Community, Competition, or Both?

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I struggled to find the correct category for this type of discussion, so Miscellaneous it is...

I am friends with many musicians in my city who actively play in bands. We all share an affinity for music and our own particular instruments...and often collaborate together.

But in spite of this, there is real competition between musicians for gigs and recognition. Many want to have the "best band" in their particular genre...and I totally understand wanting to do your best. But be the best? Is there a difference?

When I was in college studying music, there was a lot of competition between musicians, even though there was mutual respect...most of the time. The competitiveness was not enjoyable, but it certainly did help the development of my own style, virtuosity, and overall understanding of my instrument. It was a "sink or swim" environment.

In your opinion, what is the best thriving environment for musicians in a particular geographic location? Community? Competition? Or, a healthy mixture of both?

What do you experience on talkbass.com?

[m0nst3r]

I think a healthy mixture of both. Healthy competition tends to motivate people to become better at what they do. Without it, I think their musical competence/skills would stagnate because they wouldn't feel the need to get better. Community is also important because, in my experience, a person learns the most from playing/talking with other musicians.

My experience here on talkbass has mostly been about community. There is a wealth of knowledge here, and fortunately there are people willing to share it.

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I tend to agree...there's always some excitement with my bands when we pull off some crazy-difficult songs...and we can't wait to display our prowess live. Sort of like having pride in your work and not wanting to sound shoddy or cheap (no offense to those who can't help sounding shoddy & cheap).

There are some folks who get rat-holed on a bad way of thinking: they're the best and everyone else sucks. They can't appreciate anything if it doesn't measure up to their standards or appeal to their very narrow spectrum of taste. I think it's also a defense mechanism when they hear musicians who are clearly more experienced...a sort of face-saving behavior.

Fortunately I don't have to deal with that very often. Most players I know aren't ultra-competitive d**ks. There's a lot of sharing and mutual respect. I'll never rip on any musician no matter their experience level.

Some of the best times in my life as a young musician were the community guitar gang parties where everyone loved the instrument, loved music and shared without worrying about leaking the "sacred knowledge" to the uninitiated...or whatever. It didn't matter if you were a seasoned pro or complete newbie. All that mattered was the love of music, and we freely shared in something significant.

In ultra-competitive environments, few people on top will ever share their sacred domain knowledge for fear of being replaced by a young lion. I work in Information Technology, and this is the way of the corporate ladder. Many programming forums are very helpful...but the holy grail info is withheld because of the competitive nature of other software developers.

TB seems to be pretty helpful...people freely give of their time and knowledge without prejudice. Very nice

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Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that with a limited number of live music venues available for certain genres of music, the competitive nature of performing bands increases. The owners of these venues (bars mainly) are thinking in terms of selling drinks and getting as many people in as possible...and keeping them there. So, the bands which can draw the largest crowds are the ones who get gigs. Quite simply, you have to outperform the competition if you want to keep playing.

So, bass, guitar, etc. in a working band context is not only a labor of love, but also one of marketability. Sad, but true. We can't factor out competitiveness entirely.

[tangentmusic]

A healthy combo of both. Many times it depends on your locale & scene.
Younger players seem to be more competitve than older musicians. I know I was in my younger years.
The genre also can determine competitive attitudes also. Kids in punk bands may be a little moreso than older players in a blues or jazz scene ect.
It's natural to want to be as good a possible no matter what style you're into.
Mutual respect among musicians should be a natural attitude also. There will always be someone better/popular/more good-looking than us out there.Give them their due.
Respecting someone for their talents is a mature outlook that we should all cultivate.

[Phalex]

I really consider it to be a conversation. My band is pretty good (Apparently) and we get lots of good gigs and lots of good turn out, but I am by no means the best bass player in this town. As soon as someone feels that they are on a level that enables them to compete with me, they've won.