Admit it, you’ve had the thought of going into music, whether it’s thrilling people with your voice or motivating an audience by playing a brutal guitar solo. And I’m sure you’ve also asked yourself a question along the lines of, “Should I waste my time in music if I don’t think I’m any good?” Of course, this is based -among other things- on your high school music classes where you were an amateur at playing the flute or the xylophone.
But is that reason enough to question your abilities?
You see, I wasn’t very good at philosophy during high school: at that stage I had similar thoughts to yours about music. But now that philosophizing has allowed me to learn to think in a free way, I ask myself this question: if I like philosophy but I was bad at it, am I a loser, or was it my education that failed to make me interested in the subject?
About the question I was asking you at the beginning, I think that with music it is very difficult to waste your time. What is good is to understand music as a hobby in which you invest your free time, at least until you know if you can generate income through it. And, even if what you build using your time to make music ends up being something small, you can always abandon it freely, since it will never have come to permeate as a work commitment.
There is a mistake that we usually fall into, and that is to listen to our limiting beliefs before we even try something that appeals to us. In many heads there is that thought: “I would like to do this… what if I try it? Bah, but I’m sure I’m terrible at it”, and then you move on to something else. Notice how quickly you are leaving aside something that can be a new craze that can revolutionize your life, and all because you don’t even risk having a new hobby.
But, anyway, let’s philosophize a bit more: Who dictates what is talent in art? Is there a government entity or something like that? Fortunately for you and me, both talent and artistic taste are very relative concepts.
Think about this: if you sing badly, you have no talent? Maybe you can write wonderful lyrics, or even your voice – being ugly for many people – can move people. Or does Joaquín Sabina have a beautiful voice? And a death metal singer who can rip his voice? It depends for whom. But even though many people can’t tolerate Sabina’s voice (let alone death metal singers) the former manages to convey depth and the latter communicates rage. So? They both thrill.
“Well, but I want to play the piano and I don’t have any technique”. Does that mean that you can’t compose a nice melodic line, or that you can’t transmit by playing? You can literally play 3 or 4 chords very softly and you could make more than one person cry.
I recommend that before not getting out of your thoughts you give music a chance, because if you don’t do it you will never know if you are worth or if you like it for one or another purpose. Try to upload a song to the networks and see how it works. Do some work with a producer and get it out there. You can try it on your own, going to classes, or putting out a song you’ve composed.
“Bueno, pero es que yo quiero tocar el piano y no tengo nada de técnica”. ¿Quiere decir eso que no puedas componer una línea melódica agradable? ¿o que no puedas transmitir tocando? Puedes dar literalmente 3 o 4 acordes muy suavecito y ya conseguirías hacer llorar a más de uno/a.
Te recomiendo que antes de no llegar a salir de tus pensamientos le des una oportunidad a la música, porque si no lo haces nunca sabrás si vales o si te gusta para uno u otro fin. Prueba a subir algún tema a las redes y ver cómo funciona. Haz algún trabajo con algún productor y sácalo. Puedes intentarlo por ti mismo, yendo a clases, o sacando un tema musical que hayas compuesto.
To get a piece of music out there, it’s important that you work with a producer who inspires you. A good part of great work in music depends on what’s behind the voice that motivates the person who puts it out. If the producer you work with is good you will have a better chance to shine, because their understanding of your idea will generate feedback.
And before I say goodbye, one last piece of advice: be prepared to accept sincere but constructive criticism. Of course, don’t encourage people who criticize you in order to hurt you. However, listen to those who give you advice with good intentions. It is important that you do not fall apart; it is often difficult, but in art you have to be exposed to criticism.
