Being that Sean's thread became somewhat sidetracked, I would just like to say that I liked how Sean used the altissimo register. I believe that one part was intentionally meant to be dissonant.... He's a helluva lot better at it then me. Just a personal observation and no way a universal one.
Sure, everyone likes the good, but if we can equalize the good and bad of outside opinion then as a musician, we'll grow. It's human nature to become downtrodden when we think, or for a better approach, we KNOW we did a great job and then we post it and someone didn't like it. The key to this dilemma is to stop placing ourselves inside of another person's head. If we do, then we're bound to an illusion. That's the best advice I could give any musician, or anyone contributing to the arts.
If this is understood and practiced then we can weigh the results of good and bad on equal terms without getting off balance by bad reviews. There are 12 billion ears in the world.....
Good reviews are ridiculously easy to feel good about and don't present a challenge into what really makes us tick. It's the healthiest way I know to produce our own art form. They don't teach this in schools as in a psychological or a philosophical aspect in the arts. Our art form is profoundly personal and in the beginning, with the help of a good teacher, we need guidance. Once that guidance has played it's part in our development then it's time to approach our artform as a direct proponent of who we are and not who anyone else is.
Thinking in terms of "gee, I really wanted them to like what I did" is a bad way to question your creativity......
For example.....Possibly you're onto something with the potential to really be innovative, however, a few individuals didn't like it so you throw the concept out. Why? Obviously because you created an illusion of being in other people's heads instead of your own. I'm sure some great things that were cutting edge were discarded because others couldn't understand it and so the musician may not have trusted themselves. Thank God for musician's like Charlie Parker and John Coltrane who were ridiculed and persevered because they trusted their instincts! They only listened to their own ear!
How we'll be received is anyone's guess. Now after all that work and we find that we're playing from our heart, someone comes along and says that this shouldn't be done or that shouldn't be done. Well, are we going to get down on our progress because of that? You simply have to respect the fact that it came from someone who is not inside your head. They may mean the best for you and that's great. But it cannot deter us from a route we intuitively see before us.
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