Last Updated: 31 May 98
How many times have you, as someone new to computer music, been intimidated by rude comments left in some MOD by a composer with an overblown opinion of himself and his music? (For a definition of some common terminology, see my MOD Music Tutorial). It's about time someone dealt with this issue.
In case you've never seen what I've referring to, grab yourself a copy of Dual Mod Player or Mod4Win now and download a few MOD or S3M songs from ftp.cdrom.com (a repository of MOD music), and you'll see what I mean. Here's a small sample:
Sooner or later, you're going find songs in which some composer with an axe to grind has a few choice comments to say about "newbies" (the term generally refers to persons with little computer experience, but it is used in the MOD music world to denote a beginning MOD composer). And this is a shame, too. I can imagine there are hundreds of would-be musicians whose musical careers were prevented from flowering by some elitist yahoo (no offense to the search engine, Yahoo!) who has no patience for beginners.
To all composers of MOD music, I say this: we were all beginners at something or other more than once in our lives, so in remembrance of our own humble beginnings, instead of elitism, we should be practicing toleration; instead of chopping on the newbies, we should be thanking them for their interest--it is because of them that any fame we may think we have exists. They were our "first listeners"; they are the fans and admirers, and you can't continually chop them off at the knees and expect them to come back for more. To those composers who think their work is so hot they have no room for improvement, I have news for you--I've listened to a great number of works by many different composers, and only ten percent are even worth listening to! The other 90 percent...well, let's be generous and simply say there's room for improvement.
To the "newbies": Keep up the enthusiasm. Don't be deterred by the obnoxious comments you'll find in some MODs--ignore them and continue your quest. If you wish to learn music and put your mind to it, NOTHING CAN STOP YOU.