Quality of Sound IS Quality of Life

[newholland]

I'd rephrase the subject line: Perception of quality of sound is quality of life. I'd wager that most players with any amount of experience have dialed in a sound they really liked one day which they didn't like at all at a later time. Did that negate the enjoyment you felt when you liked the sound? What changed? It wasn't the sound, it was your perception. Liking something (i.e., "quality") is subjective. It inevitably varies with how you feel. At some point, it behooves you to learn how to enjoy making music, which requires you to muzzle your internal critic.

i think theres a lotta truth here- but theres also the aspect that youre not necessarily muzzling your inner critic over allowing your own musical voice have inflection that varies from situation to situation. cause discernment is actually super important to any artmaking- you need that critic- you just cant let it be higher in importance than the need for making shit, which invariably carries the giant risk of throwin clams.

 

[jay mitchell]

you need that critic-

A person whose musical thinking I respect proposed three categories of activity:

1. Practice - You work methodically to develop skills, without judging yourself. What you learn is what you learn.
2. Play - You joyfully explore musical ideas, following your stream of consciousness wherever it takes you.
3. Performance - You tell a story. It may be to an audience in Carnegie Hall or to a tree in the woods. You focus on the story line and the emotional content.

When you're in mode 2 or 3, you really need not to let your internal critic influence you. What's important is what you're playing in the moment, not what you just played. If you give your critic control, (s)he will obsess over "mistakes" and/or "bad tone" and distract you from making music.

Here's a Hal Galper master class that I find informative:

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

I'd rephrase the subject line: Perception of quality of sound is quality of life. I'd wager that most players with any amount of experience have dialed in a sound they really liked one day which they didn't like at all at a later time. Did that negate the enjoyment you felt when you liked the sound? What changed? It wasn't the sound, it was your perception. Liking something (i.e., "quality") is subjective. It inevitably varies with how you feel. At some point, it behooves you to learn how to enjoy making music, which requires you to muzzle your internal critic.

Very true

Illustrative:
1
we all compare stuff a lot…and the problem with that is that the outcome in most cases is that there is one looser. If we hadnt compared…there would have been only winters.
2
Wether I play my holiday rig (30,- 3/4 kids strat, on a lucky day into an iPad), or one of my posh guitars, or anything in between…honestly, 5 minutes in..and I just do what I do, with equal happiness/frustration.

Obviously i appreciate nice gear / sound…but the added value is defenitly not in the category “makes making music more fun”…exception maybe a gig where it needs to function / sit in a mix.
Not even sure about the whole set of drivers why I chase it. Part of it is the succesrate of recordings/happy gigs…but I’m well beyond that pivoting point in the gear department

 

[newholland]

A person whose musical thinking I respect proposed three categories of activity:

1. Practice - You work methodically to develop skills, without judging yourself. What you learn is what you learn.
2. Play - You joyfully explore musical ideas, following your stream of consciousness wherever it takes you.
3. Performance - You tell a story. It may be to an audience in Carnegie Hall or to a tree in the woods. You focus on the story line and the emotional content.

When you're in mode 2 or 3, you really need not to let your internal critic influence you. What's important is what you're playing in the moment, not what you just played. If you give your critic control, (s)he will obsess over "mistakes" and/or "bad tone" and distract you from making music.

Here's a Hal Galper master class that I find informative:

heck yeah- do the thing while you do the thing! i think getting beyond the self consciousness aspect in 2 and three are my favorite thing about music in general- self obliteration in the moment. its the absolute best part of banding period.

id say that neatly synopsizes it