One of the toughest things to face as a musician, and often one of the biggest barriers to people starting to perform, is the prospect of your work being judged and potentially criticised by other people.
Some people thrive on this; others view it as an irritation but for some the fear of criticism terrifies them to the extent they never ever perform. I wanted to write a short piece talking about how to deal with criticism in the hope that at least one or two people who read it will overcome their fear and give performing a go.
However I don’t want to give any false reassurances that criticism won’t happen. The reality is that not everyone will like what you do and some people will feel the need to tell you that, whether they’re professional reviewers, bloggers, internet forum posters or people in the audience at gigs. The first time it happens it really hurts and, even when you get used to it, it can still really sting. What’s important is that you remember that all it is a matter of one person’s opinion. The fact that one person doesn’t like your music doesn’t mean that nobody else does either. This is much harder to accept in reality than in theory – it’s amazing how you can do a gig, receive loads of positive comments and one negative comment but find the one negative comment plays on your mind and overshadows all the positive comments. It’s important not to let this happen.
You also need to remember that everybody gets criticised – got onto any music forum and you’ll sure to see posts describing a huge number of bands as irredeemably terrible, many of whom are clearly far better than the poster in question is giving them credit for.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you should ignore all negative comments about your music. There’s a Jewish saying that “if ten doctors tell you to lie down, then lie down” and if people are constantly making the same points about your music it’s worth considering whether they’re true and, if they’re things you’re not happy about, whether you ought to change them.
Sometimes people will give you suggestions or criticisms that might actually be worth taking on board so it’s good to be open to ideas as long as you consider that
1 ) Just because one aspect of what you do could improve, it doesn’t mean everything you do is terrible.
2 ) You don’t have to agree with them and you don’t have to change what you do just because one person doesn’t like it. You should never let anyone convince you to change your music into something you don’t feel comfortable with.
One of the most important things to do is to consider who’s criticising you and why. Ultimately if someone sees music completely differently to you, and wants your music to be something you don’t want it to be then it would be folly to change what you do to try to please them – the likely result is a compromise that neither of you are really happy with and doesn’t represent what you want to do. Criticism hurts at the best of times but it’s far harder when you know yourself your music is no longer the thing you really wanted to present to people.
How do you deal with criticism and bad reviews?
1 ) The best reaction is to refuse to publicly react at all. If it’s on the internet read it and move on or if it’s in person, nod politely to the person and then go and talk to someone else.
2 ) Don’t dwell on it. Don’t continually re-read it, don’t link to it on your website and don’t send out an email to friends or your mailing list drawing attention to it.
3 ) Remind yourself of positive reviews you’ve had in the past – try to keep in mind the review is only one person and others may not agree with them.
4 ) If you are going to react, I’d strongly advise not doing it in public (either by commenting on the review on your blog or mailing list or posting on the site where the review first appeared). Very few people are able to stay calm in the face of criticism and not take it personally and there is a real danger that you’ll be provoked into saying something that makes you look a bit silly – one of the huge problems with the internet is the possibility for these things to go viral and I can think of several examples where a musician or writer has reacted to a small review on an obscure website and suddenly has thousands of people thinking he or she is an idiot. It’s not always true that all publicity is a good thing.
5 ) Furthermore reacting with humour is always a tricky one – if you take the mickey out of the reviewer you look bitter and twisted but if you’re self-deprecating you look like you agree your music’s crap and don’t place any worth on what you do. Unless you’re sure you can judge how to respond perfectly it’s best avoided.
6 ) If there are factual inaccuracies which you really feel must be corrected then do so but try to stick entirely to those and avoid commenting on the reviewer’s opinions.
7 ) Never under any circumstances pretend to be a passing “fan” who happened to read the review and want to defend the band. You will get caught out and you will look like both an idiot and a liar.
8 ) Above all, use it as a spur to improve and push yourself further, both in terms of the music you’re making and how you’re approaching it. Think about what (if anything) you can learn from the review.
9 ) Always try to have an idea of the music you want to make in the future and how you want the band to develop. If you’re pinning all your hopes on your current material criticism can be extremely hard to deal with but if you’re excited about what the band will do in the future, it helps keep you upbeat and focussed in the face of criticism of your current material.
Remember – no matter how unperturbed other musicians may appear – nobody likes being criticised and it’s completely normal to feel angry, upset or despondent when it happens. Hopefully this advice will help you deal with those feelings a little better but they never go away entirely. It’s just important to remember all the positives of being in a band and not let negativity drag you down.
