Need lots of ears

  • Thread starter Thread starter dobro
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I'm intrigued by this icons idea. I must collect digital knick knacks!
 
gecko zzed said:
"lying to yourself" is a bit hard . . . it implies intention. It just happens.
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Well, 'yourself' is just a concept, so yeah. It just happens. The mechanism of self-deception intrigues me, though. I'd like to catch the fucker in the act.
 
I've learned not to trust myself on any given day. One day I'll think something is great and then the next day...I'll wonder how I could ever have thought that. It takes forever for me to mix something and it's only after hundreds of listens will I publish it. Even then , I'm fairly easily persuaded by comments and other perspectives, I hope.

Human nature includes "the mechanics of self-deception" (love that). The idea is to stay open minded about your own foibles and proclivities...and also to keep in mind that it's your proclivities that give your music its own unique character. The mechanic of self-deception is a out of balance condition between open and close mindedness. You need both. Close mindedness to make judgments and decisions and open mindedness to grow and be creative. Find yourself somewhere in the middle of that spectrum and you're probably doing ok.

Emerson wrote, "True genius is when you know that what is true for you in your own heart, is true for all men".

But then Emerson might have been a bit out of balance so...
 
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Sure, I stay open to suggestions, because staying open to suggestions has improved my mixes. The thing that I just don't understand about how my mind operates is the thing I described earlier - an issue in a mix will half-register - it's not unconscious but not really noticed either. Why does that stuff not take three steps forward and get itself noticed? Cuz as soon as somebody here with no stake in the song says 'the bass is getting masked and not heard' I'll go 'Yeah, I knew that.' On that last mix I posted, you and about five others played a real part in improving the sound, and about five times out of six it was stuff that I recognized, not something that hadn't crossed my mind. Maybe I just need to take your approach and listen more times before I post here. I mean, what makes a person stupid? It's usually desire, right? So maybe the desire to have the song heard here works to ignore the small voices that are saying 'Wait a minute, this bit's not right.' I'd like to be able to mix like a pro, which in my mind isn't just about the result, but also about the process. I bet Bob Clearmountain doesn't post his mixes on mp3 forums and ask how's the lowmid on this sucker?
 
dobro said:
The thing that I just don't understand about how my mind operates is the thing I described earlier - an issue in a mix will half-register - it's not unconscious but not really noticed either. Why does that stuff not take three steps forward and get itself noticed?getting masked and not heard' I'll go 'Yeah, I knew that.' On that last mix I posted, you and about five others played a real part in improving the sound, and about five times out of six it was stuff that I recognized, not something that hadn't crossed my mind. Maybe I just need to take your approach and listen more times before I post here. I mean, what makes a person stupid? It's usually desire, right? So maybe the desire to have the song heard here works to ignore the small voices that are saying 'Wait a minute, this bit's not right.' I'd like to be able to mix like a pro, which in my mind isn't just about the result, but also about the process. I bet Bob Clearmountain doesn't post his mixes on mp3 forums and ask how's the lowmid on this sucker?
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It isn't stupid...but it might be lazy. If you want to be hard on yourself...at least be accurate. :)

Maybe it just boils down to a willingness to confront the issue and retrack if it comes down to that. Is it "get-it-done-itus"?

I'm working on something that has taken two weeks to track. I'll do something one night and have to fix it the next. I like tracking though. Tracking is often the time when I compose music. The feel of it might be in my head but I sometimes track little pieces to assemble a composition....or else I have to practice my brains out for a long take....which I don't enjoy. I understand wanting to get it done but it doesn't override a desire really find the feel I'm looking for on something. So far on this one...I've thrown away far more than I've kept.

I'll STILL find stuff I don't like after I publish it though...and I'll hear perspectives that I hadn't considered. It happens every time.
 
dobro said:
All vets are bent. I adapt.
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You're welcome for that setup.

I have an inherent respect for vets, myself. Though their true purpose for joining the military had nothing to do with making my life easier, what they've done collectively has done so. And it's impossible to know what each has been through, but odds are they've been through more dangerous shit that I have, and I respect that. I never got into a fight thinking that I would get much more than a few bruises. I don't know that I'd have even taken the chance if I thought I'd get some damage that I consider serious, like a broken jaw. These guys get into fights where they could die, or even worse, be maimed or paralyzed for life.
 
NotThatBright said:
You're welcome for that setup.

I have an inherent respect for vets, myself. Though their true purpose for joining the military had nothing to do with making my life easier, what they've done collectively has done so. And it's impossible to know what each has been through, but odds are they've been through more dangerous shit that I have, and I respect that. I never got into a fight thinking that I would get much more than a few bruises. I don't know that I'd have even taken the chance if I thought I'd get some damage that I consider serious, like a broken jaw. These guys get into fights where they could die, or even worse, be maimed or paralyzed for life.
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I agree with everything you said except for one thing. (No, I'm not going to tell you what it is, cuz I don't want to start a fight.) My take on vets is that they've been through shit I can't even begin to imagine. So my attitude is partly respect, partly compassion. When I delivered the one-liner, I was playing off the idea of PTSD. Not very funny, I get that. I wasn't aiming at funny, though. More at wry. Possibly bitter. Imagine going over somewhere and coming back fucked up. And hearing people arguing about whether I should have been there in the first place. And not wanting to hear my own brain ask the same question. It's not something I'd wish on myself.
 
dobro said:
I agree with everything you said except for one thing. (No, I'm not going to tell you what it is, cuz I don't want to start a fight.) My take on vets is that they've been through shit I can't even begin to imagine. So my attitude is partly respect, partly compassion. When I delivered the one-liner, I was playing off the idea of PTSD. Not very funny, I get that. I wasn't aiming at funny, though. More at wry. Possibly bitter. Imagine going over somewhere and coming back fucked up. And hearing people arguing about whether I should have been there in the first place. And not wanting to hear my own brain ask the same question. It's not something I'd wish on myself.
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My screen name refers to the cluelessness I have (though I've come a long way in 6 months or whatever it's been since I've been on here) when it comes to recording. I understood your joke. It wasn't your best material, but I would never consider anything off-limits to joke about, so don't think that I was appalled in the least by your making light of the trials that shellshocked troops go through. I will always believe that people are responsible for their own feelings and actions, no matter what any government or media-type has to say otherwise. So even if I were to be appalled by it, that would be my problem- not yours.

And that "making light..." comment above was a joke, obviously. I know your intent was innocuous, and you were just being "wry", as you put it. A guy as clever as you can't help it! :)

From my interpretation of your initial post, you started this thread essentially as a lamenting of your self-doubt when it comes to your recordings, and then spoke of how the community on this website helps you assuage it. It was actually a really nice thing to write. I can't help but make wiseass comments at times- it's what I do. They work better in person because I have such a pretty smile and infectious laugh, but I know a sharp guy like you can handle them in printed form.
 
dobro said:
I can handle anything except being called smart twice in the same post.
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See? That's what I'm talking about! Good to have you back, buddy. Now get off this queer sentimentality kick and post a song, for Christ's sake!
 
I long for the day when I post a mix that only needs 6 revisions to be right.
I accept my limitations though:
I can sort of play enough to get the idea across.
I can sort of write silly/idiosyncratic lyrics and simple chord sequences.
I can go to other folk (that's in this forum) for advice.
I can tell I'm way better at mixing than I used to be, (mixes would take 20 incarnations before people were so tired of them they'd stop suggesting & I therefor willfully interpreted that as the mix being done. Now I can get there in less than 10 sometimes.), but need other ears to get me to the end.
My ears aren't great - I have tinnitus and cloth ear.
I can't master and don't try because I know I can't hear clearly or deeply enough to do anything other than quickie preset faux mastering.
I enjoy the writing, recording and assisted mix too much to get down about my inadequacies.
Finally, after making it through 2015 everything is a bonus.
All jokes have someone/something as their focus.
The most innocuous makes someone/something out to be less than they'd care to be.
PCing jokes/humour requires fine tuning and a fine line - both of which tend to erase some of the humorous intent.
I'm currently teaching 11/12 year olds about humour through interpreting puns, ( it started out as an etymology lesson and grew into something bigger, more all encompassing and MORE FUN).
 
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