Everyone Is A Critic

So as you have probably learned as a creative person, everyone is always looking to tell you what they think about your music. Your song is good, but if you add this, or take that out, it can be GREAT. I’m sure you expected that, right? But what is so hard for us to expect sometimes is exactly where the criticism is coming from. 

People who love you or care about you are expected to always give you support. That’s not being naive, that’s just what we as human beings with feelings come to look for in others. We never want our loved ones, or even those whose opinions we respect, to have negative reactions to something that you have worked so hard to create. Our creations are our babies, our life’s work, our…everything! How could someone not love it as much as we do?

Well, I’ll tell you how: because everyone is a critic. Everyone has opinions. That’s just how it goes. Musicians create music for their own reasons. Whether it is to make a million dollars or to sell a million records (NOT the same thing, but we’ll discuss that in a later post), we are all “in it for something.” But sometimes the hardest thing for us to remember is that everyone is not born with the same natural abilities or desires or skills that we have. We have used our time here on Earth to use these skills or abilities to fulfill the desire to satisfy the “reason” why we are here. Others become critics, even your fans.

So what’s the point, Mr. Hungry Artist? Well I’ll tell you: life is not about the things that happen to you, it is about how you react to the things that happen to you. I was always that kid who would get mad and “take his ball and go home”. If you blocked my shot as a young kid learning to play basketball, I would be so filled with emotion that I didn’t even want to play any more. It wasn’t until I learned why my shot was blocked that I grew as a person and became a better basketball player. I learned that I was taller than most of the other kids and could jump really high. I also learned that I did not weigh as much as many kids in my neighborhood or school. What I did was develop a jump shot (that was lethal, if I might add!) and use my height and jumping ability to be a good rebounder. Sort of like Dennis Rodman, without the colorful hair and with the ability to shoot the ball from the outside (I did mention the jump shot was lethal, right?). 

At the end of the day, you have to learn that even Bob Dylan was booed off of the stage. Now he may be someone that you are not particularly fond of musically, but he kept moving. He kept pushing and eventually, he became known as one of the voices of his generation. Are you a voice of your generation or are you going to take your ball and go home? 

Whenever you find yourself face to face with one of your “critics” ask them what Dylan asked one of the critics that decided to critique his music from the front row who let him know that he could not sing: “Hey fella, that may be so. But I’m up here doing this. What are you doing? Who are you?”