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Do you like playing music you don't like?

#61
I don't mind playing songs I don't particularly like listening to. Many songs I thought I didn't like happened to have killer basslines that I do like, but I'd never paid attention to them before having to learn them to know.

What I don't like is not wanting to just sit and listen to the songs I can play live inside and out - its almost as if I get to the point where I think if Im not getting paid to play this song, I don't want to hear it, and that includes some of my once very favourite songs! :D
 
#62
Passinwind said:
Nope, I have to listen to whatever I play too. But every decent chef I've ever worked around wanted their food to reflect their personal tastes and passions.
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If you want to take this line of thought seriously... I don't much like turkey breast but when my mother visits of course I'll make a great turkey breast and have fun making it. I met a lady in Texas who has a small business making salsa. She admitted that she never even tried tasting the strongest variations, she makes them because that's what the customers want, stirs them and leaves the kitchen immediately because the fumes burn. It still very much reflects her tastes and passions, just with a lot more habanero. And it's very good.

Likewise, if I'm playing children's music it will to some degree reflect my tastes and passions even if there are no monitors and I can't hear myself at all. I mean, I despise words like "passion", "authentic" or "artistic" but I admit I do like playing bass. I like making the structure of the song more obvious and clear.
 
#63
pklima said:
If you want to take this line of thought seriously... I don't much like turkey breast but when my mother visits of course I'll make a great turkey breast and have fun making it. I met a lady in Texas who has a small business making salsa. She admitted that she never even tried tasting the strongest variations, she makes them because that's what the customers want, stirs them and leaves the kitchen immediately because the fumes burn. It still very much reflects her tastes and passions, just with a lot more habanero. And it's very good.

Likewise, if I'm playing children's music it will to some degree reflect my tastes and passions even if there are no monitors and I can't hear myself at all. I mean, I despise words like "passion", "authentic" or "artistic" but I admit I do like playing bass. I like making the structure of the song more obvious and clear.
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The lady making the salsa could arguably be doing a lot better if she actually liked habanero and understood the nuances of using it though. Same for you and turkey breast, someone else who loves it will make it better every time given equal cooking skills, and of course your mom will tell you she likes yours better. But enough with the food. ;)

I dig where you're coming from, but authentic artistic passion (did I get 'em all?) is the single most important thing to me when I go see a musical act. It's the only thing I really have to sell in my own performances too. Vive la difference...
 
#65
Passinwind said:
I dig where you're coming from, but authentic artistic passion (did I get 'em all?) is the single most important thing to me when I go see a musical act. It's the only thing I really have to sell in my own performances too. Vive la difference...
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Ha, I can play songs I don't like and usually look much more passionate than people in the same band who really like them. I'm always trying to make the song convincing to the kind of people who'd like that song. Even if I'm not really into the song's sound, I'm into making it convincing, into communicating with the audience, into being a good performer... I hope that makes sense.

Though I do have some limits... I could never take REM's "Everybody Hurts" as anything other than a joke, for example.
 
#66
pklima said:
Ha, I can play songs I don't like and usually look much more passionate than people in the same band who really like them. I'm always trying to make the song convincing to the kind of people who'd like that song. Even if I'm not really into the song's sound, I'm into making it convincing, into communicating with the audience, into being a good performer... I hope that makes sense.
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Of course, and hopefully I'm the same way when I do play stuff I'm not crazy about -- which is a lot of the time. I'm sure I'd enjoy seeing you do that too. Looking passionate is almost as good as being passionate...;)
 
#67
pklima said:
Ha, I can play songs I don't like and usually look much more passionate than people in the same band who really like them. I'm always trying to make the song convincing to the kind of people who'd like that song. Even if I'm not really into the song's sound, I'm into making it convincing, into communicating with the audience, into being a good performer... I hope that makes sense.
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This also sounds style dependent to me.

Trying is great, you have to have motivation, and if you're talking about loud pop music of some type in a party or bar atmosphere, I have nothing to quibble with your point. However, this would not work in every situation.

Trying harder and looking like you're into it is not the same thing as having a real affinity for a style of music. It takes a person who is into that music in order to know whether you are succeeding, and if you're not that person, that's a real problem. You risk looking/playing out of place and not even knowing it. I would think we've all seen this happen before.

There is a relationship between sincerely being into that specific music yourself, and succeeding on that music's terms. You can't succeed on generalized "music" terms for any kind of music without being bothered with the details. It doesn't work that way. Every style of music implies a value system. Some of them are compatible, some might be, some of them aren't.

Lots of musicians like to say things like "It's all music, it's all the same, there are no borders, communication is communication. Those things are kind of true (when we are being philosophic about an idealized purpose of great music) and kind of false (when that thinking is used to justify lack of appreciation or preparation).
 
#68
Passinwind said:
Of course, and hopefully I'm the same way when I do play stuff I'm not crazy about -- which is a lot of the time. I'm sure I'd enjoy seeing you do that too. Looking passionate is almost as good as being passionate...;)
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I'd say looking passionate is even better because it's more transferable to other songs and other styles, haha.

I could argue I'm not just "faking sincerity", though. I genuinely enjoy playing things that would bore most bassists to death. I mean, there's that infamous video of me plucking an open string for five minutes straight and not just looking like I'm having a great time, but actually having a great time with it. As for the song itself, to be completely honest I think it's OK but definitely not my style. That's a good example of the kind of thing that inspired this thread.
teleharmonium said:
This also sounds style dependent to me.

Trying is great, you have to have motivation, and if you're talking about loud pop music of some type in a party or bar atmosphere, I have nothing to quibble with your point. However, this would not work in every situation.
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Works in a lot of situations - playing Vivaldi, classic rock, avant-pop originals, Edith Piaf songs, even works in church...
 
#69
pklima said:
I'd say looking passionate is even better because it's more transferable to other songs and other styles, haha.

I could argue I'm not just "faking sincerity", though. I genuinely enjoy playing things that would bore most bassists to death. I mean, there's that infamous video of me plucking an open string for five minutes straight and not just looking like I'm having a great time, but actually having a great time with it. As for the song itself, to be completely honest I think it's OK but definitely not my style. That's a good example of the kind of thing that inspired this thread.
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It's a very interesting thread to me. I have turned down hundreds of gigs because I often don't feel I can play the tunes as convincingly as someone else. In quite a few cases I've made the effort anyway, and if I enjoy the band or the crowd enough I am pretty happy regardless of the material.

Ultimately though I am always happiest when I play my own stuff and as teleharmonium says, the crowd decides to go along for the ride. The best reward for me is when people shut up and listen, not when they dance or socialize. I've never, ever experienced that playing music I dislike.
 
#70
It depends if it's MY band, or me playing bass in someone else's band. In my band, which is an original band, I have to like what we're playing.

If I'm playing bass in somebody else's band, I'm much more laid back and easygoing when it comes to the material being played. This is especially true if we're playing live. I'm perfectly content playing music I wouldn't necessarily go out and buy myself if we're playing a lot of gigs, because that's fun for me, pretty much regardless of what I'm playing.
 
#71
Passinwind said:
I've never, ever experienced that playing music I dislike.
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That's a good point... I can't think of a single time I disliked playing some piece of music live, either. Even the silliest artistic stuff and most sensitive indie was enjoyable. I've disliked a few situations because of people who made things difficult or stressful, but never because of the music. Really everything I've ever played was fun to do.

I'm sure things that would be no fun for me to play do exist, but I've apparently done a good job of staying away from them so far.
 
#73
I wouldn't mind playing some tunes I do no care for, as long as I seen my band mates as equal skill level as me. I could use some extra experience in playing amongst others, so I cannot be picky. If we are making terrible music, as in certain genres that I cannot stand.. then no. I might consider some type of metal, but I wouldn't tell my friends about it.
 
#78
pklima said:
That's a good point... I can't think of a single time I disliked playing some piece of music live, either.r.
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I never said anything that remotely leads to that, sorry if you took it that way. I can think of hundreds of times that I seriously disliked what I was playing live. My goal is to never ever do that again.
 
#79
Passinwind said:
I never said anything that remotely leads to that, sorry if you took it that way. I can think of hundreds of times that I seriously disliked what I was playing live. My goal is to never ever do that again.
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But what you said made me think, and my thinking led to that.

I've seriously never thought to myself "this song sucks, I wish I wasn't here". I've thought "this guy sucks, I should've stayed home" or "let's not play this song, it's a lot of notes, I'm unamplified and already tired" but those aren't "this song suck".
 
#80
pklima said:
But what you said made me think, and my thinking led to that.
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Ah, OK. No worries. ;)

I've seriously never thought to myself "this song sucks, I wish I wasn't here". I've thought "this guy sucks, I should've stayed home" or "let's not play this song, it's a lot of notes, I'm unamplified and already tired" but those aren't "this song suck".
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You're lucky, man. Anyhow, personally I'd much rather listen to music I don't like than have to play it. It sounds like the consensus is mostly the other way around.
 

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