Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Electronic Music Production // Dark Arts
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Mslwte
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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by Mslwte »

Nothing is perfect. You'll be much happier overall if you can except this fact. Of course you can still strive to do your best. As long as you know you have done the best you can do, what is enough.

Just keep on making music. Everything will fall into place.
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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by Barfunkel »

The_G wrote:I can't call myself a perfectionist because none of my music is anywhere close to perfect.

That said, I used to have a debilitating fear of not being good enough. So I never finished anything, because if it wasn't finished, then it was okay to not be good enough.

I've gotten over it. I've still never done anything even remotely close to perfect, but I've released music I'm proud of, and which other people seem to like.
In my books, perfect means something like a bona fide classic that will be played 20 years from now. Personally, I'd be happy to be able to write just pretty good music, that'd be already beating 99% of the field.
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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by tomhades »

As said in my introduction as well, it happens to me (and even more & more) because of the constant changing scene & musical styles out there ...

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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by -GeO- »

Lost to the Void wrote: I guess with time and experience you just learn when to pick your battles, make small wins, it all contributes to the winning the war.

Or in other terms, when climbing that endless mountain to the infinitely distant peak of perfection, sometimes it`s ok to take satisfaction from just reaching that next outcrop or overhang, and taking some time to admire the view, see where you came from, how you got there. Then reach up for that next handhold and keep climbing.
Damn brother, you could be my music therapist...feeling better already! :) Wise words...

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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by msl »

No such thing as perfection, only perfect for now, at this moment in time. Art for me is always about chasing that perfect state but never quite reaching it. There is always better or more to strive for, more to learn and more too improve.

Of course this is where masochism comes into it also. Its good to be critical of your work, its a must, and the pickier the better, but extremes are usually not healthy or helpful.
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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by Mimui »

when a sounds is 80% to your likings, move on.

100% is a waste of time.

the first 80% is like 70 % sound choice and 10 % mixing. (10 minutes ?)
the other 20% is fucking about and editing later on bcus it needs to be adjusted to the mix anyways. (hours upon hours ?)

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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by The_G »

Barfunkel wrote:
The_G wrote:I can't call myself a perfectionist because none of my music is anywhere close to perfect.

That said, I used to have a debilitating fear of not being good enough. So I never finished anything, because if it wasn't finished, then it was okay to not be good enough.

I've gotten over it. I've still never done anything even remotely close to perfect, but I've released music I'm proud of, and which other people seem to like.
In my books, perfect means something like a bona fide classic that will be played 20 years from now. Personally, I'd be happy to be able to write just pretty good music, that'd be already beating 99% of the field.
Totally. I'm never going to make perfect music, so I try to make music that I'm proud of, and if other people connect with it, then that's fantastic.

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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by Amøbe »

As far as music goes - at this time I'm just trying to get better. This is not perfectionism, more just realism - but I've reached a point where I'm proud of my progression :)

In another field, something that I believe I'm good at is academia. And this was not something that came easy. For the first three years or so I struggled a lot with self-doubt, and I always thought I should get something like a 100 % bulletproof argument. But the thing is that such an argument doesn't exist. At some point I made a motto to go for 90 %. And the thing is that the work I made got better. Accepting that I went into a dialogue, and that all other articles on such and such subject are also only 90 % bulletproof, made me aware that I could say something - even though others might be able to point out flaws and argue against it. And this is how things should be. Because this is the foundation of progress- that what we do is a dialogue instead of a monologue is also the reason why things progress!

I think this also applies to music. A 100 % perfect track would basically mean that there are nowhere to go. That would be sad. Arts work best as a dialogue where you say "I really like this, but it would even be cooler if I emphasized this or took it in another direction". If you think like this there's no reason why the first and the second artwork can't co-exist as two imperfect but great arguments in a dialogue (and it can both work in the way, where you pick up on something another artist has made or something you yourself have made)


So aim for 90 % ;)

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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by SHIDZO »

For me it's all part of the learning curve. I'm very critical with myself but I always try and draw a line at the right point. If I would give my approach a name I would say "good is good enough" - I have produced 5 tracks so far and they are all far away from being perfect or what I want them to be in the end, but hell, when I listen to a track a made year ago?! That difference. Satisfying. That's what counts for me. My GF is a good muse and critic (well she has to basically as I'm occupying the living room with my gear) as well as I send my shit to friends for some input.

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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by Mslwte »

The_G wrote:
Barfunkel wrote:
The_G wrote:I can't call myself a perfectionist because none of my music is anywhere close to perfect.

That said, I used to have a debilitating fear of not being good enough. So I never finished anything, because if it wasn't finished, then it was okay to not be good enough.

I've gotten over it. I've still never done anything even remotely close to perfect, but I've released music I'm proud of, and which other people seem to like.
In my books, perfect means something like a bona fide classic that will be played 20 years from now. Personally, I'd be happy to be able to write just pretty good music, that'd be already beating 99% of the field.
Totally. I'm never going to make perfect music, so I try to make music that I'm proud of, and if other people connect with it, then that's fantastic.
Yep
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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by intrusav »

The_G wrote: That said, I used to have a debilitating fear of not being good enough. So I never finished anything, because if it wasn't finished, then it was okay to not be good enough.
This, pretty much, for some time now.
Think I'm slowly getting past it and giving less of a fuck and enjoying it again, slowly but surely...

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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by Barfunkel »

intrusav wrote:
The_G wrote: That said, I used to have a debilitating fear of not being good enough. So I never finished anything, because if it wasn't finished, then it was okay to not be good enough.
This, pretty much, for some time now.
Think I'm slowly getting past it and giving less of a fuck and enjoying it again, slowly but surely...

This is quite strange actually... Good enough for who or what? If it's a hobby the quality of the music is meaningless in a way, only having fun is. Of course getting better is fun as well, but you can't become the best unless you suck first...

Of course it's different if you're a pro or training to become one. Then you probably have to have an entirely different mindset, learn to force yourself to work, kinda like a real job where you have to force yourself to work 9 to 5, five days a week, year after year.
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Re: Perfectionism turns into self-doubt

Post by intrusav »

Think it's an ego thing...
I've been listening to electronic stuff for over 25 years now and have been super critical of stuff that I've heard through the years. Obviously, I have been inspired by a hell of a lot of good stuff too, but the idea of making something sub-par is not an option so I don't let myself get past a certain point. Sounds weird alright (and it is warped) but it's very real and, ultimately, a mental block of sorts ..


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