PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Songwriting Stepping away from the User Forum

Tano,

It was nice having you around. This was one of the more interesting posts I have read in a while and it has given me an opportunity to reflect on the creative process and this forum.

So humor me as I respond, because I am just thinking out loud creatively, prompted by what you have said. In advance, please know there is no disagreement here on anything, just massive pondering and that is all.

The first thing I have to say is that I have NEVER EVER in my life seen a place so conducive to artistic development as a process than I have seen on this forum. And I have been both a participant and leader in numerous workshops, courses, and classes in subjects as varied as creative writing, leadership, critical thinking and songwriting at the university level, and in professional organizations.

And I think I understand why it works so well around here—this whole artist development thing.

For one, the “Attaboy” mentality some people are quick to criticize is not really an “attaboy” mentality—it is an “affirmation and encouragement mentality.”

In every instance I have ever seen in 30 years, I have rarely seen criticism of someone’s deficits in a public forum (as opposed to private lessons) lead to advancement of skills. I have only seen public criticism lead to discouragement and loss of confidence most of the time, because most of the time most people do not know how to deliver public criticism in a way that is constructive. (Mind you, this is just what I have observed, but I have observed a lot.)

What does seem to work is when someone says “You know what really worked for me, you know the part I LIKED? The part I LIKED was….” Then the artist (who has more self doubt than he or she can handle to begin with) can take that “Here’s what I like part” and build on it. They will take it and run with it, so to speak, because it validates an aspect of their originality—that single spark that makes them unique. If they dwell on the strength, they will fix weaknesses they have already detected more than anyone, they don’t need to be reminded of those. They need to know what they are GOOD at. They need to be encouraged to keep going. The truth is you will only start to write good songs after you have written several hundred, or a thousand, so you might as well get started and feel good about yourself while you are doing it. Nothing critical anyone says while you are working on song three will do anything but make you want to stop.

Unfortunately, we live in a Simon Cowell world and some people seem to take great joy watching others be publicly humiliated—not uplifted. It is our version of Romans gathering in the coliseum, to watch people get slaughtered. It is the very bedrock of the reality show draw—and it is the basis of our current culture, more or less.

However, here on the forum, something magic happens—people get to experiment and be themselves and they get that artistic uniqueness validated. So people go on to write hundreds of songs and post hundreds of songs, giving not too much worry about whether they will be good enough. They just post. And as art would have it, three out of those hundred songs are great. It’s the way it works. Who else used this method? Who else wrote 3 great songs to every 100 bad songs? Lots of people—including the Beatles.

The other way it works is that most people on the forum who see this amazing benefit take time to respond to other people’s work even though it does take a lot of time and sacrifice of time to offer RECIPROCAL feedback and affirmation, because that is simply the way it works.

It could NOT work if all you did was post and had little time to respond to those who commented on your songs. Then, the whole system breaks down.

In sum, here is what I would say about this forum and the creative process:

1.) In 100% of the cases where I have followed “professional” advice on rewriting my songs they have ruined them. AND people on this forum have noticed, they have said offline (friends of mine): “Dude, your original version wasn’t perfect, but there was something magical about it. Now it sounds manufactured. This version is horrible. What happened? Who were you listening to? Who told you do to this? It doesn’t sound like you anymore. It sounds like…well, it sounds like crap now dude.”

2.) 100% of the songs I have done over the past five years or so that I feel are ok or good, or maybe great once in a blue moon, came out of the thin blue sky, out of nowhere, and were a direct result of me having a “safe space” where I could experiment and throw out a bunch of stuff without having to worry about a.) hidden agendas b.) spite c.) envy d.) jealousy e.) shallowness, etc ,etc. I.e., THIS FORUM was the catalyst.

Also, there is one absolute truism I have found over the years when it comes to advancement in the arts, any art:

The level of true advancement in your artistic sensitivity has almost nothing to do with the time you invest in yourself and almost everything to do with the amount of time you invest in others.

I have no idea how this part of the equation works, but it just does. Maybe it is a musical equivalent of “the love you take is equal to the love you make” or something.

**

Anyway, just a few random thoughts. I have really enjoyed your music, I hope you get that hard drive fixed, and if you want to have an addiction, there are a lot more dangerous addictions to have than this forum!