or envy.
This is how I look at it: I don't pay too much attention to negative comments. I do my thing, the best I can, and it I'm proud of it and secure, I share it without problem. Youtube and Twitter are more anonymous so there is where the negative comments appear, I try to ignore them, but if I casually read them, I analyze if there is something that I can learn or if it's just a nonsense hater. Sometimes I think, if the best music masterpieces and most talented musicians ever receive negative feedback, why would I feel bad about it? How do you cope with negative feedback? -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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May 19 2014, 06:43 PM |
It's interesting to me how the word 'criticism' has come to mean (generally) negative criticism.
Up to the late 50s/early 60s criticism also included positive comments. Anyway, as I always say, "a critic is to an artist as an ornithologist is to a bird". -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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May 19 2014, 11:47 PM |
Half of my job is being shot down. Being a graphic artist, what I've had to learn to live with is the realization that what is considered "brilliant" to some is considered trash to another. Ultimately, I design for the person writing me the check - regardless of if I like the style or not. I learn what the person likes and design to the specifications and try not become too emotionally attached to what I am doing. There are times when I am trying to please 2 people with diametrically opposed ideas of how to market, and I just have to accept that one will be happy and the other will not. Making me the hero and the scapegoat all at the same time. Just as long as those checks keep coming in, I guess I'm doing something right. Being an artist of any kind (someone that creates something out of his/her head) you are always going to hit a soft nerve with someone on some things and a raw nerve with others - there is no way around it. Another thing you can NOT do, is compare yourself with others. Sure, you can see/hear styles which are reminiscent of another. In this I am talking about what comes out creatively not skill necessarily. Learn to be happy that you have the ability to create, and also learn that working with others and creating as a team usually inspires better results than working on your own. A blending of styles (or brainstorming sessions to incorporate ideas) can really make the creative process more fulfilling - in my own experience. I may be the person that put the entire thing together, whether a marketing package or a song, but having collaborated before getting started usually cuts down on the writer's block. Some "negative" comments may be nothing more than helpful critique and not really negative at all, while other comments are meant to tear down and destroy - know the difference and understand when someone is trying to help and some is trying to belittle. Life takes a thick skin. Great post. It's cool to see how this same thing is applied to other art like design. However the main difference there is that you are paid to do what other people wants, so you don't really care about what other people says. If the client is happy and pays, it's enough in that case. There is another interesting thing in your post when you talk about working with other people as a team and compare it with working alone. Do you think that both have pros and cons or that team work is much better? -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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May 20 2014, 07:54 AM |
It's interesting to me how the word 'criticism' has come to mean (generally) negative criticism. Up to the late 50s/early 60s criticism also included positive comments. ... To an extent I agree Ken that the word has taken on a different meaning but from a different angle. I've found that in the last few years many people ask for but either don't listen to, or really want criticism of any sort - what they want are 'fanboi' comments. Critiquing a mix is a routine part of my job and what I try to provide is constructive criticism. So I say what I like, what I think needs improvement and usually suggest ways to achieve the latter. I also try and balance the feedback to the experience of the person so that I won't (completely) shred a beginner's mix just because they had the time ratios out on the bus compressor. Some people pay attention and you can really hear their mixes improve but what happens more and more is that people ask for mix feedback and then don't respond at all presumably because they don't want constructive criticism. They keep repeating the same mistakes from mix to mix. Perhaps it is a symptom of the 'America's/Britain's Got Talent' generation that one is now only supposed to provide positive feedback regardless of how good, bad or indifferent something is. If that's so fine but lets stop referring to it as ciriticsm. -------------------- Get your music professionally mastered by anl AES registered Mastering Engineer. Contact me for Audio Mastering Services and Advice and visit our website www.miromastering.com
Be friends on facebook with us here. We use professional, mastering grade hardware in our mastering studo. Our hardware includes: Cranesong Avocet II Monitor Controller, Dangerous Music Liasion Insert Hardware Router, ATC SCM Pro Monitors, Lavry Black DA11, Prism Orpheus ADC/DAC, Gyratec Gyraf XIV Parallel Passive Mastering EQ, Great River MAQ 2NV Mastering EQ, Kush Clariphonic Parallel EQ Shelf, Maselec MLA-2 Mastering Compressor, API 2500 Mastering Compressor, Eventide Eclipse Reverb/Echo. |
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May 20 2014, 04:29 PM |
To an extent I agree Ken that the word has taken on a different meaning but from a different angle. I've found that in the last few years many people ask for but either don't listen to, or really want criticism of any sort - what they want are 'fanboi' comments. Critiquing a mix is a routine part of my job and what I try to provide is constructive criticism. So I say what I like, what I think needs improvement and usually suggest ways to achieve the latter. I also try and balance the feedback to the experience of the person so that I won't (completely) shred a beginner's mix just because they had the time ratios out on the bus compressor. Some people pay attention and you can really hear their mixes improve but what happens more and more is that people ask for mix feedback and then don't respond at all presumably because they don't want constructive criticism. They keep repeating the same mistakes from mix to mix. Perhaps it is a symptom of the 'America's/Britain's Got Talent' generation that one is now only supposed to provide positive feedback regardless of how good, bad or indifferent something is. If that's so fine but lets stop referring to it as ciriticsm. Here at GMC we call it feedback. For any reason the word "criticism" is more related nowadays with a negative comments, while feedback seems to be more relate to constructive suggestions. This happens at least in Spanish language... Does this happen with English too? -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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May 20 2014, 04:32 PM |
To an extent I agree Ken that the word has taken on a different meaning but from a different angle. I've found that in the last few years many people ask for but either don't listen to, or really want criticism of any sort - what they want are 'fanboi' comments. Perhaps it is a symptom of the 'America's/Britain's Got Talent' generation that one is now only supposed to provide positive feedback regardless of how good, bad or indifferent something is. If that's so fine but lets stop referring to it as ciriticsm. Yeah, the whole practice of critique has lost both it's meaning and it's interpretation. It's either purely negative criticism with nothing constructive/instructive to say or 'everything is beautiful'. Neither is at all helpful. -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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May 21 2014, 07:39 AM |
Yeah, the whole practice of critique has lost both it's meaning and it's interpretation. It's either purely negative criticism with nothing constructive/instructive to say or 'everything is beautiful'. Neither is at all helpful. Anecdotally - a University that I've assessed post grad students and PhDs at for well over a decade issued some instructions asking staff not to use the words 'critical, analytical, analysis, empirical, evaluate, assess' and quite a few others in feedback to students as they may not understand them. Another University, which I taught at for about 20 years, advised staff to refrain from criticising student work (in a negative sense) and to only provide positive comments. That University also decided to lower its udergrad pass mark from 51% to 41% and asked staff not to award marks in the 0-20% range as they 'undervalued student performance and may demotivate'. It also widened the range for an 'A' or '!st Class' award from 80-100 to 70-100 thus suggesting a marking range where a 21-40= E-F/Fail; 41-69= D-B/3rd, 2ii, 2i; 70-100= A/1st . (I haven'tused a '%' sign as a marking range of 21-100 isn't a percentile range to me. Interesting also that in this scale the 41-69 range covers the 4 most common grades AND provides the least range for each.) This post has been edited by tonymiro: May 21 2014, 07:44 AM -------------------- Get your music professionally mastered by anl AES registered Mastering Engineer. Contact me for Audio Mastering Services and Advice and visit our website www.miromastering.com
Be friends on facebook with us here. We use professional, mastering grade hardware in our mastering studo. Our hardware includes: Cranesong Avocet II Monitor Controller, Dangerous Music Liasion Insert Hardware Router, ATC SCM Pro Monitors, Lavry Black DA11, Prism Orpheus ADC/DAC, Gyratec Gyraf XIV Parallel Passive Mastering EQ, Great River MAQ 2NV Mastering EQ, Kush Clariphonic Parallel EQ Shelf, Maselec MLA-2 Mastering Compressor, API 2500 Mastering Compressor, Eventide Eclipse Reverb/Echo. |
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May 21 2014, 08:42 AM |
Plus without vindictive criticism, there wouldn't be a reason for all the great comeback gifs available...
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May 21 2014, 05:29 PM |
This is turning into a very interesting discussion.
I was wondering how negative comments affect to GMC students. Do you usually receive negative comments from close people, maybe from friends, or at school? Does this happen to you? This is not exactly on topic, but I wanted to share it because it's cool how this little kids victim of bullying at school, used the music to express their feelings: -------------------- My lessons
Do you need a Guitar Plan? Join Gab's Army Check my band:Cirse Check my soundcloud:Soundcloud Please subscribe to my:Youtube Channel |
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May 22 2014, 02:18 AM |
As Mr. Miro mentioned, practically our entire education system is being "Grade Inflated" to death. So much so that *students are not as accustomed to doing poorly and being called on it for fear it would "undermotivate" them*. As a result, less and less honest assessment seems to be the norm. Yeah. What it demotivates is their parents check book. -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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May 23 2014, 06:04 PM |
I like the feedback given on this site, it's honest and helpful without beating the crap out of our dreams.
At church we have well meaning people who may not be that musically inclined tell us, you sound just like the Cd, and others wonder why I take the comments with a pinch of salt. On another guitar site, someone posted a video, his capo was on badly and it affected the guitar's tuning, his chord changes and strumming were badly timed, but he got great comments, now I'm all for encouragement but a dose of reality and suggested improvements go a lot further in someone's guitar journey. -------------------- My SoundCloud
Gear Tyler Burning Water 2K Burny RLG90 with BK Emeralds Fender US Tele with BK Piledrivers Epiphone 335 with Suhr Thornbuckers PRS SE Custom 24-08 Ax8 Fessenden SD10 PSG Quilter TT15 |
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