Knowing Chris, I doubt that he would ever have the intention of criticizing in a way that would be detrimental. We are all (hopefully) learning and have the opportunity through a site like this to be in a safe place in which we can give and receive comments. Those comments may not always be right or correct, but hopefully we can wear them and brush off others misjudgements.
It's human nature to seek acceptance, but this is a place where hopefully well meaning comments can be accepted. I'd prefer to receive honest feedback about how my music sits in others ears (and hopefully grow/learn) rather than meaningless compliments. If you have any intention of playing publicly then having some idea of how you are received/sound is a very desirable thing. The public can be very rough, especially if you play anywhere where alcohol is served.
Being an entertainer puts you in a position where you will be judged by people who feel that they own a piece of you and have the right to criticize. They will have few or no qualms about letting you know when they don't like what you're doing. Music, or any form of public entertainment, is a tough business that demands openness to accepting how others hear what you are offering, and toughness to fend off/ignore unjustified comments. Playing "background" for causal engagements can be equally soul destroying if you haven't got the right attitude. I've done heaps of those "musical wallpaper" jobs where everyone is talking, nobody stops or pays any attention to what you play much less applauds at the end of any tune. Your job is to set the mood for your client. These are the realities of playing music. The joy is in learning (which can be assisted by listening to others comments) and playing to the best of your ability regardless of whether your have an audience that's listening and applauding, or not.
Being in the music and part of it is where it's at. Your personal balance works in wanting to be better, but accepting that you are playing the best you can at any given time. Ego is the killer. As soon as I try to own something that I'm playing (that my ego wants to boast about) it all falls apart. Worse is having an ego trip that blocks us from hearing what's real and considers whatever we do is great. It's a tough balancing act to have just enough ego to stand up in front of people and play, but shut it off so that you can let the music flow through you.
The penultimate week in the Gary Burton Berklee course
of course. But that aint gona happen anytime soon. The same goes for this thread.
