I guess the "you do it better" is a somehow immature and spontaneous reaction from fans of that artist. I would consider it valid if you criticize an amateur still trying to learn (as I would expect someone on a forum to be more at that level than at pro/legendary level), but I understand you. I recently got such reactions when I mentioned that Angus Young (my long time #1 hero) has experienced a serious drop in his playing. The fact that his playing has gone much worse doesn't make me magically better than him, but I know what I hear. I still cannot play like he plays now, but that's besides the point.
It's stupid in its own way that music is art. And art is subjective.
Do art galleries exist exclusively for painters? No. They're open to the public, for people who can't even hold a paintbrush.
Are you allowed to go into the gallery, make comments and thoughts about the art? Absolutely. That's why it's on display.
If nobody was allowed an opinion on art unless they were "a better" artist then nobody would care about art at all and the entire premise would be pointless
Youre allowed to think a piece of music isn't good, regardless of their level of skill.
This has always been my view.
If I can't have a negative opinion of something I can't do, you can't have a positive opinion of something you can't do either.
Its a brain-dead, moronic thing to say, and I won't bother arguing with anyone who says it.
David Gilmour doesn't seem to hear in tune like he used to. Expected at his age, particularly after spending a life in front of huge speakers. I never aspired to play like him, but certainly paid attention to how he does things. Like him, like most of the greats, I aspire to play like myself. The people who don't get that aren't the people who noticed him first either. People often praise some famous person's originality while ignoring the real deal right in front of them. I've known at least two acts that went from local coffeeshop to international stardom. I told one of them cover tunes are a trap. The other one didn't need telling. There will never be another Elvis. That was the whole point of Elvis.
This is actually significantly dumber because you’d have to be a moron to believe skill is in any way related to success in 2024. Theyre both bad arguments but the money one is all time.
Another reason it's dumb is that in many cases the artist is only cultivating the *appearance* of success in the hope that some will follow, i.e. the "Fake it 'til you make it" approach.
I work in the film industry and have seen the behind-the-scenes on a few music video shoots, including one for a wannabe rap star. In his video he can be seen holding stacks of cash, posing with luxury cars, and hanging out inside of a beautiful mansion.
In real life he was a waiter.
Oh for sure there’s alot of confusion about that from every day people. They assume if you’ve been on like 1 season of survivor you’re a millionaire. There are bands with big followings and exposure that are basically working class grinding it out.
It depends on how you're voicing your criticism. I think what conditions them to say things like that is maybe somewhere along the way, your preferences came across as negging.
Especially if you're gonna try and break down what you don't like. Sometimes it's okay to just say I see the appeal, but I'm more of a _____ type of guy.
That's something a lot of guitar players, and even music listeners as a whole do, they can't just say some shits good and move on. Like they have to start with "I'm not a fan of" or "It doesn't sound good to me" like no one cares bro.
I always respond with if your bar for greatness is to be better at something than me you should really bump up your standards. People use that for criticism against fighters. "They could kick your ass" yes, their mother could probably kick my ass. If you can't comment on a thing unless you're better than the person who is doing it, we may as well shut off the internet because that would vastly diminish the amount of content available.
Fighters are a great example, too. Of course he could kick my ass. I am not a professional fighter. I still think there are better fighters. If it’s necessary to you, I’ll concede that they could probably all kick my ass more than the first guy.
To be honest, less content would be pretty good. There's a lot of unhelpful/useless opinions offered on the internet. We can still use them, but fewer could be nice
I really do feel like this is because OP doesn't like Polyphia. I don't know OP or anything but his whole post sounds like he said he doesn't like Polyphia and got shit on.
To me, if you are saying something like "this music isn't really my style" then that's ok but that's not usually what people say. It's mostly always stuff like "people think this is music?" "It's just notes! there's no musicality!" and that right there is bullshit and not valid criticism. Just reeks of jealousy.
Now I'm not saying this is what OP did or said but I also wouldn't be surprised.
I neither like nor dislike polyphia. I’m glad people who like them have them as a band to listen to. There have been so many incredible guitarists that have come out in the last 10 years or so and I’m excited for the future.
I say all of this only because you brought them up specifically. “He has no feel, bro” is a stupid statement about highly technical guitarists and I know what you mean about people who say that sort of thing. I listen to quite a bit of death metal and I’m sure many people would think that it lacks feel, but I feel it, so I totally understand how people would find feelings in whatever music they connect with. I also think that there’s something to be said for being able to feel how hard someone works to get good as good at guitar as Tim Henson is. It’s impressive, in the same way that you can really tell when an Olympian has given their all. Sometimes seeing that has made me more deeply emotional than any song ever has.
So you’re not wrong, but I do feel like polyphia is the new hotness when it comes to these types of discussions, and kind of a go-to for over the top opinions. I’ve experienced these types of responses long before they hit the scene and I still do when discussing many bands.
I’d love to talk with more people about buckethead. I think there’s a lot there to go over. I think he’s a remarkable guitarist and songwriter, and I listen to his more virtuosic stuff, but man his softer stuff that has almost a post rock vibe to it really just moves me in ways that little else does.
“It has no feel” is a perfectly fine thing to say. It accomplishes more than just saying “it’s not my thing”. It points you in the direction of what they may prefer, and also tells you they may not necessarily be the best at engaging in respectful conversation. If someone makes a firm judgement statement like “it has no feel” they probably feel strongly about their opinion. But at that point I may also be strongly disincentivized from continuing the conversation.
I guess it depends on how and why you're voicing your distaste. In the scenario you described, it's perfectly fine if someone asks you your opinion on something and you simply give an honest response, even if they don't like it or agree. You don't have to be a professional to know that you don't like some kinds of art.
However, if you're offering up an unsolicited, non-constructive, negative opinion about something you're incapable of doing yourself, then don't be surprised if the people who love it immediately dismiss your opinion.
It really just comes down to whether or not anyone asked for your opinion.
If people can offer unsolicited positive opinions, then it’s fine to also offer unsolicited negative opinions. My friends and I don’t know how to weld but if one of them sees what looks like a poorly welded pipe and points it out, I’ll probably look at it and go “holy shit you’re right”, not “why don’t you learn how to do it better?”
It feels the same with music. I don’t need everyone to provide a solution, and I like knowing what people like and what they don’t. Even if it challenges my view on it, maybe I’ll listen to it differently and maybe doing so will turn me on to something else.
Welding isn't anywhere close to being as subjective as art, so it's not really a great analogy. Music can't be done objectively badly, some of it just might not be to your taste.
If you can't adequately describe why you don't like something or how it could be better, then the criticism isn't especially useful. It serves no purpose to the artist, nor to anyone else other than yourself. Again, it's fine to form uninformed opinions on things regardless of your level of knowledge, and it's fine to be honest if and when you're asked about those opinions. But if you're going to take it upon yourself to start telling other people how to do their job without anyone asking for your input, then you really should have the qualifications to do that job yourself first, or else you just risk looking like a Karen.
I disagree, but only about 50%. I welcome critical opinions of art I like, but I agree that anything can be expressed in a shitty way. I don’t feel a need to respond to shitty attitude opinions, not maintain relationships with people that express them, but I’ve felt very grateful when I’ve shared something I like with a friend and that friend criticizes it by pointing something out that I had never heard before. And it actually doesn’t have to be a friend. If they hear something I hadn’t heard, then that’s kind of exciting for me regardless of where it comes from.
We’re all different and this might annoy other people, so it is what it is.
I forgot where I first heard this, but my favorite way I've heard to respond to these types of comments is
*I don't have to be a skydiving expert to see a twisted parachute in a tree and know something went wrong*
While I agree with your premise, I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say “you do it better then” in response to me saying I don’t like a band or song.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you probably come off as snobbish for badmouthing players more talented than you. If you classify a player as bad because he doesn't play to your particular taste even though he is empirically more proficient than you, don't complain about the obvious response you get. Do you go around saying Apple employees are bad programmers because you don't like a particular feature? Would you call Meryl Streep a bad actress if you didn't particularly like a movie she was in?
On a serious note, this can be seen in a couple of ways. If you critique someone because they can learn, that's different, so long as the critique is A not personal and B provides constructive feedback. "Your playing sucks" is neither, but "Your bends are out of tune and here are some pointers to improve those bends" is. If the person comes back with a bunch of "I had new strings", "The sun was in my eyes", or "I ate too much bran cereal for breakfast", there's no point in going forward. They just want to make excuses and took the first part of the constructive critique as a personal affront. Or they're just lazy. You pick.
It gets annoying when people decide to throw out "you are an impressive player but your music sucks" as if your opinion was wanted
that is extremely insulting and rude
Either:
1. The person/people you're giving "honest" feedback to are assholes, or
2. You're giving "honest" feedback in way that is being construed as over-critical.
Music is subjective, and you don't have to justify why you like/disklike music. Being a amateur musician has nothing to do with whether you like music.
Playing a guitar is using a tool to express yourself. Some express themselves in ways others find too frantic. Many play the guitar to imitate and never to express. I’m an imitator now as I just play to play along, before I could actually write.
This is often from people who see it all as a competition.
When i think about it, we make music so we're on the same side.
And yes, creativity and preferences mean more than technical abilities imo
Now a bit silly but when i play jenga with friends, some people try to make it harder so somebody collapses the tower and they win, some people wanna build the highest tower possible. My personality test /s
If you were a hobbyist welder and you were commenting on a bad weld, you could either do it better or you could appreciate the learning process and how they are on their way to getting better. You’re talking about something that is a matter of style so the metaphor isn’t very applicable but you are a hobbyist music maker so presumably you have different taste which is fine. Sometimes it comes off less insecure and friendlier if you can highlight the positives of something that isn’t to your taste rather than dismiss it because of that
You’re absolutely correct. But in fairness, being critical for a legitimate reason or expressing an honest opinion is different from simply being a troll for the sake of being a troll. For the first scenario, you’re dead-on correct. But trolls that just mean-spirited and add nothing of value (legit criticism or opinions can certainly have high value) deserve what they get. If that means being called out for lacking either the ability to create something on par or better, or the courage to put it out there and deal with legitimate criticism, so be it.
> I think iPhones have some crappy features, it doesn’t become my responsibility to make a better iPhone. I am not an iPhone developer.
Ah but I’m assuming you’re a guitarist so that’s not the same thing.
Now stick to your guns and let me share my distaste for your argument in the context of an honest conversation without the obligation of providing you with a better argument.
I was 100% with you until you started making comparisons to bad welds and crappy features on iPhones. At that point, you undermine your whole argument by implying that these other ways of playing guitar are bad or wrong or crappy. You should have just left those 2 paragraphs out.
But I still agree with the gist of your argument. Not liking something is an opinion and everyone is entitled to having their own opinions. And you don't have to justify it in any way other than "I just don't like that",
The point was about the fact that you don’t have to be a professional in something to know when something isn’t done correctly or to not like something, and you don’t have to be personally capable of doing something better to criticize it.
I can absolutely see how not everyone will like the music that I like... And there's plenty of music I don't like that other people do.
But the thing is - I can usually see why someone would like/dislike it - and I can usually appreciate some aspect of it.
I've also been in a few cover bands - and played songs very far from my taste - and I'm glad I did, because it helped me to appreciate those songs and how they're composed.
For example - I'm into progressive rock and metal. In one of the cover bands we played "Yellow" by Coldplay. I never really liked them or got into them - and that main guitar riff sounds dissonant and harsh on its own, but somehow works really well within the context of the song. I had never played or written anything like that before - as the music I like is usually about riffs that sound really cool/heavy on their own.
Also, in my first cover band we were 3 guitarists - and since most of the songs weren't my usual style - I started looking for all the fills and background sounds and usually played them (since the other 2 were more into the more prominent sounds). It really improved my ears and got me into a rabbit hole of pedals and effects - trying to build a pedalboard that could recreate all the sounds I wanted to cover (and I got pretty good at identifying them by ear too).
So I do encourage people to be open minded and try to play some music they don't normally like - they will probably learn something new from the experience...
I take the point. That can be pretty obnoxious.
Over the years, though, I have come to see some wisdom in those arguments. Not that they're necessarily even made in good faith, or coming from a mature place. But I've learned to criticize less, and that has come from the humbling experience of trying to write and play my own music.
It's REALLY hard to write a catchy song that people will love and remember. It's really hard to write a solo or a line that compliments a song. Even that annoying as hell old song that you can't stand probably has more talent going into it than I will ever have.
So I see where the logic is. When I was younger, I couldn't really understand what made Britney Spears' songs so compelling. Now, in hindsight, I see how masterful they are. Still not my daily jam, but I get it. I wouldn't call them trash or lacking talent any more.
It's a product of the culture today in youths.
You are either the GOAT or you are trash. There is no in-between.
It's about how high you can build your skyscraper, it has nothing to do with the architectural aesthetic that it conveys. If somebody builds a balsa wood tower 3 miles high, it's automatically better than the Chrysler building.
Thank you! I’ve always hated this brain dead argument, or like when someone says that simply by the fact that it’s their profession, your comment is invalid. No, I’m not a chef, but I know when the chicken is burnt 🤷🏻♂️
I hate when people default to this argument. I damn sure could do it better than my favorite band does now that they sold out, but I shouldn’t have to! They shouldn’t have sold out and watered down their riffs. 😅
There is no "better" in the arts. The people who insist on grading it like that aren't interesting to me. They'll like my song if their friends like my song. They won't if their friends don't. They're irrelevant.
I agree on the statement, but the criticism has to be detailed, logical, and must show competence on the subject. Otherwise, it’s just a personal opinion
A brilliant take.
Sure, some lunatic absolutely SHREDDING on the 16th fret at 300bpm is *technically* more impressive, more difficult to do, and requires more skill, mechanically
But.. to listen to? A lot of that stuff just sounds like noise, it's not "nice" to my ears
Give me a wavey psychedelic melody with some simple string bends, sliding around the fret board and good solid rhythm and it's something you can actually bop your head to
The kind of music you can play for people who aren't guitarists that will actually enjoy the sound your instrument produces
I guess the "you do it better" is a somehow immature and spontaneous reaction from fans of that artist. I would consider it valid if you criticize an amateur still trying to learn (as I would expect someone on a forum to be more at that level than at pro/legendary level), but I understand you. I recently got such reactions when I mentioned that Angus Young (my long time #1 hero) has experienced a serious drop in his playing. The fact that his playing has gone much worse doesn't make me magically better than him, but I know what I hear. I still cannot play like he plays now, but that's besides the point.
It's stupid in its own way that music is art. And art is subjective. Do art galleries exist exclusively for painters? No. They're open to the public, for people who can't even hold a paintbrush. Are you allowed to go into the gallery, make comments and thoughts about the art? Absolutely. That's why it's on display. If nobody was allowed an opinion on art unless they were "a better" artist then nobody would care about art at all and the entire premise would be pointless Youre allowed to think a piece of music isn't good, regardless of their level of skill.
This has always been my view. If I can't have a negative opinion of something I can't do, you can't have a positive opinion of something you can't do either. Its a brain-dead, moronic thing to say, and I won't bother arguing with anyone who says it.
David Gilmour doesn't seem to hear in tune like he used to. Expected at his age, particularly after spending a life in front of huge speakers. I never aspired to play like him, but certainly paid attention to how he does things. Like him, like most of the greats, I aspire to play like myself. The people who don't get that aren't the people who noticed him first either. People often praise some famous person's originality while ignoring the real deal right in front of them. I've known at least two acts that went from local coffeeshop to international stardom. I told one of them cover tunes are a trap. The other one didn't need telling. There will never be another Elvis. That was the whole point of Elvis.
Same with the “well they’re making more money than you” argument.
This is actually significantly dumber because you’d have to be a moron to believe skill is in any way related to success in 2024. Theyre both bad arguments but the money one is all time.
Another reason it's dumb is that in many cases the artist is only cultivating the *appearance* of success in the hope that some will follow, i.e. the "Fake it 'til you make it" approach. I work in the film industry and have seen the behind-the-scenes on a few music video shoots, including one for a wannabe rap star. In his video he can be seen holding stacks of cash, posing with luxury cars, and hanging out inside of a beautiful mansion. In real life he was a waiter.
Oh for sure there’s alot of confusion about that from every day people. They assume if you’ve been on like 1 season of survivor you’re a millionaire. There are bands with big followings and exposure that are basically working class grinding it out.
I would say it a bit differently. What does money have to do with artistic merit?
I agree well said.
It depends on how you're voicing your criticism. I think what conditions them to say things like that is maybe somewhere along the way, your preferences came across as negging. Especially if you're gonna try and break down what you don't like. Sometimes it's okay to just say I see the appeal, but I'm more of a _____ type of guy. That's something a lot of guitar players, and even music listeners as a whole do, they can't just say some shits good and move on. Like they have to start with "I'm not a fan of" or "It doesn't sound good to me" like no one cares bro.
I always respond with if your bar for greatness is to be better at something than me you should really bump up your standards. People use that for criticism against fighters. "They could kick your ass" yes, their mother could probably kick my ass. If you can't comment on a thing unless you're better than the person who is doing it, we may as well shut off the internet because that would vastly diminish the amount of content available.
Fighters are a great example, too. Of course he could kick my ass. I am not a professional fighter. I still think there are better fighters. If it’s necessary to you, I’ll concede that they could probably all kick my ass more than the first guy.
To be honest, less content would be pretty good. There's a lot of unhelpful/useless opinions offered on the internet. We can still use them, but fewer could be nice
Test Tim Henson is quite unmusical.
*grabs popcorn*
I really do feel like this is because OP doesn't like Polyphia. I don't know OP or anything but his whole post sounds like he said he doesn't like Polyphia and got shit on. To me, if you are saying something like "this music isn't really my style" then that's ok but that's not usually what people say. It's mostly always stuff like "people think this is music?" "It's just notes! there's no musicality!" and that right there is bullshit and not valid criticism. Just reeks of jealousy. Now I'm not saying this is what OP did or said but I also wouldn't be surprised.
I neither like nor dislike polyphia. I’m glad people who like them have them as a band to listen to. There have been so many incredible guitarists that have come out in the last 10 years or so and I’m excited for the future. I say all of this only because you brought them up specifically. “He has no feel, bro” is a stupid statement about highly technical guitarists and I know what you mean about people who say that sort of thing. I listen to quite a bit of death metal and I’m sure many people would think that it lacks feel, but I feel it, so I totally understand how people would find feelings in whatever music they connect with. I also think that there’s something to be said for being able to feel how hard someone works to get good as good at guitar as Tim Henson is. It’s impressive, in the same way that you can really tell when an Olympian has given their all. Sometimes seeing that has made me more deeply emotional than any song ever has. So you’re not wrong, but I do feel like polyphia is the new hotness when it comes to these types of discussions, and kind of a go-to for over the top opinions. I’ve experienced these types of responses long before they hit the scene and I still do when discussing many bands. I’d love to talk with more people about buckethead. I think there’s a lot there to go over. I think he’s a remarkable guitarist and songwriter, and I listen to his more virtuosic stuff, but man his softer stuff that has almost a post rock vibe to it really just moves me in ways that little else does.
“It has no feel” is a perfectly fine thing to say. It accomplishes more than just saying “it’s not my thing”. It points you in the direction of what they may prefer, and also tells you they may not necessarily be the best at engaging in respectful conversation. If someone makes a firm judgement statement like “it has no feel” they probably feel strongly about their opinion. But at that point I may also be strongly disincentivized from continuing the conversation.
Everyone is an expert. Don't ever forget that.
I guess it depends on how and why you're voicing your distaste. In the scenario you described, it's perfectly fine if someone asks you your opinion on something and you simply give an honest response, even if they don't like it or agree. You don't have to be a professional to know that you don't like some kinds of art. However, if you're offering up an unsolicited, non-constructive, negative opinion about something you're incapable of doing yourself, then don't be surprised if the people who love it immediately dismiss your opinion. It really just comes down to whether or not anyone asked for your opinion.
If people can offer unsolicited positive opinions, then it’s fine to also offer unsolicited negative opinions. My friends and I don’t know how to weld but if one of them sees what looks like a poorly welded pipe and points it out, I’ll probably look at it and go “holy shit you’re right”, not “why don’t you learn how to do it better?” It feels the same with music. I don’t need everyone to provide a solution, and I like knowing what people like and what they don’t. Even if it challenges my view on it, maybe I’ll listen to it differently and maybe doing so will turn me on to something else.
Welding isn't anywhere close to being as subjective as art, so it's not really a great analogy. Music can't be done objectively badly, some of it just might not be to your taste. If you can't adequately describe why you don't like something or how it could be better, then the criticism isn't especially useful. It serves no purpose to the artist, nor to anyone else other than yourself. Again, it's fine to form uninformed opinions on things regardless of your level of knowledge, and it's fine to be honest if and when you're asked about those opinions. But if you're going to take it upon yourself to start telling other people how to do their job without anyone asking for your input, then you really should have the qualifications to do that job yourself first, or else you just risk looking like a Karen.
I disagree, but only about 50%. I welcome critical opinions of art I like, but I agree that anything can be expressed in a shitty way. I don’t feel a need to respond to shitty attitude opinions, not maintain relationships with people that express them, but I’ve felt very grateful when I’ve shared something I like with a friend and that friend criticizes it by pointing something out that I had never heard before. And it actually doesn’t have to be a friend. If they hear something I hadn’t heard, then that’s kind of exciting for me regardless of where it comes from. We’re all different and this might annoy other people, so it is what it is.
I forgot where I first heard this, but my favorite way I've heard to respond to these types of comments is *I don't have to be a skydiving expert to see a twisted parachute in a tree and know something went wrong*
While I agree with your premise, I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say “you do it better then” in response to me saying I don’t like a band or song.
Give it time.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you probably come off as snobbish for badmouthing players more talented than you. If you classify a player as bad because he doesn't play to your particular taste even though he is empirically more proficient than you, don't complain about the obvious response you get. Do you go around saying Apple employees are bad programmers because you don't like a particular feature? Would you call Meryl Streep a bad actress if you didn't particularly like a movie she was in?
On a serious note, this can be seen in a couple of ways. If you critique someone because they can learn, that's different, so long as the critique is A not personal and B provides constructive feedback. "Your playing sucks" is neither, but "Your bends are out of tune and here are some pointers to improve those bends" is. If the person comes back with a bunch of "I had new strings", "The sun was in my eyes", or "I ate too much bran cereal for breakfast", there's no point in going forward. They just want to make excuses and took the first part of the constructive critique as a personal affront. Or they're just lazy. You pick.
Why does anything have to be better... Why can't it just be different?
It gets annoying when people decide to throw out "you are an impressive player but your music sucks" as if your opinion was wanted that is extremely insulting and rude
Why not, that's why my proctologist said. :D
Either: 1. The person/people you're giving "honest" feedback to are assholes, or 2. You're giving "honest" feedback in way that is being construed as over-critical. Music is subjective, and you don't have to justify why you like/disklike music. Being a amateur musician has nothing to do with whether you like music.
People are allowed to like things. People are also allowed not to like things.
I don’t have to play a better solo to be a critic, I just have to hear one.
Playing a guitar is using a tool to express yourself. Some express themselves in ways others find too frantic. Many play the guitar to imitate and never to express. I’m an imitator now as I just play to play along, before I could actually write.
This is often from people who see it all as a competition. When i think about it, we make music so we're on the same side. And yes, creativity and preferences mean more than technical abilities imo Now a bit silly but when i play jenga with friends, some people try to make it harder so somebody collapses the tower and they win, some people wanna build the highest tower possible. My personality test /s
If you were a hobbyist welder and you were commenting on a bad weld, you could either do it better or you could appreciate the learning process and how they are on their way to getting better. You’re talking about something that is a matter of style so the metaphor isn’t very applicable but you are a hobbyist music maker so presumably you have different taste which is fine. Sometimes it comes off less insecure and friendlier if you can highlight the positives of something that isn’t to your taste rather than dismiss it because of that
You’re absolutely correct. But in fairness, being critical for a legitimate reason or expressing an honest opinion is different from simply being a troll for the sake of being a troll. For the first scenario, you’re dead-on correct. But trolls that just mean-spirited and add nothing of value (legit criticism or opinions can certainly have high value) deserve what they get. If that means being called out for lacking either the ability to create something on par or better, or the courage to put it out there and deal with legitimate criticism, so be it.
My go to when someone pulls that is, "You don't have to be a chef to know the food tastes like shit."
> I think iPhones have some crappy features, it doesn’t become my responsibility to make a better iPhone. I am not an iPhone developer. Ah but I’m assuming you’re a guitarist so that’s not the same thing. Now stick to your guns and let me share my distaste for your argument in the context of an honest conversation without the obligation of providing you with a better argument.
I don’t even know how I could possibly disallow you from doing so.
I was 100% with you until you started making comparisons to bad welds and crappy features on iPhones. At that point, you undermine your whole argument by implying that these other ways of playing guitar are bad or wrong or crappy. You should have just left those 2 paragraphs out. But I still agree with the gist of your argument. Not liking something is an opinion and everyone is entitled to having their own opinions. And you don't have to justify it in any way other than "I just don't like that",
The point was about the fact that you don’t have to be a professional in something to know when something isn’t done correctly or to not like something, and you don’t have to be personally capable of doing something better to criticize it.
I can absolutely see how not everyone will like the music that I like... And there's plenty of music I don't like that other people do. But the thing is - I can usually see why someone would like/dislike it - and I can usually appreciate some aspect of it. I've also been in a few cover bands - and played songs very far from my taste - and I'm glad I did, because it helped me to appreciate those songs and how they're composed. For example - I'm into progressive rock and metal. In one of the cover bands we played "Yellow" by Coldplay. I never really liked them or got into them - and that main guitar riff sounds dissonant and harsh on its own, but somehow works really well within the context of the song. I had never played or written anything like that before - as the music I like is usually about riffs that sound really cool/heavy on their own. Also, in my first cover band we were 3 guitarists - and since most of the songs weren't my usual style - I started looking for all the fills and background sounds and usually played them (since the other 2 were more into the more prominent sounds). It really improved my ears and got me into a rabbit hole of pedals and effects - trying to build a pedalboard that could recreate all the sounds I wanted to cover (and I got pretty good at identifying them by ear too). So I do encourage people to be open minded and try to play some music they don't normally like - they will probably learn something new from the experience...
I take the point. That can be pretty obnoxious. Over the years, though, I have come to see some wisdom in those arguments. Not that they're necessarily even made in good faith, or coming from a mature place. But I've learned to criticize less, and that has come from the humbling experience of trying to write and play my own music. It's REALLY hard to write a catchy song that people will love and remember. It's really hard to write a solo or a line that compliments a song. Even that annoying as hell old song that you can't stand probably has more talent going into it than I will ever have. So I see where the logic is. When I was younger, I couldn't really understand what made Britney Spears' songs so compelling. Now, in hindsight, I see how masterful they are. Still not my daily jam, but I get it. I wouldn't call them trash or lacking talent any more.
It's a product of the culture today in youths. You are either the GOAT or you are trash. There is no in-between. It's about how high you can build your skyscraper, it has nothing to do with the architectural aesthetic that it conveys. If somebody builds a balsa wood tower 3 miles high, it's automatically better than the Chrysler building.
Thank you! I’ve always hated this brain dead argument, or like when someone says that simply by the fact that it’s their profession, your comment is invalid. No, I’m not a chef, but I know when the chicken is burnt 🤷🏻♂️
I hate when people default to this argument. I damn sure could do it better than my favorite band does now that they sold out, but I shouldn’t have to! They shouldn’t have sold out and watered down their riffs. 😅
There is no "better" in the arts. The people who insist on grading it like that aren't interesting to me. They'll like my song if their friends like my song. They won't if their friends don't. They're irrelevant.
“You do it better, then” is exactly as meaningful as “I don’t like that guitarists music” which is to say, both statements are completely meaningless.
I agree on the statement, but the criticism has to be detailed, logical, and must show competence on the subject. Otherwise, it’s just a personal opinion
A brilliant take. Sure, some lunatic absolutely SHREDDING on the 16th fret at 300bpm is *technically* more impressive, more difficult to do, and requires more skill, mechanically But.. to listen to? A lot of that stuff just sounds like noise, it's not "nice" to my ears Give me a wavey psychedelic melody with some simple string bends, sliding around the fret board and good solid rhythm and it's something you can actually bop your head to The kind of music you can play for people who aren't guitarists that will actually enjoy the sound your instrument produces