I can't stand the performance aspect of music

[PsychoNerd]

Music is wonderful: I could probably listen to it all day under the influence of drugs. However, i personally hate analyzing the music that i write, and i hate recording it myself because that's putting the analysis on steroids: NOW I ALSO HAVE TO ANALYZE THE QUALITY OF THE RECORDING. I finished recording two songs (one was a complete original, the other an original version of an old cover song) only to realize later it was just as mediocre as all the other music i've done.

Do you think going entirely electronic/digital would help fix this problem...putting away the acoustic guitar and singing? I've thought my music is completely mediocre for years and all other people do is try to encourage me to keep working on it and give me inaccurate advice about the music i write.

[nils]

Luckily the audience typically doesn't know better.
You can produce and record as mediocre as you want and there will always be people thinking it is the best thing they have ever heard.

[PsychoNerd]

Luckily the audience typically doesn't know better.
You can produce and record as mediocre as you want and there will always be people thinking it is the best thing they have ever heard.

Unfortunately that's not true, it's especially obvious that that's not true if the audience has an internet connection. The reality is that people normally sugar-coat their opinions because everyone has experience getting chewed out for being overly critical of someone, or criticizing someone who's incredibly sensitive about their artwork. I've gone to a lot of open mics: if i like the persons performance, i'll say "that was good! I really like [some specific aspect of your music]", if it was a train wreck by my standards, i'll say "good job", if it sounds good to me but isn't that great, i'll either make a short compliment or say nothing. Of course, it varies based on the situation, but i've basically created this script because i find judging peoples performance to be painful in and of itself.

I think getting rid of the singing, and becoming more multi-instrumental will work, because a lot of the hatred of my own folk music comes from my voice and the lyrics. I've been playing folk music for almost 15 years so i know what i'm talking about.

[Impostor]

I finished recording two songs (one was a complete original, the other an original version of an old cover song) only to realize later it was just as mediocre as all the other music i've done.

Mediocre in composition or mixing? Both are hard to remedy. For the first you'll need inspiration, for the second you'll need technical know-how. I tend to lack both. Lack of inspiration can be somewhat remedied by keeping my songs short. For better mixing skills, I'd need to invest time and effort to learn the tools of the trade, which I'm not sure I even want to. It's just a hobby for me after all, and I am my only fan :)

Do you think going entirely electronic/digital would help fix this problem...putting away the acoustic guitar and singing? I've thought my music is completely mediocre for years and all other people do is try to encourage me to keep working on it and give me inaccurate advice about the music i write.

Using other tools to make music can certainly increase your creativity. Tracks I made with midi sequencers are very different from the ones I made with trackers. Better? I doubt it. Different: certainly.

But digital/acoustic doesn't need to be mutually exclusive. Why not combine them?

[Impostor]

Music is wonderful: I could probably listen to it all day under the influence of drugs.

Somehow I missed this gem! Okay, I'll bite: do you mean "even on drugs I can listen to music all day", or "I can listen to music all day provided I'm under the influence"?

Drugs can certainly enhance the musical experience in very interesting ways, but you should probably put off posting something you made under its influence, until after you've reviewed it when sober :)

[Gps]

This reminds me of something they asked the beatles or was it paul him self.

If they had ever tried using drugs while making new songs.

They did, and thought it went rather well, until they listened to it the next day. sober.

I have experienced that myself too , even when not high. Getting in a trance of my own music.
Omg I did it I wrote a hit !

Then then next day, hmm this is nothing special at all.

When producing and mixing at some point just stop. Yes you might be able to do better if you put in even more time in, but working one track constantly for months gets boring real fast.

Even Jean Michel Jarre said, when he released a track, he always had that feeling he could have done a better job.

[Gps]

Luckily the audience typically doesn't know better.
You can produce and record as mediocre as you want and there will always be people thinking it is the best thing they have ever heard.

Unfortunately that's not true,

Are you sure ?

This was a hit in my country, don't ask me why.

Rotterdam Termination Source - Poing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ6jZgMaZk4

[glowrak guy]

Love working on your music. Work and love, work and love. More work and and more love.
As you attain competance, performance will be something you start enjoying, artists typically like making people happy.
Doesn't have to be a huge crowd, if it's a happy one. Finding the audience to match your music is important.
Pursuing excellence in 5 genres is likely going to insure mediocrity in all 5. Focus on the kind of music you love,
and get crazy good at it.

When you find your audience, you never want to dissapoint them, and you want to keep putting out fresh music and related content,
to get them interested, following your progress, and anticipating more products.

As your 'fan base' gets established, you'll want to choose a methodology for communicating with them,
keep it active, and keep increasing the quality.

Video production will soon come into play, and I'll suggest you watch this video a few times, Rick Beato explaining
how to self-promote your music, in a quickly changing musicverse. I'll end my input here, and let the pro speak to the processes to pursue,
and the ones avoid:

https://youtu.be/me4Wwtneh6s

(I was actually re-listening to this, as I was browsing this LM website!)
Cheers

[glowrak guy]

Within your primary genre, find examples that you consider to be hits, or standards, and break them down bit by bit.
Identify all the instruments and sounds, set out the structure of the song, tempo, intro, body, chorus, bridge, repeats, solo's, and conclusion.

Study how the changes within the songs are introduced and then resolved as new parts are played.
Learn when a pause or silence let's the listener process something special they've just heard.
When lyrics are involved, keep the phrases within boundaries of each section, and try to have both
a lyrical and musical hook that will be remembered. Avoid overcrowding your song. Six distinct parts well played,
are better than 20 in a stew pot. People have short attention spans, so music that is too busy, and wandering aimlessly
will likely be skipped over.
Mi dos centavos

[Impostor]

I have experienced that myself too , even when not high. Getting in a trance of my own music.
Omg I did it I wrote a hit !

Then then next day, hmm this is nothing special at all. :(

Ha! I have that all the time. I can completely lose myself for an entire weekend with what I'm making. Then hearing it back after work on monday I cannot understand the enthusiasm I had for that incoherent piece of crap.

[merlyn]

... I've been playing folk music for almost 15 years so i know what i'm talking about.

With folk music is it not about what you're saying? Your message, and what you want to get over? Do you think Bob Dylan is folk? He wasn't the greatest singer or guitarist, but he wrote good songs, or a lot of people thought he wrote good songs.

As David Bowie wrote : "Hear this Robert Zimmerman, I wrote a song for you, about a strange young man called Dylan, with a voice like sand and glue." Also Dylan's harmonica playing had all the finesse of a rusty hinge.

But none of that mattered.

[Eli]

If you hate tracking/recording, nothing is stopping you from going all digital/mouse & keyboard to write. Lots of producers do it.

[PsychoNerd]

... I've been playing folk music for almost 15 years so i know what i'm talking about.

With folk music is it not about what you're saying? Your message, and what you want to get over? Do you think Bob Dylan is folk? He wasn't the greatest singer or guitarist, but he wrote good songs, or a lot of people thought he wrote good songs.

As David Bowie wrote : "Hear this Robert Zimmerman, I wrote a song for you, about a strange young man called Dylan, with a voice like sand and glue." Also Dylan's harmonica playing had all the finesse of a rusty hinge.

But none of that mattered.

You'll find from listening to and writing lyrics that it matters much less than how your voice flows, and whether your singing perfectly in the note range. With lyrics, cryptic is good...ive had people get angry at me because they cant decipher them, their problem, not mine.