A comment from a post today on the Songwriting subreddit: Do people in your life care that you write songs? : r/Songwriting (https://www.reddit.com/r/Songwriting/comments/1bexvoy/do_people_in_your_life_care_that_you_write_songs/)
These are probably some hard truths for some of the starry-eyed songwriters on that sub.
Quote from: iFknLoveTitsDude, no one cares about music at all. Streaming and downloading and home recordings have made it a disposable commodity. It's super easy to record something decent and to put it out there for everyone. That's awesome for creators, but if you want people to care? Every dickwad with a drum machine is posting everyday. Half the people on your insta see it 5 times a day from people they know. The music itself has become secondary. You have to write it for yourself and not give a fuck.
If you do want people to care, you have to be on social media all the time engaging, putting some kind of visuals to it because attention spans don't exist anymore, you need a good image, and you gotta check all the boxes that should matter for an actor instead of a musician.
You have to be playing shows JUST the right amount. Too little and no one cares. Too much, and it's overkill. You need to be marketing yourself all the time. It's awful. A band like Credence wouldn't make it today because their image was just a bunch of dudes. The radio is proof that music doesn't matter as much as what ELSE you're doing. Same old shit, and new shit from people that have some kind of drama going on. It's fucked man.
Just do it for yourself. If it's good enough go tour, get a label, then people will start to care. A bedroom warrior like myself at this point has no chance. I used to tour and play out a bunch and do all kinds of stuff to stay busy and my bands did fairly decent for themselves. But you need a band, no solo shit unless you're a singer songwriter that hits home runs consistently, and everybody needs to be well rehearsed, good looking, all active on socials, grinding. Otherwise, it doesn't matter.
I can post a selfie and get 200 likes but if I post a couple new riffs I'm working on, I'll get like 10. Well recorded, melodic, it doesn't matter because people don't even scroll with the volume up half the time. The people wearing good headphones while scrolling are even less, way less. You basically have to pay to play. Write great songs, hire artists to make art for it, make videos for everything, and if yiu aren't an established act where people are salivating for what's next, you can take no breaks.
It's harsh but it's true. And AI is gonna put a serious dent in music too pretty soon I think. So either do it strictly for yourself and the 5 people that like you that like your posts, and wish for the best, or bust your ass nonstop doing backflips for people that don't care and stay consistent, and beat em down one by one. As long as you're under 25 that is, otherwise you've aged out in the new landscape.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Songwriting/comments/1bexvoy/comment/kux08ae/
Well it seems a reasonable summary of what's going down in the hood, and those salient points have been noted around here by others and myself for the last decade or more. Thankfully, that's what's great about Art and Artists: we will keep creating it whatever else happens. Sure, we like reaction (some more than others), but we do it anyway. It becomes like breathing, a second-nature thing. We bring to life's table the garnish that makes a dull meal into a feast. Long may it continue. 8)
Quote from: SteveB on March 16, 2024, 05:30:39 AMWell it seems a reasonable summary of what's going down in the hood, and those salient points have been noted around here by others and myself for the last decade or more. Thankfully, that's what's great about Art and Artists: we will keep creating it whatever else happens. Sure, we like reaction (some more than others), but we do it anyway. It becomes like breathing, a second-nature thing. We bring to life's table the garnish that makes a dull meal into a feast. Long may it continue. 8)
Nice words Steve and good post Ted.
This kind of landscape is fairly understood by us here, but it's always worth hearing it again and that guy framed it pretty well. No sugar coating. It's great that a lot of folks continue making music without any false hopes of making it, I think most of us here that way of thinking doesn't come into it. I think the music even benefits from this. We do whatever the hell we want.
In saying that, if any younger folk actually do persevere and keep going trying to reach a bigger audience and make it kinda big then I love to hear stories like that too. For all the shit in the charts there are sometimes one or two round the edges that are actually pretty good.
Mike
A great post, Ted and a sobering, even demoralising outlook for anyone aspiring to become the next rock legend. I think a lot of us on this site have already experienced such disappointments in earlier years so few aspirations for us these days. I agree with Mike that here we can do what we like musically without worrying too much about any kind of commercial success or global recognition and yet that creative bug still wriggles around inside our heads.
To reply to the topic... Zero fucks given (pardon my french!).
Personally i'm playing and making songs just because i want to. My end goal is to stay unknown :)
There has been doors open for live playing, but even that's not for me. If i was younger and single... Maybe then. Last time i thought about this was only a few days ago. It would have kinda made sense from the money point of view.
*
As far as the solo stuff goes those things come and go. From my perspective the (wider) solo thing is currently suffering, but it's bound to make a comeback in the near future.
It all also depends on the target audience. If the band is somewhat established and has older target audience they can still sell tickets. The younger bands struggle because their audience lacks both income and attention span.
New bands have to be really good to make it and yes they have to have social marketing skills. They have to approach it in a more professional manner (or at least someone has to do it for them). The fact that they're more than likely not going to make any money can result in early break up of the band. But once again... They really have to want to do it.
The new bands have to pay their dues. The problem is that there are less venues and dates available. Especially for the bands that have no following / draw.
The bands / artists have to find their way. They have to have something special going. Getting to that point can and usually takes a lot of work and time.
Just because it's easy to sound good on a recording doesn't mean it's good / or has value besides sounding good. The artists / songs need to have that something extra. Personality etc.
Times have changed, the peoples listening habits have changed. The value of music has changed, but it's still far from dead.
In the old times it was only the select few who got to record anything. They also (maybe) got to make it. Now everyone can record anything. And still only the select few makes it. In the old times it was the same. Only those who had something special going for them made it.
And no i'm not wearing rose colored glasses. There are huge chunks of the whole industry gone... Most likely forever.
There used to be a struggling "middle ground" . Those who weren't good enough and frankly would never be good enough... Yet they still managed to somehow make a living. That middle ground has mostly vanished.
There are still many ways to make a living in the music industry. Maybe not as a "rockstar", but maybe with enough talent & luck that can happen too.
On a closing note. One has to work for that luck too.
*steps down from the high horse and tries to avoid the flying manure*
Quote from: Zoltan on March 16, 2024, 05:05:26 PMTo reply to the topic... Zero fucks given (pardon my french!).
What makes me a bit sad sometimes is not the zero prospect of "fame" for my music. It's the zero fucks received for my music from the people closest to me. My wife never asks to hear the music I've made. Never. (My ex-wife was the same.) I think that's fairly typical. I can't allow myself to be disappointed by that. But I used to.
The hardest truth in that long comment by iFknLoveTits is the first one:
QuoteDude, no one cares about music at all.
It's a truth that I accepted a long time ago -- before Instagram and TikTok ever existed. Composing and creating music is a hobby. I wouldn't expect to become famous and loved for collecting baseball cards. And I don't expect to become famous and widely loved for my songs.
That's what makes community so important. I'm not going to connect with the people closest to me over my hobby -- collecting baseball cards or creating music. The same goes for the world. But a community of people with the same passion makes the hobby a little less lonely.
Quote from: Ted on March 17, 2024, 01:26:09 AMWhat makes me a bit sad sometimes is not the zero prospect of "fame" for my music. It's the zero fucks received for my music from the people closest to me. My wife never asks to hear the music I've made. Never. (My ex-wife was the same.) I think that's fairly typical. I can't allow myself to be disappointed by that. But I used to.
My wife doesn't want to hear my songs either. I'd say even regardless of genre.
My mother doesn't want to hear them either (even thought she's always pushed me towards that direction!). If my mother hears them she'll always comments something like "that was nice", or becomes a rock police "you could have sung it better". There's rarely any change in the comments so i can save the trouble and tell them to myself "that's nice" :)
I've never really pushed my stuff towards anyone though. And over the years i haven't even felt the need to do so. For me it's more about wanting to talk about the mechanics of songwriting, or lyrics, or gear rather than about my songs.
But it goes the both ways. Ted, does your wife do any kinds of crafts? Do you enjoy hearing about them in great detail? The quality of yarn, about the knitting sticks? I don't :) It's almost the same as a little kid endlessly talking about games to some adult who isn't at all interested. Talking about gear can be just like that. I do occasionally ramble about stuff and she humours me. But at the sametime i know it's almost the same as talking to a garden gnome.
Also the opinions don't really matter. For example. You'll get your song mixed by someone else. A real pro. And you think the end results sounds like shit. Everyone else thinks it sounds great. Would you rather have that than being happy with the end results yourself?
There are women (men, animals, circles whatever to keep this "up to date") who do enjoy hearing other peoples songs and talk about gear. I've known women who liked guitar players, women who play, or sing. Even women with fan mentality... Always spinning :D
I've never really been with anyone who is into playing. The way i am. The way where it's the THING.
Over the years i've had some great comments from wife, but they're more "salty" than admiring. The main one "why don't you only write good songs?", or a variant "why don't you only write songs you like?".
I've thought that about a lot and i'm sure the same applies most of you. There are several answers for that so i'm not going to get into that.
Then there's the slight occasional positive comment when things are being compared "you're actually better than this, or that" (Not Yoko Ono syndrome!), or "why don't you do the gig?" (which hints towards the remote possibility that i could do any gig).
You're never going to get much out from people who aren't insanely into making music, or playing something. That doesn't mean no one cares about music anymore.
Quote from: Ted on March 17, 2024, 01:26:09 AMThat's what makes community so important. I'm not going to connect with the people closest to me over my hobby -- collecting baseball cards or creating music. The same goes for the world. But a community of people with the same passion makes the hobby a little less lonely.
If your music wasn't a hobby then more "average joes" would take notice. Then you'd get all kinds of comments from regular people.
Your wife would start commenting about how much she enjoys the new sofa you were able to buy with the song your wrote, or the mansion in Madagascar that was built with the money from the hit song "People hear me out".
Also talking about lonely. Let's consider that you'll dig yourself deep into obscure guitar gear and feel like singing it's praises. Then even every other player you meet will feel alienated because they have their own (most often more "mainstream")likes and dislikes :)
Ending on a positive note. Then there are families who play together. A case in point. The Moore family. They'll brush out the instruments and go to town. It's in the water.
Or the famous Berry family. I doubt you can even get a sip of water around them without them breaking into a song!
first off, glad to know someone else here likes baseball cards.. me too, although I ain't exactly a big collector.. I have some boxes full... and a few nice ones... i love baseball in most forms and I can still play at 65 and I am really happy about that... i could pitch a few innings without throwing an arc on it...lol...
there is so much truth in this post. It is why I choose very carefully now where I spend my "music" time these days. For the reasons expressed and almost always people want you to listen to theirs and or buy it and they don't give a FF about anyone elses.... it is what it is.
when I go to open mic I sit and listen to every single person who plays. I don't go as much any more... mostly because I am getting old to be out late and also I have a tendency to get involved in activities that are not good for me such as drinking (which is really why the open mics exist to sell products and get your money, kind of like churches).... however I do find some really interesting people with passion for music that I connect with, even just a little... I also find there are those who will like to bump you out... for various reasons... also i get sick of hearing the same old friggin covers... please do something from your soul man.
now I am ranting. I love this community because there are good and great musicians, songwriters, recording engineers, and producers who not only make incredible music but also share what they know to help me and others like me. At the end of the day this is, as has been alluded to community. My oldest son now acknowledges that I can rock like hell but he says I need a singer...ok... so I play Neil Young and he says he sucks so there you go... everybody and almost no one is gonna like me so what? The point of all this is getting to where ( and I can now thanks to so many good people on here) play anywhere anytime and hold my head high knowing it's as good as most of the rest around and that I don't have to feel bad about anything... and I encourage everyone else that same way...
the band Kansas almost never got heard and were so close to destruction just before their 4th album came out, it was a miracle and a reward for all their hard work... a damn good band... and great musicians... that almost no one ever heard.
I only ever asked to maybe have a couple people like some of my music... this site is special... and I doubt the founders and those working to keep it going know how great it is... and I am glad it is small.
btw, I have read every word on this thread and will as it goes.
also most of us never thought about the race we had to win to get into this world to begin with... lol... but it is true....
I know a young guy, who works really hard and plays live anywhere and everywhere... I told him "you have a voice that is gonna break your heart".... because I know all these things mentioned to be true... and to be honest I think it has always been somewhat this way... it is very hard for artists of any kind to get known.
He got a gig on Sunday mornings playing in a coffee and food place in town... and he is doing good with tips and stuff... he has a good vibe and does not give up... I go listen to him quite a bit... but I don't like his open mics when he hosts... he tends to not be fair with the sign up sheets and makes it practice time for him and his friends and he does them in a place where it cost about 40 bucks for a meal and a couple glasses of wine... so I ain't gonna do that one no more... I can't afford that for what I get back.... we all do things for our own reasons.... and I need to be clear on my motivations because everyone else is.
Yeah it's weird the whole wife/partner responses (or lack of them) to our music. Seems a few of us are on the same page. We are together about 25 years and my wife almost never comments on anything I do. She has gone literally years not making any comment at all. I often wondered, what she thought and why she would not say anything. And there is always the possibility it is painful to her ;D ... well yeah why not?
The raw truth is we might lull ourselves into a false sense of how good we think we might be. And maybe the deafening silence coming back is just there to keep us grounded (speaking for myself here only!) But the funny thing is as the years have gone by, especially the last couple, I have started not giving a shit about her not giving a shit. Things like forgetting she is even around if I am working on an idea. Or even singing a little if she is within listening distance... something I always avoided before. And strangely she has said once or twice in the last few months "Oh, that's nice, what's that?" out of the blue. That caught me very unaware the first time after all this time and I just looked back at her and said "Oh I dunno, just making stuff up" :)
Good thread guys!
Mike
Quote from: Mike_S on March 17, 2024, 05:04:28 PMI have started not giving a shit about her not giving a shit.
I have the same total lack of interest from my wife and friends. She's always criticised my singing ever since I first started home recording and I've always had to argue back that there's no point in recording just backing tracks with no vocals. She's rarely listened to anything I post here and it's got to the point that I don't even tell her what I'm recording. I was recently having a drink with some friends and was talking to one of them who plays bass (just at home) and he was saying he can't play reggae bass lines. The day after, I posted a copy of a reggae cover I did (Armagideon) on the Whatsapp group I have with my friends. It's probably the only song that my wife liked and listened to a couple of times. A week later we were out with one of my friends and his wife who I've known since I was a teenager and I know he can't play any musical instruments and can't sing. He said "Was that you singing? You can't sing!" My wife later said he had no right saying that. I said "you say the same thing", to which she responded "Well, I'm your wife, I can".
At times it's made me feel like packing it all in but at the end of the day I do it for my own pleasure and from the comments you guys put on my posts, some of you do appreciate what I post. I think the problem with non-musical friends is they don't realise the work that goes into recording a song, playing all the different parts, arranging the drums etc. One of my female friends even thought I was just recording myself singing over karaoke backing tracks !
Anyway, I've also stopped giving a shit. I'll carry on doing it as long as I enjoy it and just share it with the like-minded folk on Songcrafters.
From the OP:
QuoteI can post a selfie and get 200 likes but if I post a couple new riffs I'm working on, I'll get like 10. Well recorded, melodic, it doesn't matter because people don't even scroll with the volume up half the time.
That's because the algorithms favor posts that keep the audience on their platform. If you link to youtube, spotify, soundcloud, bandcamp or anything else then you're gonna get almost no traction unless you pay. Do a live feed on FB or post a video on that site rather than linking to another site and the algorithm suddenly likes you. I had 160 views on fb video of me singing a song in this facility (with noise etc, completely off the cuff) and almost nothing on a well recorded song from the studio.
QuoteI have the same total lack of interest from my wife and friends.
Same here, especially from family. The wife shows little interest most of the time. But I did discover that she covertly listens to almost anything she can find. She doesn't like most of my music but occasionally she gets one she loves. Luckily, she almost always keeps it to herself these days. There's a truth in the statement, you have to find your audience.
If you're treating music like a commodity, like you have to market it then almost everything in the OP makes sense. If you treat it like art that only certain people will get and if you treat 'marketing' like it's finding your audience, your people, then it changes everything. It also helps if you think about it like you're doing things for other people, solving a problem for them. No-one likes to hear "listen to my music" but almost everyone likes to hear "I wrote a song and I think you might be one of the few people who will really get it."
Quote from: Mike_S on March 17, 2024, 05:04:28 PMAnd there is always the possibility it is painful to her ;D ... well yeah why not?
you just hit a nail on the head for me. my wife loves music and is a pro but she loves music very much more different and limited than I do... I was playing the other night, a riff with what she calls dissonant chords. To me they sound lovely and comforting and i love playing that... she explained that it caused her to feel anxious, and awful, sort of like finger nails on a chalkboard. So I played a (what I think is boring and the same as everbody's) 3 chord riff with G C and D majors and she loved it... boom...
you do have to know your audience as my friend Tonya says... but really I ain't really interested in doing the same old covers any more... nope... however that is where the folks playing live are mostly thriving. The bands that are doing all Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac etc are selling out like hotcakes and making some decent money... can't really fault them for it... if I had a chance to be a drummer or something in a band like that I probably would only because that would be a challenge for me and interesting... but to be a bass player or guitarist in that... not likely... been there... done that.
also I need to add that i really, really, really enjoy the process of recording, mixing, and producing. the last two even more so.
Quote from: StephenM on March 18, 2024, 08:36:09 AMshe explained that it caused her to feel anxious, and awful, sort of like finger nails on a chalkboard.
I can totally relate to that. It's down to a taste. It's a whole topic i put my wife through yesterday. You all dodged that bullet of having to hear that :)
I had some chords that made me physically ill. I don't even remember them anymore so either my taste has evolved, or i have totally blocked them out :D
It's great to hear that you're enjoying that whole process. I think that's one of the best changes in music making at this day and age. The availability of cheap, pro quality tools for it. I'd hate having to buy studio compressors, eqs etc. even though i'm a fan of analog gear.
there is another thing about popular music and radio.... if folks hear things about 5 times, even if it is not great (see some of the garbage from the pop 70's, (the lion sleeps tonight, Billy don't be a hero, I got a brand new pair of roller skates etc... a long list) they will start to like it at least a little... even sing to it and get it stuck in their heads...
we don't get to hypnotize people with ours like that! lol... I tell you what. I have been on this site for 3.5 years now and am very regular, and I tend to listen to every single song that is posted, kind of like a radio station for example. When I first listened to some folks on here I wasn't that into it... but now I just love their voices and styles etc.... and music has always been that way for me. I tend to listen to the same album for example a hundred times etc... and fall in love more and more with the nuances, the subtleties etc...
That is why I often like songs from albums that never got played on radio and no one, or very few others ever heard it... here is an example... a small one. Kansas. I heard Carry on wayward son in 76 or 77 I can't remember.. of course I was blown away... and over time I became a Kansas fan... but it was marginally... I never realized they had 3 albums out before that song came out. Even years and years later, like only about 10 years ago did I get those 3 recordings and was blown away at how good they are... you can ask most people and they will give you 2 or 3 Kansas songs... however I have heard every album they have done and they have a hundred great songs... but almost no one knows this because they don't put themselves into the music like I do... but I am not saying this makes me better or anything... but it does make a person like me have potential to be a good producer/engineer because mixing etc often requires listening to tracks and sounds over and over and over again... most musicians have no stomach for this.
I don't know if this helps anyone but each of our perspectives can help us to understand others better.... so that makes the comments valuable. It is hard to grow, because it takes honesty and that is not easy...
I am thankful for the active members on this forum... it is very valuable to me... if for no other reason than self respect.
Quote from: StephenM on March 19, 2024, 06:27:00 AMthere is another thing about popular music and radio.... if folks hear things about 5 times, even if it is not great (see some of the garbage from the pop 70's, (the lion sleeps tonight, Billy don't be a hero, I got a brand new pair of roller skates etc... a long list) they will start to like it at least a little... even sing to it and get it stuck in their heads...
This is so very true. It's a real thing and it affects all of us i'm certain. At least i'm not immune to it.
Repetition can add "value" to the music by making it more familiar and as such easier to grasp. And of course using clever arrangements and repetition in songwriting is part of that too. But that's the "next stage" of it.
Quote from: StephenM on March 19, 2024, 06:27:00 AMover time I became a Kansas fan
That time is still way ahead of me. I'm sure i've enjoyed one, or two Kansas cover songs, but i've never really listened to them.
For some reason the band sounds boring and my mind immediately drifts somewhere else. So much so that i'm not sure if i'd even recognize it was Kansas playing if i heard it on the radio!
So that's it for my refined musical tastes :D
Quote from: Zoltan on March 19, 2024, 06:44:17 AMQuote from: StephenM on March 19, 2024, 06:27:00 AMover time I became a Kansas fan
That time is still way ahead of me. I'm sure i've enjoyed one, or two Kansas cover songs, but i've never really listened to them.
For some reason the band sounds boring and my mind immediately drifts somewhere else. So much so that i'm not sure if i'd even recognize it was Kansas playing if i heard it on the radio!
So that's it for my refined musical tastes :D
they were really just an example of how I delve into groups I like or music I like.
Quote from: StephenM on March 19, 2024, 01:09:58 PMthey were really just an example of how I delve into groups I like or music I like.
I was just trying to be annoying and you weren't having any of that! No... I mean there's loads of great bands that i (or someone else) might get at some point, but really don't connect at the current time. I would probably learn a lot from bands like Kansas. The mixing, songwriting, performing etc.
My listening habits are weird. That's why they're mine :)
In answering your question: Hell no! I stopped telling people long ago.
:) John B
I do it for myself, if anyone else gets it, that's a bonus. Occasionally the good lady will listen to something or other but very rarely. that said the encouragement a feedback i have had here over the years have kept me at it. I'm still looking for that lost chord.
Quote from: Johnbee on March 20, 2024, 06:47:57 AMIn answering your question: Hell no! I stopped telling people long ago.
:) John B
I tell them, whether they want to know or not... without being obnoxious about it... and generally there is very little interest... but it is part of who I am, just as I am a runner and so talking about what we do or are about is important... and I also attempt to listen more to others and figure out what they are about and ask about that too... also though finding folks who are kind of into what we are is kind of important... I don't really want to be part of a crochet club or anything but my wife likes it and is quite good at it so I am somewhat interested in what she does, more the finished products... and once in a while I hit a song that she actually likes...
I started gigging locally when I was 16 years old and the last gig I did was in 2015. To this day I have people ask me if I'm still playing in a band. I tell them no but I still play and record in my home studio. That's about as far as the conversation goes. I think my wife tolerates the time I spend in my studio because she knows it's good for my mental health (it keeps me sane). She'll make a comment here and there about a song she likes but I've learned long ago that her passion for music isn't the same as mine. So the answer is no, people in my life don't care that I write songs. Well, except maybe you guys, the people that purchase them online, the mailman, my grandkids, my neighbors... lol, I'm joking.
Short answer: No.
Quote from: chapperz66 on March 20, 2024, 12:46:30 PMShort answer: No.
But wouldn't you want to write a longer one? :)
This whole topic has been a treasure trove. Such interesting stories.
well, I am interested in ya'll tunes enough to make up for the millions who could give a FF! write on..play on... record on.. have fun... get crazy..or not... do serious songs or silly songs... I llikely will hear them all.
Quote from: Oldrottenhead on March 20, 2024, 07:06:26 AMI do it for myself, if anyone else gets it, that's a bonus........
Kinda how I look at it too.
:) John B
its No here too
Not much lol. It s my passion and they have theirs too, that i'm not so into. For example, I can hardly share the passion for creative cooking (eating is different ;- ).
Maybe the other people in our lives need some kind of support group! ;D
Quote from: Mike_S on March 22, 2024, 04:37:06 AMMaybe the other people in our lives need some kind of support group! ;D
Someone should start a nonprofit:
The International Association of People Who Don't Give A Shit About Their Partner's Music (https://bit.ly/IAPWDGSATPM)I sounds like it would be huge! Millions of members. You pay a monthly fee, and you are absolved of any guilt. The money would go towards special grants and programs to buy pedals and recording gear for musicians and songwriters whose partners don't give a shit.
"Honey, would you like to hear my new song?"
"No thanks." (Shows her membership card.)
"No. Thank
you!"
Conversely:
Quote from: Ted on March 22, 2024, 05:57:34 AM"Honey, would you like to hear my new song?"
"No thanks." (Shows her membership card.)
"Looks like your membership has lapsed, Honey. Now sit down and listen to this little tune I just made up."
"Uuuhhh... Wait!" (Pulls out her phone and renews her membership immediately.)
Quote from: Mike_S on March 22, 2024, 04:37:06 AMMaybe the other people in our lives need some kind of support group! ;D
Maybe
we need some kind of support group! ;)
:) JB
Quote from: Johnbee on March 22, 2024, 08:57:39 AMQuote from: Mike_S on March 22, 2024, 04:37:06 AMMaybe the other people in our lives need some kind of support group! ;D
Maybe we need some kind of support group! ;)
:) JB
I thought that Songcrafters was a kind of support group.
Quote from: chapperz66 on March 23, 2024, 02:57:18 AMI thought that Songcrafters was a kind of support group
instigation group.... keep the fires burnin .....
I thought this was a stunning help to poor saps like me....
I found it on the internet... it must be true...
In 2006 a high school English teacher asked students to write a famous author and ask for advice. Kurt Vonnegut was the only one to respond - and his response is magnificent:
"Dear Xavier High School, and Ms. Lockwood, and Messrs Perin, McFeely, Batten, Maurer and Congiusta:
I thank you for your friendly letters. You sure know how to cheer up a really old geezer (84) in his sunset years. I don't make public appearances any more because I now resemble nothing so much as an iguana.
What I had to say to you, moreover, would not take long, to wit: Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow.
Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives. Draw a funny or nice picture of Ms. Lockwood, and give it to her. Dance home after school, and sing in the shower and on and on. Make a face in your mashed potatoes. Pretend you're Count Dracula.
Here's an assignment for tonight, and I hope Ms. Lockwood will flunk you if you don't do it: Write a six line poem, about anything, but rhymed. No fair tennis without a net. Make it as good as you possibly can. But don't tell anybody what you're doing. Don't show it or recite it to anybody, not even your girlfriend or parents or whatever, or Ms. Lockwood. OK?
Tear it up into teeny-weeny pieces, and discard them into widely separated trash receptacals. You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem. You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what's inside you, and you have made your soul grow.
God bless you all!"
Kurt Vonnegut
Quote from: StephenM on March 26, 2024, 07:34:15 AMI thought this was a stunning help to poor saps like me....
I found it on the internet... it must be true...
In 2006 a high school English teacher asked students to write a famous author and ask for advice. Kurt Vonnegut was the only one to respond - and his response is magnificent:
"Dear Xavier High School, and Ms. Lockwood, and Messrs Perin, McFeely, Batten, Maurer and Congiusta:
I thank you for your friendly letters. You sure know how to cheer up a really old geezer (84) in his sunset years. I don't make public appearances any more because I now resemble nothing so much as an iguana.
What I had to say to you, moreover, would not take long, to wit: Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow.
Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives. Draw a funny or nice picture of Ms. Lockwood, and give it to her. Dance home after school, and sing in the shower and on and on. Make a face in your mashed potatoes. Pretend you're Count Dracula.
Here's an assignment for tonight, and I hope Ms. Lockwood will flunk you if you don't do it: Write a six line poem, about anything, but rhymed. No fair tennis without a net. Make it as good as you possibly can. But don't tell anybody what you're doing. Don't show it or recite it to anybody, not even your girlfriend or parents or whatever, or Ms. Lockwood. OK?
Tear it up into teeny-weeny pieces, and discard them into widely separated trash receptacals. You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem. You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what's inside you, and you have made your soul grow.
God bless you all!"
Kurt Vonnegut
Nice advice. It makes me think of my wife who sometimes like to do arts and crafts. I asked why she did not try painting and she said "it's because I am no good at drawing or painting" I told her it didn't matter how good she was. But she didn't do it. Think I will remind her again. It's all about the journey.
Mike
No. But I do it anyway.
B
Quote from: bruno on March 26, 2024, 09:15:41 AMNo. But I do it anyway.
B
and I am glad you do Bruno...
Quote from: chapperz66 on March 23, 2024, 02:57:18 AMQuote from: Johnbee on March 22, 2024, 08:57:39 AMQuote from: Mike_S on March 22, 2024, 04:37:06 AMMaybe the other people in our lives need some kind of support group! ;D
Maybe we need some kind of support group! ;)
:) JB
I thought that Songcrafters was a kind of support group.
I didn't mean that kind of support group. ;)