Welp...let's hope you meet some of those folks as you travail life's byways, Ol pal. Just don't count on it.



PS...don't forget about that "inside voice".

SonicFan

sharke

jbow

SonicFan

yorolpal
Yea...and Van Gogh died a pauper. Which, if I had anything to say about it, he should have. There are countless examples of talentless numbskulls who've achieved fame and fortune and honestly talented artists of all stripes who have achieved virtually nothing. Again, tough titty. Them's the breaks. Roll with the punches. Don't sweat it. Don't forget about what I said about your inside voice.

There would be absolutely no way I would ever want to share my works with such an audience then who only deems works of art as great if the person is someone famous and such.  I would only share my works of art to people who truly see them for what they are.  They would be people who have profound perceptions like me.

Wow... !

 
It's a stunning level of hubris not readily admitted by one individual to another, let alone in public. 

I wouldn't even call it pride or selfishness.  Rather, this would be what any normal person would say.  I mean, if I shared my works of art with people who did not feel profoundly from them, then I would feel all alone, would feel that my composing dream is all pointless, and would just give up right then and there.  But if I shared them to people who I can relate to and have a profound relationship with through my compositions, then I would continue on with my composing dream and would be inspired to compose and share them with these people.

Meh, just do what everyone else does and throw it out there to see what sticks. It's amazing how much more productive the human mind is when you cut out all of the pretentious, narcissistic psycho-babble. 

Word.

Not sure if I'm in the vein (I didn't read a lot) but...
 
I write music for ME.
 
anyone else who has something to say, great! I love to have some criticism from people who know what they're talking about. but at the end of the day, I make my music for me to amaze myself. haha.
 
__
 
EDIT: if there is any input I'd give to you, SonicFan, it's to simply expand you musical knowledge and songwriting skills to where we sort of CAN feel like your art becomes something great. I mean, a good melody is nice to hear, but a great arrangement is actual pure gold. I'm probably way off-topic, but this is the CH..

You need to spend some time playing bars or clubs where you are just background music that makes people talk louder while they don't really listen to you and then ask you to play Freebird. That is the life of the normal working musician.
If you want listeners who think your music is profound then you need to become another Shpongle, or maybe another Bob Dylan but then he got booed offstage when he began to bloom. You will have to "pay your dues" to get to the place you are seeking, just like everyone else who gets there. No one else cares anything about what your shoes look like, they are all looking at their own shoes. If you keep them looking great and wear them well... maybe one day someone will notice and when you're old you'll be remembered as that guy who wore those nice shoes. Maybe, if you pay your dues.
The BEATLES were an overnight sensation after playing 8 hour gigs 6 and 7 days a week in a club in Hamburg for a couple or three years. That is where profound comes from. IMO.... and not many of us are up to it or have even the opportunity. There is a high price to pay. Some people aren't thought of as profound until after they have died, after having lived a life "banging it out", no matter shat sort of art it is.
If your motivation for making music is the accolades of others... I feel for you. I don't think you can make good music unless you are making it for yourself (there are exceptions like Boyce and Hart or Jimmy Webb) but I don't know, maybe what they were doing was what they liked and it just sold. Then there are people whom the media pushes but they usually aren't considered to be profound by any means by anyone over 13 years old.
I think I am beating the air...

OP: How we feel about music and our own compositions

I feel fine.

I have always and continue to strive to do better than my last effort -- No matter the years of experience in relation to music, its a never ending learning cycle. Often, music (songs) is the least of my concerns but nonetheless, there's more to learn.
 
Its never easy trying to keep a band together and sticking to the same goals without any animosity, discontent at best. Good and bad luck happens, and you just can't predict the future (although to an extent, you can be cautious and plan ahead) or do something really stupid... So, the bass player and lead guitarist may actually end up in jail, that's an extreme scenario but nontheless an example of what could happen.  When I was 17, the drummer in the band got a his 14 year old girlfriend pregnant. Their parents and local police was not impressed, the media had a field day. The guitarist got offered a very good paying job (manager for an computer network company), oh and the bass player was heading towards a mental breakdown.  Anyway, the band's last concert was at an outdoor music festival in Wingham (by the Manning River foreshore) in NSW, Australia.
 
Most musicians will probably need to balance their commitment to the band with school (or higher education) or having to work part-time in other jobs..... There is no guarantee that money earned from working with the band will always be flowing in (especially on a regular basis, year after year). Actually most bands break up after they realize they would have made more money by pursuing other endeavors that have (or entirely not have) anything to do with music.

I've been fortunate enough to have sat in many meetings with major label managers, A&R and publicist; No doubt, Great Music alone isn't Enough.... they will question (a) targeted audience, (b) confidence / commitment and (c) marketing potential, like it or not they seem more concerned about those issues because (and back to square one) having great music alone isn't enough!

I would need 500 pages to cover this topic, oh well, at the end of the day its not only how we feel about the music and our own compositions; the band is happy enough about that, its more about... where to go from there?.

I do know for example, one particular band that had won several music awards, wrote great songs, but at the end of their peak (which lasted four years) went down hill from there. One surviving band member lived the remainder (most of) his life in poverty. Another example, a highly renowned bass player invested money towards ownership of a really cool (and successful) music retail business, selling mostly guitars, amps, mics, drums and other accessories (strings, plectrums and such)!

SonicFan
 I mean, if I shared my works of art with people who did not feel profoundly from them, then I would feel all alone, would feel that my composing dream is all pointless, and would just give up right then and there.

For me, the joy of making music comes from my love of music. I love it when someone is moved by one of my songs, but I don't compose with the intention of trying to impress anyone, or evoke emotion from them, so that we can be some kind of musical kindred spirits. I write music that makes me happy, that I can sit back and listen to, with the knowledge of all the work that went into it, and be proud of the accomplishment.

Leadfoot
For me, the joy of making music comes from my love of music. I love it when someone is moved by one of my songs, but I don't compose with the intention of trying to impress anyone, or evoke emotion from them, so that we can be some kind of musical kindred spirits. I write music that makes me happy, that I can sit back and listen to, with the knowledge of all the work that went into it, and be proud of the accomplishment.

It always seems like the songs I write that are nothing more than a gimmicky bit of something that I do just to be writing "anything" that I can finish are the one's people like and comment on.  The one's I pour my soul into are the ones that get "sounds nice, who did the vocals?" 

" I know its only rock and roll but I like it! "