Do You Value Opinions More From People You've Heard?

[monquixote]

Something that occurred to me when reading the "is notation important" thread.

Many of the members on here share their music online. When I thought about it I realised when getting advice I tend to value opinions more from members whose music I have heard.

I suppose there is some element of proof that the advice paid off in their case.

Interested to get peoples thoughts on the subject.

[Nik Harrison]

I tend to value the opinions of people who appear to be talking the most sense as far as I understand it.

[zenzeypher]

I'll listen to anyone, apply it and see if it works for me..if not I discard it.

I find it the same when passing that information along, might not work for me so i've abandoned it - doesn't mean someone else might not find it useful...especially on the internet via text communication ~ showing someone in person however doesn't matter.

this is how you do a pinch harmonic

*pewww==bbbbb* (fart noises)

I know how to do em' don't like em' so I never use em' but I can tell you how to do them...but I can't show you hahah.

same with other things to id imagine, but a voice of experience will help so much more.

[bertie]

I tend to value the opinions of people who appear to be talking the most sense as far as I understand it.

this

[monquixote]

I tend to value the opinions of people who appear to be talking the most sense as far as I understand it.

I agree you can do that in many cases but not always.

For example in the recent threads about notation and theory various individuals suggested the best thing to do would be: Learn to read dots, do ear training, read a book on xen. For the average noob it would be hard to know which was the most worthwhile (assuming you only have the time to do one).
Someone suggested that hearing how this approach had benefited the person giving advice would convince them the advice was worth taking and indeed people seem to more readily take the advice of people like Clarky (to pick someone at random) who are clearly elite level musicians.
Do you pick the person better at debate or music?

[Nik Harrison]

I agree you can do that in many cases but not always.

For example in the recent threads about notation and theory various individuals suggested the best thing to do would be: Learn to read dots, do ear training, read a book on xen. For the average noob it would be hard to know which was the most worthwhile (assuming you only have the time to do one).
Someone suggested that hearing how this approach had benefited the person giving advice would convince them the advice was worth taking and indeed people seem to more readily take the advice of people like Clarky (to pick someone at random) who are clearly elite level musicians.
Do you pick the person better at debate or music?

I agree that for the "average noob" that it would be difficult to know what the most worthwhile suggestion would be, but in certain circumstances there is no "right answer" as such. This being the case, the extent to which I value the opinions of the people on here is simply on a case by case basis and reflective of the extent to which those opinions resonate with me, or seem to be sensible, logical, rational, or indeed insightful or intelligent. I don't think it's to do with the person better at debate or playing the guitar.

When it come to the discussions about reading notation (or indeed any thread about the "value of theory") I can pretty much sum up what I think with this post (lifted from another thread):

Initially the question was asked “How important is notation to the guitarist?" which has quickly and predictably evolved into "Standard notation or TAB?” which are both fair questions to ask, but there are two areas that these questions can be asked of which have very different answers. Firstly there is the role of standard notation or tab within a guitar player’s skill-set, and this is (and will remain) each individuals exclusive concern. There will never be a definite right or wrong answer to this because the skill of notation reading will either be pertinent to them, or it wont, and each individual will have different needs. Secondly there is the role of standard notation or tab within education, and I would argue here that the answer to this is not the same. Once it gets into a matter of ‘education’ rather than an individual’s ‘ability’ it’s a totally different argument.

Some people seem to like to favour the idea that there is always a "right answer" but this isn't always the case, and if your looking for a definitive "right answer" is circumstances like this you wont find one.

A lot of the time, people place a lot of value on "certainty" and "definitive answers" and when it come to music there are very few of these, and as such this forum is rich with debate and opinion! If there was indeed a catalogue of musical "truth" available which could could answer all the questions that are asked here or debated here, then the forum would be obsolete within minutes!

[Skipped]

I can think of a few posters who get my attention because they have a pattern of saying stuff which I know to be accurate, or give advice which is sensible and thoughtful. In most cases I have no idea what their musical prowess is.

Elite level musician is very hard to define. Do you give more weight to technical ability or ability to communicate? If I went in a shop today and saw a magazine cover saying "Mark Knopfler on Pickups, Strings, Vibrato, Playing without a pick" I would immediately buy it.

[frankus]

I agree you can do that in many cases but not always.

For example in the recent threads about notation and theory various individuals suggested the best thing to do would be: Learn to read dots, do ear training, read a book on xen. For the average noob it would be hard to know which was the most worthwhile (assuming you only have the time to do one).
Someone suggested that hearing how this approach had benefited the person giving advice would convince them the advice was worth taking and indeed people seem to more readily take the advice of people like Clarky (to pick someone at random) who are clearly elite level musicians.
Do you pick the person better at debate or music?

It's a forum, everyone's advice is equally unqualified.

Is a good performer automatically a good teacher?

Is human interaction so simple that it can have simple rules?

I believe human interaction is so complex it can only have principles.

I trust people who's honesty (in a situaion or as a trait) shows them to be trustworthy.

I'd also rather not "help" someone by giving them the answers, where's the self-sufficiency?

[RocknRollDave]

I can think of a few posters who get my attention because they have a pattern of saying stuff which I know to be accurate, or give advice which is sensible and thoughtful. In most cases I have no idea what their musical prowess is.

I agree with this, same for me too.

[monquixote]

I can think of a few posters who get my attention because they have a pattern of saying stuff which I know to be accurate, or give advice which is sensible and thoughtful. In most cases I have no idea what their musical prowess is.

Elite level musician is very hard to define. Do you give more weight to technical ability or ability to communicate? If I went in a shop today and saw a magazine cover saying "Mark Knopfler on Pickups, Strings, Vibrato, Playing without a pick" I would immediately buy it.

I think it's an unconscious thing which I've only recently become aware of so I'm not sure I can quantify it. I'm not even sure if it's a good thing only that it's something that I do and it appears others do as well.

It's a forum, everyone's advice is equally unqualified.

Is a good performer automatically a good teacher?

I think everyones opinion starts equal, but over time you start to rate some peoples opinions above others. For example if two people disagreed how an amp or pedal worked I'd trust ICBM, or Sporky because I know they have worked in the field and tend to talk sense.

I think being a good performer helps you to be a good teacher, but it's not the be all. My old guitar teacher wasn't all that in the technique stakes, but he was very good at showing a 15 year old the basics. I wouldn't be using him to learn about sweep picking for example.
I suppose If a teacher wasn't an especially good player it would make me wonder if his method was all it was cracked up to be.