Realize that the journey is the reward more than the destination.
How do you deal with perfectionism?
- Thread starter Yair Matayev
- Start date
Perfection isn't my goal, personal satisfaction is.
There is a very old saying that comes from the days of sail in the navy, and it's "polishing the cannonball."
This refers to taking too much time to calculate bearing and range to the target to guarantee an accurate shot. Part of being effective in battle is not achieving a perfect firing solution every time, but one that's 'good enough' to get the job done. In a battle, time is critical because the enemy may light the fuse before you do and if they land one on you where it really hurts, you are out of the fight.
Later on in the days of the old west, lawmen and gun fighters would say the best way to gain an advantage was to "take your time in a hurry." If you draw and fire too fast, you might miss. And if you move too slowly, the other guy just might ventilate your duster before you can do the same to him. Being perfect is hard, and it has drawbacks. Being 'good enough' is good enough.
When recording music, finding that ideal balance is not easy at all. Perfection in the recording process completely sucks the humanity and soul out of a musical performance. Stuff like The Grid and pitch correction turns music into a mechanical product, like punching out cookies with a cookie cutter.
You need some drift in BPM and imperfect vocal pitch to get any sort of groove into a piece of music. Just because there's a button or a knob on a piece of recording gear does not mean you have to use it. That is the problem with most popular music today, I think. It can be made perfectly, so it is made perfectly. It sounds clinical, cold, and impersonal.
Another consideration is this: ever been to a live show and went home thinking it was the greatest musical performance--and then later listened to a recording of it and thought the band was not that great? Part of the perceived perfection at the show is the experience of the environment...the 'energy' in the room. That is the thing that's missing when listening to a studio recording. It's also why it's a common practice to "sweeten" live show recordings later in the studio by reheating the tracks like leftovers and taking out the bits of egg shell in the process.
Many bands and artists often do not listen to their own records when they're released, because the experience of getting something in the can is so stressful. Time is money, and sometimes shortcuts get taken because it's really the accountant (not the producer) with their hands on the faders.
Jeebuz. This turned into a diatribe. Sorry!
This refers to taking too much time to calculate bearing and range to the target to guarantee an accurate shot. Part of being effective in battle is not achieving a perfect firing solution every time, but one that's 'good enough' to get the job done. In a battle, time is critical because the enemy may light the fuse before you do and if they land one on you where it really hurts, you are out of the fight.
Later on in the days of the old west, lawmen and gun fighters would say the best way to gain an advantage was to "take your time in a hurry." If you draw and fire too fast, you might miss. And if you move too slowly, the other guy just might ventilate your duster before you can do the same to him. Being perfect is hard, and it has drawbacks. Being 'good enough' is good enough.
When recording music, finding that ideal balance is not easy at all. Perfection in the recording process completely sucks the humanity and soul out of a musical performance. Stuff like The Grid and pitch correction turns music into a mechanical product, like punching out cookies with a cookie cutter.
You need some drift in BPM and imperfect vocal pitch to get any sort of groove into a piece of music. Just because there's a button or a knob on a piece of recording gear does not mean you have to use it. That is the problem with most popular music today, I think. It can be made perfectly, so it is made perfectly. It sounds clinical, cold, and impersonal.
Another consideration is this: ever been to a live show and went home thinking it was the greatest musical performance--and then later listened to a recording of it and thought the band was not that great? Part of the perceived perfection at the show is the experience of the environment...the 'energy' in the room. That is the thing that's missing when listening to a studio recording. It's also why it's a common practice to "sweeten" live show recordings later in the studio by reheating the tracks like leftovers and taking out the bits of egg shell in the process.
Many bands and artists often do not listen to their own records when they're released, because the experience of getting something in the can is so stressful. Time is money, and sometimes shortcuts get taken because it's really the accountant (not the producer) with their hands on the faders.
Jeebuz. This turned into a diatribe. Sorry!
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Fiesta Red
Doctor of Teleocity
Nope.
I’m not a perfectionist and I refuse to deal with them.
Most perfectionists I’ve played with are either (1) insufferable or (2) create soulless, sterile music.
A good deal of my best work is the result of happy accidents or things not turning out exactly as I planned them.
I’m not a perfectionist and I refuse to deal with them.
Most perfectionists I’ve played with are either (1) insufferable or (2) create soulless, sterile music.
A good deal of my best work is the result of happy accidents or things not turning out exactly as I planned them.
CCK1
Tele-Afflicted
Perfection is the enemy of good enough.
CCK1
Tele-Afflicted
Very good points. I remember going to a Bad Company show in the 70's. The band was just too exact, too "perfect". I want a live performance to sound like a live performance, this concert sounded like someone put on Bad Company's greatest hits CD.
MTPoteet
Tele-Holic
Done is better than perfect.
I started my nephew with guitar about 20 years ago. When he made it clear he wanted to learn, I gave him a standard Tele and a Vox amp. He had a great time for many years, making good progress and not making many of the early mistakes I had made.
Then, he got into the shredder genre. I tried not to wince when he'd show me what he was working on. It was more of an auditory assault than music, but I encouraged him anyway. For the time he had to practice, it seemed to me he couldn't go much further with that style of play.
Recently, I asked him what he was doing with the guitar these days. He told me he hadn't played in over a year, that his practice room made him sad. I asked what had happened. "It depressed me that I couldn't sound like the guys I was listening to," he said. He would beat himself up during practice time. He told me anything less than perfection in shredding was not fulfilling to him. Shredding, he explained, is not forgiving.
I wanted to say, dude, maybe you aren't cut out to be a shredder. Maybe you don't have time to be one. But I get it. I once put my gear away for about three years. We have to give ourselves permission to move on, to find what makes us happy, whatever it might be. When I heard someone say "the notes you don't play are often more important than the ones you do," something fell into place.
memorex
Poster Extraordinaire
hopdybob
Friend of Leo's
why do the coldplay albums not 'get' me and the live do?
could it be on stage they have more fun and this shows in being relaxed?
you can go to far with perfection and it can drive you to a form of superstition.
a story i did read in a magazine about a famous guitarist.
they were rehearsing in a big dry swimming pool.
he had to record some solo's
he had his lucky favorite guitar, amp, pedals, t shirt, boots and other favorite things he really needed to ware and use to get the best recordings.
but than, o no it was not perfect, his lucky orange guitar cord was not connected in his rig.
being relaxed (no not under influence) and having a good time makes you shine
could it be on stage they have more fun and this shows in being relaxed?
you can go to far with perfection and it can drive you to a form of superstition.
a story i did read in a magazine about a famous guitarist.
they were rehearsing in a big dry swimming pool.
he had to record some solo's
he had his lucky favorite guitar, amp, pedals, t shirt, boots and other favorite things he really needed to ware and use to get the best recordings.
but than, o no it was not perfect, his lucky orange guitar cord was not connected in his rig.
being relaxed (no not under influence) and having a good time makes you shine
CCK1
Tele-Afflicted
Exactly!
If you have not read The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten, check it out. This is the best book on how to play music I've read...and I've read a bunch. Wooten does not teach the reader to play music, but he shows how to learn. It is eye opening. EAR opening.
His whimsical style at the beginning takes a little getting used to, but stick with it because it is really that good.
Am related by marriage to a classical performance guitarist. He has stayed with us at times on his tours. It's fascinating, even a bit weird, to watch his rituals on the day of a performance. The same outfit, the same shoes, exact times for eating, cutoff time for caffeine, time to dress, arrival time at the venue, etc.
hopdybob
Friend of Leo's
i would not be surprised that his trade is another ballpark.
missing notes is not getting booked (i think)
4pickupguy
Doctor of Teleocity
I go through a long series of “ok, that little pop annoys me“, “crap now the kick is too boomy”, “vocals sound too dry”
“why is the kick is gone?” “My god the vocals sound like a gymnasium…” on and on and on … until finally I am too weak to notice that the mix has melted into a kickless wash of verb’d out vocals…
…and the pop is still there
…
“why is the kick is gone?” “My god the vocals sound like a gymnasium…” on and on and on … until finally I am too weak to notice that the mix has melted into a kickless wash of verb’d out vocals…
…and the pop is still there
…
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gitlvr
Friend of Leo's
If you look around the internet you can find lots of famous bands' songs taken apart, tracks isolated, etc. In isolation you can often hear "things" that might not sound so "right". But "in the mix" no one pays any attention.
I believe things like that buried in a mix give a certain "flavor" that is absent without it.
I also believe a huge amount of the sound of rock music is tied to a tiny bit of out of tune ness, like the sort of thing lots of folks dig about the sound of a 12 string.
I think perfection is sterile.
If it sits in the mix, if it grooves, let it alone.
MHO.
I believe things like that buried in a mix give a certain "flavor" that is absent without it.
I also believe a huge amount of the sound of rock music is tied to a tiny bit of out of tune ness, like the sort of thing lots of folks dig about the sound of a 12 string.
I think perfection is sterile.
If it sits in the mix, if it grooves, let it alone.
MHO.
@Peegoo ... Agreed, "The Music Lesson" is def one of the best books on how to be a musician, hands down!
Learning to be a good/successful artist entails prioritizing what actually 'needs' to be fixed and what doesn't. What truly serves the end result. It's a difficult skill for most of us to learn. Also, it depends on what you want to accomplish, which of course is different for everybody.
I wanted to become a professional musician. Striving for perfection is part of the game. Do I attain perfection? Rarely, but it's the striving that makes me good. It also keeps me interested.
"Good enough", in my experience (and for my purposes), is not good enough.
YMMV.
Learning to be a good/successful artist entails prioritizing what actually 'needs' to be fixed and what doesn't. What truly serves the end result. It's a difficult skill for most of us to learn. Also, it depends on what you want to accomplish, which of course is different for everybody.
I wanted to become a professional musician. Striving for perfection is part of the game. Do I attain perfection? Rarely, but it's the striving that makes me good. It also keeps me interested.
"Good enough", in my experience (and for my purposes), is not good enough.
YMMV.
acousticnitemare
Tele-Meister
That's quite the tabe top you've got there, budIf you have not read The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten, check it out. This is the best book on how to play music I've read...and I've read a bunch. Wooten does not teach the reader to play music, but he shows how to learn. It is eye opening. EAR opening.
His whimsical style at the beginning takes a little getting used to, but stick with it because it is really that good.
.
I am perfect in every way, so there is nothing to deal with.
Obviously, I deal with it with jokes and sarcasm.
Obviously, I deal with it with jokes and sarcasm.
