Posting replies

[pankrpec]

There is something that has bugged me for a long time regarding posting on this forum.

I usually don't reply to posted improvisations here. Now the reasons I don't reply is the thing that bugs me. I can't really do any analysis of the music. So I can say that I like it or that I don't. Sometimes the music really touches me deeply and then I can somehow respond in more than one sentence, but usually it's just like/dislike (Mostly like I have to note). When I compare this reply to what others are writing I feel that my reply would be insufficient in some way, that it is not worth sharing my opinion. So I delay replying and then inevitably I don't reply at all.

So my question to you is, do you want replies that are basically one sentence long? Or do you prefer if the conversation is kept within those who actually have something to say?

As for me, I would say that when there is something to say, the conversation should be kept to those who have something to say. If no one has anything to say, then some one sentence posts stating an opinion on the music would be quite appreciated.

[chopinatic]

for me both types of feedback are great, just knowing someone has taken the time to respond. I often begrudge posting music because there is never any feedback or very little, which really, is why I post. To know what is good, what is bad, what people like. Saying you like something in reality says more than you may think. It gathers information as to what feeling or emotion or chord progression or timing that people seem to like, that in turn allows progression or development of those ideas. I think it just shows respect also.
I think the rule of thumb should be, if you like something, comment, no matter how insignificant you feel that comment to be.

[m1469]

I agree that comments can be very helpful.  At the same time, I personally don't always know what to say and that is often something I need to work at (and it's fairly intimidating for me, actually) and often even means I don't listen until I can muster up the courage to try to talk about what I will hear   (that can take a *LONG* time).  But, if I listen and don't know what to say, I would still want people to know that I've listened, or at least that there is a name behind the download number.  Sometimes I wish there were a simple "like" button (yes, I really said that and really wish that) so I could at least show in a very simple way that I listened and liked .  But maybe the fact that it's as difficult as it is for me to put it into words means that I shouldn't allow myself to rely upon something like a "like" button.

[pankrpec]

Thank you for your responses. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that the response I get is very important. Well, to be frank after a while I got used to the fact that no one ever responds (Apologies to all who sometimes responded. ). But I must admit that it makes me hesitant to post new improvs, it just seems pointless somehow, not knowing if anyone listens to them or not.

m1469, don't worry about your heretic thoughts about the 'Like' button. I actually looked for it several times and I HATE 'Like' buttons!  But if they were here, I have this bad feeling that this subforum would become just a collection of 1 post topics!

[tyler_johnson]

Yeah, I think even four or five words could mean a lot.

"Sounded great, post more!"

That's just building encouragement right there if nothing else

[Derek]

I think, with few regularly posting members, the best approach is to just let people post when they feel like it. I think almost everyone here, beginner and advanced alike, has experienced posting an improv that got several replies, and also ones that have received very few or none. I don't think it is even worth investigating the reasons for this. Sometimes we catch people in the right mood sometimes not. The only comments we really want are sincere ones that someone felt like posting. Our frequent attempts at structuring this forum will fail I think simply because of this dynamic nature of improvisation. It defies all traditional types of discussion, criticism, and learning. It is by its very nature chaotic. Until we get a lot more people posting here anyway, I think we'll just have to keep the forum as it is....

improvised.

[lukediv]

I feel there should be a "like" button, similar to Facebook where if we don't have to post a one sentence reply saying basically how we liked it but don't have much more to say. Would also be useful for pieces where we don't have enough knowledge to make an informed judgement, but still enjoyed the performance. I think it's really encouraging to get responses, but half of the time we're playing pieces that aren't widely known so we don't get any responses.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I think it can be quite difficult for people to comment intelligently on improvisations. By contrast, with any piece of mainstream music they can go, consult a score, and make more "meaningful" remarks. I'm not sure how many people are willing to comment when it can be hard to go beyond "Great!" or "Ugh!". A thorny problem. I agree with Derek that attempts to structure an improvisation are counter-productive.