REGAINING CONFIDENCE....

[jazzstan]

From a series of silly "motivational posters" that a friend sent me, this one seems appropos:http://www.capizon.com/music/Aim_High.pdf

[squids]

Hmmm, confidence that you're not making the same mistakes? The only thing I know of fo sho is to have a few trusted confidants (educated ones) listen to your tunes and give you their thoughts. It also helps to stick with a genre(s) that I like and am familiar with so that I stay up on what's good. That might help you too.I'm certainly not sayin' we shouldn't stretch our wings or anything. Music without risk is .........I dunno.....sometimes it's somethin' else besides music, I think. As fo how you do it in the face of numerous rejections.......I don't know. Honestly, it was messin' with my head so much I stopped submitting....mostly to the screeners. I usually know what's wrong with my tunes and either don't have the cash or the motivation to change it so the screeners weren't helping me much. Lots of forwards, no deals and my head was messed up. quite a legacy! hahahahahAfter some time away, doing other things, I'm up to my eyes in tunes again and enjoying what I'm doing immensely. I've done well with forwards, like I said, but no deals. Deals outside of Taxi? Yep. So my suggestion is one that I tell everyone.....Taxi's good for some things. There're suggestions being bandied about to make it betta (hope someone's paying attention) which if implemented, would certainly make it mo worthwhile fo me.........but there's a whole world out there and puttin' all your eggs in one basket has never seemed like a commonsense approach to music, at least ta me. I'd shop around outside, check it out inside, use the knowledgeable group here fo insights into your music you might not notice and jes, ya know, keep on keepin' on. I wish you great fortune. I like your attitude and I think it will serve you well. A lil self-questioning can be a good thing but too much can be detrimental. Give yourself a date on the calendar to put an end to it. Until that time, go ahead on, question what you're doing, look for answers. When that day comes, start fakin' it till you make it.....tell yourself you're confident, smart, you've got good chops, you're willing to learn, etc and keep telling yourself that every time the doubts arise. Check back with yourself now and then to make sure nothin's shifted in your perception.Jes my side of things. Others will have betta advice, I bet. Chits' was really good. Heh.

[mojobone]

Music without risk would be Muzak.

[flyingtadpole]

Oct 29, 2008, 5:58am, mojobone wrote:Music without risk would be Muzak. I hafta respectfully disagree. There was a recent muzak listing, so i thought that'd be a no-risk call. So i sat down to put together some muzak. And couldn't do it. What came out was total crap, or interesting, or worth developing further, but not muzak. Just highlights Dave Walton's comments on the necessity for matching the music AND the listing to actually get forwarded. I still don't achieve that much. Confidence is a nightmare for me, always has been. In every direction. I know of no way through other than keeping going. And prizing the small good things that happen on the way which encourage... odd comments, unexpected help...Tim

[adrianne76]

I like to focus on where I used to be vs. where I am now. Then I can see that things ARE getting better...even if I am a slow learner. But it gives me hope!When I first joined Taxi (4 years ago!), I had no idea which listings to submit to. I didn't have any idea who I was "a la." And my critiques often came back saying that I wasn't appropriate for the listing. Shocker!My critiques also said that my lyrics were too vague/abstract. And my vocal delivery was too mechanical/stiff.I was also never forwarded in my first year.I also used to spend thousands of dollars to record/produce my songs BEFORE sending them to Taxi for a critique. (This is completely ass backwards!)Now fast forward to the present...I've been forwarded a number of times, once even for a record deal (never hard anything back) and once even to a very high profile music publisher (never heard anything back). Obviously I would prefer to have landed deals from these forwards, but at least I was forwarded. (I have to remember that I never even used to get forwarded!)My critiques now consistently say that I am "on target" for the listing. (hurray - I finally know my "a las")My critiques consistently say that I am a very good writer. (No more vague lyrics - yeah!)My vocals are almost always complimented (no more "stiff" vocals!)I now ALWAYS get a custom critique of a song before I spend ANY money in the studio. Therefore, I know which songs to spend money on and I am so much less in debt than I used to be.I've landed zero deals as of the moment, but, looking back, I am MUCH further than I was four years ago. And I will keep on truckin'. And so should you!

[carlengland]

I WAS AFRAID TO REPLY BECAUSE THAT OFTEN STOPS THE THREAD. HERE ARE SOME BRILLIANT NUGGETS.......Posted by jazzstan on 10/27/08 at 18:58 So I set my goal as "improvement" ... so I'm always achieving it, and then I set a new 'improvement' goal for tomorrow, or next week Posted by Hummingbird on 10/27/08 at 19:36 I allowed myself the freedom to experiement and not worry about commercial viability. Posted by tedsingingfox on 10/27/08 at 19:59You have to KNOW in your heart that your LOVE for doing what YOU love is bigger than ANY outside force. Persistence and perseverance are BIGGER keys to success than anything else.Posted by suzdoyle on 10/27/08 at 23:26We cannot know ahead of time how our choices will turn out; we can only influence the larger forces of life -- we cannot control them. Anyone who says they possess unquestioning faith and a clear path deceives themselves from the anxiety of choice and the vulnerability of authentic risk.Posted by Linzi on 10/28/08 at 9:39She said "but if you were somebody else listening to your music, you'd be impressed right"? Posted by Dave Walton on 10/28/08 at 10:23But many will gravitate towards "It's my music" or more likely "It's the Taxi screeners" rather than "It's my choices in the listings".Anyway, before submitting for a listing, post that up along with a track or two that you're planning on submitting and get some feedback from the forum on the song as it relates to the listingPosted by mojobone on Yesterday at 8:58Music without risk would be Muzak. Posted by adrianne76 on Yesterday at 14:47I like to focus on where I used to be vs. where I am now. Then I can see that things ARE getting better...

[davewalton]

Oct 30, 2008, 10:47am, carlengland wrote:I WAS AFRAID TO REPLY BECAUSE THAT OFTEN STOPS THE THREAD. That's a real confidence booster!

[linziellen]

Bless, that's sweet Carl. One to stick on the fridge there - I have a very "busy" fridge door since I joined these boards! Would be so cool if Taxi published a forum book with all the best quotes, tips, advice, arguments and jokes!Perhaps we will all be famous after all ...

[arkjack]

I always thought it was my posts that killed threads......Anyway, in reply, I think you have to step back and not beat yourself up just because Taxi isn't going gahgah over your music. You've had some good comments from folks who checked out your stuff. Like Dave noted, part of it is a big game on how to match material to the listings.... almost an art in itself. And beyond not beating yourself up, I'll also say that you can blame Taxi to some extent, I think that's ok. If Taxi isn't connecting your music with the right people, then that might not be all your fault or suggest that there is something 'unmarketable' in your music. Even though they try to be very objective, and do know what they're doing and looking for, music appreciation is very subjective. Frankly, I get a little tired of all the critiquing sometimes. I think as artists and creators, we appreciate our own music more than anyone else can, because we are really in tune to all the cool things we did to make the song, and where all the great lines and licks are. Taxi is usually listening based on a formulaic approach to rather strict criteria that ignores a lot of those elements, and that can be boring..... like my posts....ArkJack