> Being able to say "this is good" or "this is bad" is a start, but the really useful thing is to be able to go deeper and say "this is good overall; XYZ are good aspects of it; ABC could have been done better". 'Cause then you can tweak ABC and make it even better, or go to a comparable project and fix its XYZ.
This is a very good point, and I've seen it as my own musical tastes have developed. I have several friends who are in bands, and while they appreciate praise and fan adoration, they seem to be doubly appreciate when I say something like, "Your solos are a little too clean; turn up the distortion a bit," or "The lead is being drowned out by the harmonies."
By offering very direct constructive criticism, you are signaling to the artist that you appreciate their work enough to listen that closely in order to help them make it even better. On several occasions I've taken to conspicuously listening to a single band member, and without fail that person played better simply as a result of being scrutinized.
Being that critic and scrutinizing yourself in that same way is probably the surest way to improve your own art. That is why taste must come before good art. And that is why the best artists never seem satisfied. If they ever had been satisfied along the way, they never would have made it as far as they did.
This is a very good point, and I've seen it as my own musical tastes have developed. I have several friends who are in bands, and while they appreciate praise and fan adoration, they seem to be doubly appreciate when I say something like, "Your solos are a little too clean; turn up the distortion a bit," or "The lead is being drowned out by the harmonies."
By offering very direct constructive criticism, you are signaling to the artist that you appreciate their work enough to listen that closely in order to help them make it even better. On several occasions I've taken to conspicuously listening to a single band member, and without fail that person played better simply as a result of being scrutinized.
Being that critic and scrutinizing yourself in that same way is probably the surest way to improve your own art. That is why taste must come before good art. And that is why the best artists never seem satisfied. If they ever had been satisfied along the way, they never would have made it as far as they did.