Songcrafters.org

The first ever poll at Songcrafters (microrecorders.org at the time) was the How old are you (https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=184.0) poll which was created by Pedro (founder and admin). There were 131 votes in that poll and we found that half of our members were between 30 and 50, and a third of our members were over 50.

That was 12 years ago, so most of us have moved up to the next higher age group. We've had many new members since then and lost some too, so I thought it would be interesting to create a new poll for 2020. I've expanded the ranges a bit to show each decade except below 20 and over 70.

I don't imagine we'll get anywhere near 131 votes this time but I hope every member who reads this will vote in this poll so that we can get a more accurate representation of the ages of our members in 2020.

I'm happy to vote - and at least I'm not in the final demographic.  To be honest I'm just happy to have lasted this long! :D

I will vote no problem..! !

 o0O0o

I am too oh-oh-old to rock-n-ro-oh-oll, but too young to die...

I voted but I was looking for the category of "Too old to be young and too young to be old" . At least I'm not in the last group....yet, still 69  8) lol!

Farrell

Oh dear we are all getting old.......

As the ages get older it amazes me that there are hardly any younger players Is it too hard for them to learn They do not like the fact that it is not instant gratification I have looked at many other sites and it appears to be the same everywhere.  Me I would have loved to have some mentors in the start of my playing and would have bothered the crap out of them,  Guess it is a sign of the time.  To me there is no greater joy than creating a song or playing with others
Tim

I'm just fabulous . . . for my age!

I believe I'm the dean of SC...
(https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=29283.0;attach=189555)
 ;D ;D ;D

Interesting... a bit of an eye opener to see not much young blood coming through. Yes it is a sign of the times. My own daughter plays guitar and sings and try as I might I can't get her to join up, not sure why, but yes it does seem to be something to do with the social media platforms they prefer. The don't seem so interested in joining websites... it's sad because as we can all see the camaraderie and community spirit is something to treasure.

Anyway... I am in the 50 - 59 bracket... (only just... ha ha :)) the one good thing getting older has done is it's giving more impetus to try and make time for music as much as I can. I have a lot more tunes to be getting on with!

Mike

(https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=29283.0;attach=189556)

Hi all, yeah 71 and a bit, never really thought i'd get this old especially after the interesting experimenting in the sixties. :o.        Willie

50 to 59, don't ask next year!

Age is just a number, I'm sure I have more get up and go than people half my age...

Quote from: Flash Harry on March 04, 2020, 01:25:18 PMI'm sure I have more get up and go than people half my age...

My get up and go got up and went a long time ago.  :-[

all my life, in all my leisure, sports, musical and professional activities I've always been the youngest! I have to reach 71 and 6 months to become the oldest and I don't like it at all!
I think I'm going to found a Songcrafter reserved for the 70's (and more if they live longer) to become the youngest one again.

l humor and derision are my two teats of youth ... in my head I'm still ... 10 years old besides I proclaim it in one of my covers HERE (see lyrics and  attached translation  ;)

Quotehttps://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=27271

I'm 58 this year ????????????

Like Farrell, i'm 69. 70 in October...WooHoo! Let the good times roll!
Maybe i should update my avatar, altho it's quite appropriate... a squirrel sipping on a Guinness saying my most used word... "what?"
As has been mentioned, i also visit other sites, and see that interactions have dropped off severely in the last 5-10 years. No young folks recording at all it seems. I've had so much fun doing it over the years. They're missing out on the joy of camaraderie. But as ol' Bob D. said, "the Times, they are a changin'". Not for the better imho. I'd love to physically feel like a kid, but wouldn't wanna be one in this effed up world.

60 years physically but in my head still 17. in fact if mirrors didn't exist i would be convinced i was still only 17. who is that guy in the mirror when i shave in the morning?
well as my old dad used to say "you're only as old as the person you feel".

Quote from: Oldrottenhead on March 05, 2020, 04:47:21 PM60 years physically but in my head still 17. in fact if mirrors didn't exist i would be convinced i was still only 17. who is that guy in the mirror when i shave in the morning?
well as my old dad used to say "you're only as old as the person you feel".

I hope Mrs. Oldrottenhead doesn't see that. She'll want to know who the 17-year-old is that you're feeling.  ;) ;D

I hope we aren't as old as we feel cause I feel dead!!! & I appear to be the youngest here...and maybe the only one with 3 kids in the house...& 1 still in single digits...I'm so feckin tired. Love this place though.
Rock on my friends!

When I first came to this web site and joined I think I was 41.
Now i'm in the next age category!
14 years from retirement.
What the hell?  :o

You're all old too.  :P

Quote from: 64Guitars on March 05, 2020, 04:55:27 PM

Quote from: Oldrottenhead on March 05, 2020, 04:47:21 PM60 years physically but in my head still 17. in fact if mirrors didn't exist i would be convinced i was still only 17. who is that guy in the mirror when i shave in the morning?
well as my old dad used to say "you're only as old as the person you feel".

I hope Mrs. Oldrottenhead doesn't see that. She'll want to know who the 17-year-old is that you're feeling.  ;) ;D

Be careful  - you can end up on a register for having such thoughts.... ::) :D

Looks like we're all in the Covid-19 'at risk' demographic  ::)

Quote from: Greeny on March 09, 2020, 04:17:26 AMLooks like we're all in the Covid-19 'at risk' demographic  ::)

It really does... just one person under 50 of the 18 that voted up till now. And it ain't me! :(

I'm 58 this year.....have I already said that? cant remember...bugger.

A cheerful and young 63 here.

Mike :)

I'm as old as Kenny, 58 in August.

67, but I can't believe it.
In better shape now than when I was 18 but mainly because I was such a pathetic 18 year-old... ???

57 this year ????wow I was 30 then I blinked

Only just seen this and voted and found im a mere young un (lol) thats not happened for a while now :) 48 but ill be 49 next month but still not 50 like my brother  8)

If you change the categories To very young, young, youngish ad young at heart It would be nice.  Then I Could be young again.

But please leave off the ancient tag.  "

I am 61 and 11/12 s

On the bright side, this feels like a REAL community.  Maybe fewer people using forum boards is a blessing.


I post my music tracks on Soundcloud but Soundcloud is full of trolls and pornspambots and horrible stuff.

Yay, I just edged into a category.  Oh, wait, that's not good.

Quote from: Farrell Jackson on March 04, 2020, 07:14:45 AMI voted but I was looking for the category of "Too old to be young and too young to be old" . At least I'm not in the last group....yet, still 69  8) lol!

Farrell

Well today I moved into the last age category, 70 plus. I tried to update it but it's locked so I'll have to wait for the next SC age pole to come out. In my mind I feel like I'm in my twenties and still learning new things about music....it's a life long pursuit.

Farrell....today is a good day!

welcome to the club , Farrell..
We're at the age of what we still have to learn...and we still have so much to learn in music.

I didn't get a chance to vote ... I'll be 56 in a few weeks...feeling my age lately...but they say music keeps you young....so lets get going (pep talk to myself)....this place is a fountain of youth....you all look great and sound even better....Long live Songcrafters

Quote from: Farrell Jackson on January 13, 2021, 07:31:28 AMI tried to update it but it's locked so I'll have to wait for the next SC age pole to come out.

Sorry about that. It wasn't actually locked. It's just that it was set to not allow members to change their vote. I've now fixed that, so you should be able to click the Remove Vote button to remove your previous vote, then submit your new vote.

Got it, thanks 64!

Quote from: Pine on March 05, 2020, 04:19:32 PMLike Farrell, i'm 69. 70 in October...WooHoo! Let the good times roll!
Maybe i should update my avatar, altho it's quite appropriate... a squirrel sipping on a Guinness saying my most used word... "what?"
As has been mentioned, i also visit other sites, and see that interactions have dropped off severely in the last 5-10 years. No young folks recording at all it seems. I've had so much fun doing it over the years. They're missing out on the joy of camaraderie. But as ol' Bob D. said, "the Times, they are a changin'". Not for the better imho. I'd love to physically feel like a kid, but wouldn't wanna be one in this effed up world.

I am wondering though if as some, as they get older might enjoy something like this?  I am on reverbnation and it's absolutely nothing like this...it's basically a place to post your music and little to no interaction....

A few people have pointed to the weighting of ages, and as someone (apparently only one of two!) who falls into the younger end with the 30-39 group, I'll throw in my two pence for why this might be

Firstly, I feel like I might be around the age of the last people to really use message boards - or at least be in an online world where it was the main option for discussions. They stayed strong through the MySpace era, but as soon as Facebook came in it felt like they largely got pushed back, especially for people who wanted to be social but without specific fandoms. By now some boards I know of have either closed or become support-only boards. Fortunately though, message boards didn't become redundant.

This does mean that anyone born into that generation may not be aware, not see the appeal, or just not care much for message boards over alternate methods of socialising.

The other part is I think of the musicians around my age I do work with - and it's usually by email, or in person. So direct contact, rather than working in a community. I'm not sure this is a conscious step, it's just one we've found ourselves in. Other than that, it'd just be people I met directly on the circuit. I don't think most gigging musicians I met while touring really cared to look for musician communities, as their community was largely whoever they met via gigs and that was sufficient for them. I wonder if that'll change as they tour less and therefore search for another form of community instead.

The other reason for the age weighting may be how music is made. Not as in picking up an instrument, which I'm sure will always persist through any generation, but the act of recording. A lot of people mention digital recorders here, which, aside from a brief stint with a four track, I've never had any serious experience with, largely because other more accessible for the tools I already had methods were available when I were a teenager. Fruity Loops (now FL Studio) seemed to be a big driving factor at the time for music creation, no idea if it's still held in any regard as I barely hear it mentioned. Personally I grew up around the Amiga demoscene, albeit not consciously involved, so my heart was largely in trackers before moving onto an actual DAW. I know there was a period of activity with new musicians when Garage Band was popular. There was also the period of eJay and MTV Music software, which spawned its own communities.

For that last point, I wonder if the people who use these new tools automatically default to official channels and groups. An FL Studio user will most likely look for an FL Studio support group, rather than looking for an all-round music group. I think this is more true for newer methods and software, rather than traditional recording where approaches are often interchangeable between the hardware.

And from a personal point of view; I released my first album when I was 16. I can't fully remember how I found out about Songcrafters, I believe some kind soul messaged me on Reddit in response to a topic I made. Until then I hadn't heard of it, and best I can tell it's been around the full 18 years I've been making music. The only reason I did find out about it because I wound up talking to the right person at the right time (thanks for introducing me by the way, sorry I forget who you were!). But you think, it if took that long for me to discover it, no longer it's weighted towards the older end of the scale.

No real point to be made here, these are just the thoughts that came to mind when I saw this thread. Who knows if they're of any use! Just some random food for thought. Sorry for the slight necro.

...they tell me I'm 74 years old,...but I don't believe it

reassure me guys, do I have a 74 year old head?...I'm the last guy on the beam

[imglink]JP-Dejeuner-en-haut-dun-gratte-ciel.jpg  [/imglink]

I shall be 74 in December and celebrating my birthday in Australia. I feel privileged to have lived through and enjoyed some of the best music ever produced.

Quote from: Jean Pierre on September 13, 2022, 09:29:13 AM...they tell me I'm 74 years old,...but I don't believe it

reassure me guys, do I have a 74 year old head?...I'm the last guy on the beam

[imglink]JP-Dejeuner-en-haut-dun-gratte-ciel.jpg  [/imglink]

Looking pretty good up there. If I were that high up I'd have a lot more wrinkles!!