SoundGirls.org: I recently had a conversation with a young songwriter, who found it frustrating trying to objectively scrutinize her own music. “I can’t even tell if a song I wrote is good or horrible.” It reminded me of the first time I was able to hear my own music objectively. It’s a really interesting story that I sort of forgot about. In recalling it, I realized there must be a way for songwriters and artists to hear their music objectively without the utter humiliation that I experienced. Let me explain.
6 comments:
This is such an important mindset because in an artistic field, it’s really hard to differentiate between your own voice and everyone else’s when it comes to how your work is being perceived. Sometimes an artist, whether that’s a musician or designer or performer, can feel really vulnerable based on the feedback they’re receiving about that work. Like many other elements of the industry, balance is important. You want to seek out feedback from professionals who know what they’re talking about and help you to grow. However, at the same time, you need to be able to answer for yourself what’s working and what isn’t and what is indicative of your own style. That’s why it’s important to be objective; constantly relying on others for validation will lead to you never being satisfied or feeling confident in your own work, and that’s a lonely and stressful existence. That’s why it helps to research and learn what works well; so you can judge your own work but also be your own intrinsic source of validation.
I liked this article a lot and have heard my best friend, who is a songwriter, say the very same thing about rule 1. He says he can't take anything his friends or mom say seriously because they're so supportive. I thought the social media point was interesting because I feel like you often hear the opposite worry when it comes to being on the internet - that people will be negative or mean. I guess if i think about it in depth we have seen a trend lately of being super supportive to one another online even sometimes when unwarranted purely based on how good the song or product is. Rule 3 is super true; i feel like every time i read a good book i'm inspired to go write my own just from something sparking my creativity. I think most folks in the creative field do have to work on becoming and staying objective when reviewing their own work and songwriting is a really tangible example of that.
I was drawn to this article because it not only sounded interesting, but it also sounded like something that could actually be useful to me directly. Though I'm not a producer or songwriter, I was right. The tips in this article can translate to any artistic field, or really any field where you are producing work. Not listening to friends and family or social media is also important to viewing your designs objectively. Both are difficult in different ways. It's hard not to listen to friends and family because they know you the best and will most often respond positively. It's hard not to listen to social media because that is seen as a representation of the public opinion. We also have to study plays and designs from already established creators to better learn how to produce art more meaningfully and effectively. Just as an architect might study famous buildings or a poet might study poems that they like. Viewing your own art objectively is a very important step in improving, so I definitely plan on using these tips moving forward in school.
I find this so educational as a theatre artist even though it’s about creating music. I think the basis of what they offer about feedback and what you think is “good” can really be applied to anything. It hurts just a little bit to apply the not listening to friends and family as solid feedback because they are your number one fans, and it hurts because it’s true. It’s so important to reach out to professionals and get that constructive and honest feedback. What they say about being “a better craftsman by studying your craft” is so true. We need to be diving into our art forms, studying shows that make it big, move people, and teach us. What is life if we aren’t learning more and more each day? It also helps to (kindly) critique others because we can learn so much by teaching.
-Hailey Garza
Although this article talks about how to specifically look at your music objectively, I think it’s very easy to apply the sentiment to art as a whole. For example, if you want to get better at whatever creative medium you’re working with, it’s a good idea to research techniques that that medium uses and to find ways to listen to other artists talk about their own creative process with that medium. One of the things that I’ve found most helpful in my own journey as an artist has been to look at art that I find inspiring, and to really break down what I like about the art, as well as what the artist thought about and did when creating the art. I will also say that peer feedback from others is absolutely essential. They can look at what you’re creating a lot more objectively, and it’s always really good to understand what your art looks like to new eyes. I think something else important that this article doesn’t really mention is that part of looking at your own work objectively also has to do with training yourself to look at it objectively. That is the ultimate product of all these tips, but it is the most important. The reason you go to all these other people and do all these other things is to help you begin to objectively understand why it is that something feels off, or that something isn’t quite there, or what your work is missing, in a way that isn’t inherently influenced by the fact that you were the person who created it.
I think this is something everyone struggles with in some way. I may not write music, but when I used to write short stories, or now that I knit and crochet, I find it impossible to say anything good about my work, not out of some insecurity, but because I don't have the vocabulary to really asses any kind of work, let alone my own. It is already pretty difficult to judge something that is so subjective. It becomes even more difficult when you are seeing your own work. We are our own worst critics. I decide whether I like a song based entirely on vibes, something that I couldn't judge well when applying it to anything I made. I think the suggestion of pinning down exactly the qualities that make you like someone else's work is the best way to begin judging your own. Figure out what it is you are looking for before you judge your own stuff.
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