Playing for the fun of it


Deb48
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Deb48
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01/19/2021 4:19 pm

By Kurt Vonnegut:

“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of “getting to know you” questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.

And he went WOW. That’s amazing! And I said, “Oh no, but I’m not any good at ANY of them.”

And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: “I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”

And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could “Win” at them.”

- Kurt Vonnegut


# 1
snojones
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snojones
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01/19/2021 4:41 pm

A wise mentor, indeed!


Captcha is a total pain in the........

# 2
jsharkey9
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jsharkey9
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01/19/2021 6:51 pm

Thanks for the post Deb...super great quote!


jsharkey9!

# 3
JeffS65
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JeffS65
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01/19/2021 8:37 pm
Originally Posted by: Deb48

By Kurt Vonnegut:

“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of “getting to know you” questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.

And he went WOW. That’s amazing! And I said, “Oh no, but I’m not any good at ANY of them.”

And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: “I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”

And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could “Win” at them.”

- Kurt Vonnegut

"I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”[br][br]Whomever told Vonnegut this was right on the money. I find so many people are searching for some abstract definition of a skill. Unless you want to compete in a championship sport, you should really understand why you want to do it.[br][br]Playing music is to feed the emotional side of our person. We listen and are often compelled to play because it connected with us somehow. It is not to become as good as the rock legend. Even those people played because the wanted to play.


# 4
mjgodin
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mjgodin
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01/19/2021 10:07 pm

Certainly words to live by. Thanks for sharing that Deb. [br][br]


# 5
snojones
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snojones
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01/19/2021 11:06 pm

Did Vonnegate working for Guitar Tricks back then? He is today!


Captcha is a total pain in the........

# 6
Susan_Montgomery
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Susan_Montgomery
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01/20/2021 1:18 am

Thanks for sharing this...I love it.


“Often, what seems like an impossible climb is just a staircase without the steps drawn in.” Robert Brault, American Operatic Tenor

# 7
JOMJ
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JOMJ
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01/21/2021 3:36 pm

... and then he became one of the best writers of his time.


"You find a lot of people these days who cannot stand to be alone. You could lock me up in solitary for weeks on end, and I'd keep myself amused."

# 8
faith83
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faith83
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01/22/2021 10:10 pm
Originally Posted by: JustOnMyJourney

... and then he became one of the best writers of his time.

This. I've done a lot of top-level creative work, mostly in Hollywood, but also in other areas, and I've discovered over the years that the only stuff that's really "good" (whatever that means) is the stuff that I do from my heart. The stuff I did because I thought someone else would like it, or because I wanted to make money or feel important, etc., was not my best work. It's hard, though -- because the market drives us to think about whether something is commercial or not.

I bet Kurt didn't think about that when he was writing his best stuff. And I bet neither did anyone else who ever created anything worth a damn.


"I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk."

# 9
JeffS65
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JeffS65
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01/25/2021 3:57 pm
Originally Posted by: faith83

This. I've done a lot of top-level creative work, mostly in Hollywood, but also in other areas, and I've discovered over the years that the only stuff that's really "good" (whatever that means) is the stuff that I do from my heart. The stuff I did because I thought someone else would like it, or because I wanted to make money or feel important, etc., was not my best work. It's hard, though -- because the market drives us to think about whether something is commercial or not.

A good number of years ago, I used to do frellance graphic design for CD/DVD packaging, logos, event posters and movie posters (and some charity stuff too).

When you work for someone else and their vision, it can be a challenge. You're trying to bring someone vision to life. Sometimes they know exactly what they want and sometimes they 'know it when they see it'. What I've I've found is that the smaller the artist, the more control they tended to have.

I'd never worked with anyone 'huge' but I worked a good bit with, for instance, artists who had a career on a major label some years before and maybe even sold a few records. The people who had 'been there' generally seemed open to a little more freeform creativity. When I had to conform to another's vision, it was a negotiation but that's also the nature of the beast.

You also had to have a clause that any design can have 'X' number of alterations or changes. If you don't, you end up in the cycle of a band doing the 'I don't know what I want but I know it when I see it' deal. I learned quickly that if you spend time talking to the band/artist, that takes care of a lot.

The first question I asked them was 'What's your favorite color?'. That either got them to say the color and using that thematically would be cool, or they would tell you a color they really preferred. It's kind of a psychology.

I really only ever got work by referrals so someone that came to me had something of an idea of what I did. If you need an illustration, not me. Sure, I can draw stuff but I'm not an illustrator. I was more in the vein of a Hugh Syme. The guy who did all the Rush records amongst many other.

Anyway, the point here is that when people let me just roll with it, I did better stuff. I rather like a visual play on words. As an example, there was one that I worked on (but never made it anywhere cuz the release never happened), was a release called 'Hung'. The cover was a sephia toned field (near my house) with a tree in the near distance. So I photoshopped a noose hanging from the tree. Not clever? From the nose was hanging a coat hanger. It was a somber looking cover with a little joke within it.

I'll stop rambling now...it got me all going down memory lane.


# 10
innocci
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innocci
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03/26/2023 3:11 am
#0 Originally Posted by: Deb48

By Kurt Vonnegut:

“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of “getting to know you” questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.

And he went WOW. That’s amazing! And I said, “Oh no, but I’m not any good at ANY of them.”

And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: “I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.”

And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could “Win” at them.”

- Kurt Vonnegut

It's so cool, how one persons words can change your life's journey.


# 11
W3
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W3
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03/26/2023 12:55 pm

Deb, that a great story! And doesn't it also teach us as the older folks to build up that next generation? This country could use some building up of our youth. Let's start today. 


# 12

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