Summer Daze

[64Guitars]

Am I listening to something different than everyone else? The song I hear is basically noodling a guitar solo in the wrong key for a few minutes... what am I missing?

Dmann, what is the purpose of this comment? It clearly wasn't meant to be helpful or supportive.

Thirteen people posted that they enjoyed the song and offered their praise and support. Were you hoping to change their minds? If so, why?

Lots of other people viewed this topic and didn't reply. Maybe some didn't listen to the song. Of those who did, I'm sure that many enjoyed it but were either shy about posting their comments or lacked the time. Some may have felt indifferent about the song. And a few may have disliked it, but they had the common decency and respect for a fellow musician to move on to the next topic and say nothing. Why couldn't you have done that?

You've been a member here for quite some time and have posted many songs. Has anyone ever offered anything but praise and encouragement for your work? Don't you think all members deserve the same respect and courtesy?

Please, if you have no helpful or supportive comments about another member's song, then say nothing and look for a song that's more to your liking.

[Dmann]

wow So I have a smug additude for asking what I am missing here? Your right 13 people replied, that it was awesome and such great talent, and Bob replied that he had lots of experience so when I played it I thought something was wrong when I heard it. I asked a legitimate question. Even my Son who's only been playing guitar for a year thought something was wrong with it because the majority of the guitar solo is not in the same key as the root notes of the main rhythm and it just sounds out of whack (to me).

 I'm sorry your offended and that you took my comment in such a way that you thought I was putting you down personally Bob, but to both 64 and Bob, my comment was not meant to be niether rude or offensive. If you choose to take it in that context then so be it. I was just being blunt and stating what appeared to me to be obvious.

 SO am I to understand, if you notice something is not right, you are to go ahead and only post how awesome it is, or not post at all and just move on? I'm confused here I thought the point of posting work was to get feedback and give feedback so as to help people improve, whats the point in telling people it's great if you think there is something out of whack?

 Well apparently I'm the one out of whack and don't know what I'm talking about

 And just for the record, I thought you may have uploaded a wrong version, as I have done that my self on occasion where the tracks were not lined up or where I was just practicing along with a studio recording, anyways, sorry to have said anything. It won't happen again.

[Bob Iles]

Dmann:

I'm not here to get into a pissing match over something so trivial. I simply commented to you because your choice of wording was interpreted by me (and others) to be at the very least smug, if not condescending. Pointing out the shortcomings of someone's efforts/talents is perfectly acceptable here. It's just the manner in which you go about that which is important. Instead of asking "what am I missing here?" you could have said something like: "Not bad for a first effort. Maybe next time you could try..." It goes a whole lot further toward fostering goodwill and a positive atmosphere here. I've listened to some songs here where things seemed "out of whack" and I a) chose not to comment and moved on, or b) offered some advice as to how that particular piece could be improved.

Make no mistake, your comment won't deter this 39 year-old. However, a good many others may be put off by such negativity, especially younger artists who may just be starting out.

I've been doing this for a long time, and I can take a little criticism. While it's true that I have a lot of experience with multi-track recording, I have never had access to such a powerful recording tool as the BR600. And just like anyone else would do with a new "toy" I tried out as many of the bells and whistles as I could on "Summer Daze." The result was obviously a bit lackluster, and some parts were out of key and/or out of tune, but I posted it anyway, unabashedly, warts and all. I'm sure if you took the time to listen to some of my other posts, you'd find that I quickly got the hang of it. And my music may not particularly be your "cup of tea," but I'd hope you could at least respect the commonality we have in our love for this art.

I don't consider myself to be anything special as a guitar player. But I try to stay within the limits of my talent/ability. I'm not great at playing leads due in part to my lack of practice when I was younger, and in part to the loss (in a work-related accident) of the tip of my left index finger down to the first knuckle. That physical limitation surely plays havoc when it comes time for nimble fingering. And it took well over two years for me to even be able to play again.  I do believe that I am an above average rhythm player, and that my strength lies in the actual crafting and building of a song. Would I like to be a better player? Absolutely. Who wouldn't? And I'm working on getting there.

I'm sure you didn't mean to offend me. In fact, I wasn't offended that you didn't particularly care for "Summer Daze" - hell, even I can't bear to listen to it anymore. I was more put off by your choice of words.

I'm looking forward to posting many more songs here. And I'm looking forward to checking out some more of your work. There is a lot of talent here that makes a lot of the stuff that's forced on us by commercial radio sound like a bunch of plastic, manufactured studio trickery - which much of it is.

Peace, bro.

-Bob

[64Guitars]

my comment was not meant to be niether rude or offensive.

Well, I'm glad to hear that it wasn't intentional. But I wish you'd given some thought to how Bob might feel when he read it. Or, to put it another way, how would you feel if you'd posted a song you were proud of and 13 people said it was great, then someone else came along and said it's just "noodling a guitar solo in the wrong key for a few minutes"? I'm sure you'd be offended and you'd think the poster was rude, or at least insensitive.

SO am I to understand, if you notice something is not right, you are to go ahead and only post how awesome it is

How do you know it's not right? Only the songwriter knows if the notes he played were the ones he intended. Listeners can only decide whether they like the result or not. If you like it, then your positive comments about the song are welcome and will encourage the songwriter to post more. If you don't like it, then what good can come from publicly saying so? You'll only offend the songwriter and bring down the tone of the forum. And you'll probably intimidate some members who may have been thinking about posting their first song. I want our new members to feel welcome here and not be shy about posting their songs for fear that someone will put them down. So, if you don't like a song, say nothing. Better still, find something about the song that you do like and comment on that. For example, if you don't like the guitar solo, you might say that you like the drums, the songwriting, the production, the vocals, the lyrics, or whatever, and just not mention the solo. I'm not asking anyone to lie. If you really don't like anything about a song, say nothing and look for a song that you can praise honestly. It's getting to be impossible for anyone to comment on every single song that's posted anyway, so just comment on the songs that you like.

[Gritter]

I Like your playing style Bob...and your reply to comments. You are a class act dude. Keep on rockin'...in the free world.