Years ago, I used TAXI to get my music placed. They rarely forwarded my songs, and one critique I heard repeatedly was that they needed more repetition.
I understood the feedback. I just didn't agree. That WAS the song. It was done.
Ironically, the lack of repetition is something my listeners have told me they love about my music.
Feedback can be incredibly valuable, but at some point, we have to trust our own creative instincts.
When do you take the note...and when do you say, "No. That's the piece"?
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When I was first starting out, I took feedback as gospel. I knew there was a lot I had to learn, so I never questioned it. After several years, I developed a more mature way to consider feedback. When a director told me to "lose all the brass" from his space epic score, I gently mentioned this would significantly change the John Williams sound he was after. (True story.)
It really depends on the goal for each piece. If I'm working on a film score, I'm very flexible since my music serves a higher purpose of advancing the story. If I'm writing something purely for me, I still want feedback but tend to make fewer changes.
For example, I recently participated in a discussion on a composer site about the history of ambient music. That conversation inspired me to try writing a cue devoid of strong melodic motifs, something more vibey and sparse. I was pleased with the outcome, but several of my composer friends felt I should have added a theme to it. I tried explaining my purpose in writing the piece, but I must not have explained it well. In the end, I agreed with their feedback about changing out one of the instruments that felt out of place, but kept the rest unchanged.
https://baba-sah.bandcamp.com/track/svalbar
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Hi, @Kat. I consider every note, but I don't use them all. If the note improves the story, I'll use it. I save the notes I don't use though in case I end up using them.
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I'd bet those giving this critique would say the same thing about the 1st movement of Mozart's Symphony #40.
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I think that there is a parameter missing, when checking out a piece of music you always have to take into account the intended audience and use.
A review just stating that you should have more repetition doesn't say much. Are you using too many Motifs for the same song? Are they linked? etc..
I would love to listen to your music and give you at least my view of what a potential audience would be. Send me a link to your music if you are interested
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Hi Kat, I really relate to this. As a songwriter, I believe feedback can be valuable, but it’s also important to recognize when a creative choice is intentional and already serves the song. Not every song needs to follow the same formula, especially when repetition doesn’t fit the emotion or story being expressed. Great insight, and thank you for sharing this!
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It really depends on the song I'm writing. I generally write three verses and a chorus and consider the lyrics to be complete. There have only been rare times when I've added lyrics and ended up with up to six or seven verses and a chorus. It depends on how much of a story needs to be told. The lyrics I wrote with six verses and a chorus, I felt like I could have written more, but I felt like the song would've started to become too long.
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Hi Peter Sauleda Thanks for your insight and curiosity. You can find everything I do on my youtube.com/katsember channel. As for the instrumentals, they flow from one idea to the next. I think it is this flow that helps people lose themselves in it, which leads to better sleep, productivity and calm. At least, that's what they have told me.
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Yeah...have to go with what you feel to be truly creative. Sure, we manufacture when needed, but it's not the same.
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... When you really, really know your own work, it's simply 'take the good and ignore the bad'. What else is there to say.
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I feel like I am willing to try using feedback or have different versions, but at the end, it's my original music and I know when it's complete!