criticism, how many of you deal with it?

N

n4eem

New member
hey, i jus wanna know your views on criticism on your production, how many times you get it? do u get it? how do you deal with it? do you take it offensive or learn from it?? etc etc.....
 
Just take it in and make your own decisions. Listen to advice from people you trust, ignore advice from those you don't and seek second opinions.

When it comes down to it, you only have to justify yourself to the people who buy the music.
 
Criticism is an integral part of music, as it is in almost everything. Not only should one be able to handle criticism in an appropriate manner, but he should also be able to give criticism in an appropriate manner. Being able to verbally critique something in a meaningful way is a great skill to have because it makes you concentrate on what you specifically do or do not like about said "thing." Since worthwhile criticism requires specifics, you need to train your ear to be able to distinguish the good from the bad. This training will also help you in your own art.

I am open to criticism of all kinds as long as it is genuine and not given in a spiteful manner. I am obviously not going to produce a perfect track every time I sit down, so it is just silly to think that someone else might not have a better idea or four. Once I learn a lesson in regards to one track, I am sure to take that lesson with me in other tracks so I do not make the same mistake twice.

I was fortunate enough to attend a well-regarded school of music for my bachelor's degree, and we were all encouraged to give critiques of our peers' works. There was only one requirement: You have to say one positive thing about the piece before you say anything negative. But after that, the floodgates were open. I learned so much from my peers' critiques of my work, most of which have proven to be invaluable.

I believe that it is a waste of time to just say, "Hey, man...nice beat." In reality, all that does is boost the ego of the producer. While it's nice to be complimented on yoru work, it really doesn't help you evolve at all as an artist. I find it much more helpful to point out the "mistakes" so the producer can become aware of them and improve upon them.

Hm, that was rather long-winded of me...
 
I see criticism as what i need to do in order to get better i get it pretty often but it is mostly constructive criticism which help me take my productions to the next level. So listen to what people have to say because most of the time it could help you.
 
theres two kinds of people... a true artist.. and a realistic artist

i guess i'm more realistic... i enjoy critisim... especially from the more experienced... so that my stuff sounds better. cuz when ive been working on a beat for 2 hours... it sometimes sounds hella weird when im done. cuz my ears are used to the weird sound for 2 horus . and after pausing for a while and not listening to it, and then listening to it again after 30 minutes.. it sounds all weird. thats why sometimes it may sound dope to u but not to others.
 
Puppet said:
theres two kinds of people... a true artist.. and a realistic artist

i guess i'm more realistic... i enjoy critisim... especially from the more experienced... so that my stuff sounds better. cuz when ive been working on a beat for 2 hours... it sometimes sounds hella weird when im done. cuz my ears are used to the weird sound for 2 horus . and after pausing for a while and not listening to it, and then listening to it again after 30 minutes.. it sounds all weird. thats why sometimes it may sound dope to u but not to others.
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Then what's a "true artist?"
 
straypixel said:
Listen to advice from people you trust, ignore advice from those you don't and seek second opinions.

When it comes down to it, you only have to justify yourself to the people who buy the music.
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I don't think that's the best attitude to take towards criticism. Criticism is one of the best tools you will ever get to improve your music, so you shouldn't waste it. Like any tool, it can help or hurt, so you do need to be careful with how you handle it.

It shouldn't matter who criticism is coming from - whether or not you trust the person. On recieving criticism, you should immediately try to seperate it from the person giving. It all has to be evaluated on it's own merit. People you trust aren't always right and people you don't trust aren't always wrong. If someone tells you something doesn't sound right, no matter who they are, go back and listen to that part. Try to figure out and hear why they don't think it sounds right. Once you know why they think that, it's up to you to decide whether its something you want to keep or change.

If when you recieve criticism, you start thinking about whether or not you need to justify yourself to anyone, you're missing the whole point. True, you don't need to justify yourself to anyone, but that has nothing to do with criticism, so don't go on the defensive. If someone doesn't like your music, you need to figure out if there is something wrong with your music or if it just doesn't appeal to the person's taste and then move on. Take it at face value.
 
I avoid criticism of my songs during certain phases of the song creation. Sometimes I know what I'm doing and other people's input just distracts me from my musical goals.

But after those phases, I'm open to criticism because there are always things that I missed that others will catch. Most of the time criticism is useful, but occasionally somebody will say that they liked your song and still tell you to change everything about it. Instead of redoing the whole entire song according to a critic, it's often better to incorporate the advice into the creation of a brand new song. :sing:
 
MrHope said:
I avoid criticism of my songs during certain phases of the song creation. Sometimes I know what I'm doing and other people's input just distracts me from my musical goals.

But after those phases, I'm open to criticism because there are always things that I missed that others will catch. Most of the time criticism is useful, but occasionally somebody will say that they liked your song and still tell you to change everything about it. Instead of redoing the whole entire song according to a critic, it's often better to incorporate the advice into the creation of a brand new song. :sing:
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cosign. when working on a beat there's usually at least one part that sounds bad to decent without the rest of the song. For example take some drums, say the kick has this weird EERRWEOOOH sound on it. Sounds like willy when you play the drum break alone. Put it under a melody that supports it and bam it's FIRE. This is why i wait till my songs at least up to the point where I'm mastering before I ask for critique.
 
yeah, it can be annoying when you get uninvited critiscism on something that's not done yet. Of course it doesn't sound right - it's not done!
 
Not necessary. You are to critique your own works of art. You know where the inspiration for the instrumental came from, someone else may draw from a completely different situation upon listening. Especially if you tell them, directly or indirectly, to find out what's wrong with the instrumental. If someone told me to find something wrong with their work, I'd say whatever I hear that is different. Different means good in the world of music. The only criticism you should encounter, should be your own.

You can make an instrumental, then listen to an album that you like, or the radio. Lose yourself in the music, and once you go back over your instrumental, you can tell if you want to delete it, or fine tune it for further listening.
 
I take it all in. The important thing is to be humble enough to accept it, but at the same time have enough knowlege to seperate the good critiques from the bad.

Even an A&R for a major label can give you a bad critique. If someone tells me my bassline's wack, I'm gonna recognize it is as soon as they say it. If I don't hear it and think "damn, he's right", I compare to others, ask for second opinions.

Everybody doesn't have the same taste. You need the ability to recognize flaws in your music, especially once they're pointed out to you, but at the same time, need the ability to recognize when people have no clue of what they're talking about.
 
Terrel said:
Not necessary. You are to critique your own works of art. You know where the inspiration for the instrumental came from, someone else may draw from a completely different situation upon listening. Especially if you tell them, directly or indirectly, to find out what's wrong with the instrumental. If someone told me to find something wrong with their work, I'd say whatever I hear that is different. Different means good in the world of music. The only criticism you should encounter, should be your own.

You can make an instrumental, then listen to an album that you like, or the radio. Lose yourself in the music, and once you go back over your instrumental, you can tell if you want to delete it, or fine tune it for further listening.
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What good is art if it doesn't communicate anything? Plato, the believed father of aesthetics, said that art is the "immitation of an ideal." Aristotle later said that "art reveals reality." Freud went on to say that "art reflects desire and unconsciousness." As different as these views are, they all involve communication. Communication, by defintion, requires more than one person/thing, so I'll argue that self-criticism is meaningless.
 
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I doubt anyone will imitate you if you are the one imitating, to a certain extent. Criticism stems from more than what you think it does. When a person asks to be criticized, who ever they ask will purposely find things to criticise. When a person spontaneously criticizes, it is my belief that jealousy is the cause. More than one person will view your art, so why settle for changing you art for a sole person.
 
^^^Okay, lemme cut in here. If you guys do an abstract type of music, this is true. F**k other peoples opinion, often on this site I automatically assume we're talking about manufactured music.

If you do hip hop or Pop and want to be successful, you have to be aware of what your target audience wants. If you're into the abstract fusion of sound and creating "art", don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do.

At the same time, if you're doing Hip hop/Pop(manufactured music), don't think being "different" to the point it's abstract gives you a pass. Nobody's gonna want to hear that sh*t.
 
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I love critisism, especially if they are 100% honest with it, you can only learn from your mistakes and get better. but I do hate those that just hate on it rather then give good critisism
 
Terrel said:
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I doubt anyone will imitate you if you are the one imitating, to a certain extent. Criticism stems from more than what you think it does. When a person asks to be criticized, who ever they ask will purposely find things to criticise. When a person spontaneously criticizes, it is my belief that jealousy is the cause. More than one person will view your art, so why settle for changing you art for a sole person.
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Sheesh...I don't know if this attitude is based on absolute self-confidence or absolute lack of confidence in the critic! :confused:

deRaNged 4 Phuk'dup said:
If you do hip hop or Pop and want to be successful, you have to be aware of what your target audience wants.

At the same time, if you're doing Hip hop/Pop(manufactured music), don't think being "different" to the point it's abstract gives you a pass. Nobody's gonna want to hear that sh*t.
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I very much agree with this.
 
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No_Worries said:
Sheesh...I don't know if this attitude is based on absolute self-confidence or absolute lack of confidence in the critic! :confused:
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lol. A little bit of both. :victory:

deRaNged 4 Phuk'dup. I'm from Detroit, and your response is the exact reason why I believe J Dilla could never have a mainstream appeal.
 
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it depends. Usually though i like it, because its a free tip on how to make ur song better.
 
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