Seeking brutal honesty from anyone that doesn't know me personally
Hi everybody. I don't often post, but I sure do appreciate DU for being an anchor of sanity at the end of 2001, and various times since.
to make a long story short, I learned how to play the record player when I was about five years old, and my musical journey since then has seen me recently don the mantle of a professional wandering harper.
I recently put together a profile at bandcamp (a very nifty website for musicians)
and have had an interesting time monitoring the usage statistics information that it provides.
Over a third of the times anyone has listened to one of my tracks, they don't make it past 10 seconds, and this concerns me. The recordings I have up there are the best ones in my possession, but they don't show the range of style that I'm capable of, and I wonder if those tunes might not be the most generally palatable of my repertoire. My friends tell me I'm awesome, but they might be biased a little.
brutal honesty, constructive criticism, even fawning admiration 
any of these are welcome.
Such topics as I'm curious about feedback:
What do you think of the pictures I've chosen?
Which of the tunes I have up do you think gives the best first impression?
so, if anyone wishes to pay me a visit
http://thewanderingharper.bandcamp.com
that would be awesome.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I've just finished listening to all your songs, and I want you to know that I think your music is stunning and beautiful.
I have always loved listening to the harp. Your playing did please me a lot. You obviously know your craft very well.
I like the pictures as well. They seemed to fit well with the songs.
As to the best first impression, I cannot say. I listened to Sea Serpent first, and thought it was really splendid.
I cannot imagine why anyone wouldn't make it beyond 10 seconds, unless they really don't like listening to the harp. That just strikes me as odd.
Well done!
Keep 'em coming, OK?
My response to your music was very similar to CaliforniaPeggy's. All of the pieces were peaceful and mysterious, and the photos worked, as well. If I had to pick one tune to lead off with, I might go with "Weeping Willow," but only by a hair. (I found its pauses towards the beginning to be especially intriguing.)
I don't know why anyone would listen to only 10 seconds! Very strange. What where they were expecting? A blues harp?
Terrific stuff!
Do you have anything that starts out with a little more energy? 
I like all three songs. They each have a different flavor to them, which is good.
but not recorded 
Those recordings are over a year old. I noticed the other day how much my skills have sharpened over the last year. Now I just need the wherewithal for a more representative recording session.
wondered if you had a mic pointing at each hand. That's how I record, and it sounds lots better than any other way I've positioned my twin mics, but the sound quality isn't nearly good as the sound quality is in your recordings.
My DU name is the result of wishful thinking and relates to this Photoshop picture of Karl Rove being frogmarched to the slammer.
And then Sea Serpent and, lastly, The Paper Fish. I enjoyed them all, but "The Paper Fish" seemed to have more stops and starts but I still enjoyed it. I like the picture of you with the harp, and think you could do that on all three.
Also, my real last name is Harper, so I am totally qualified! 
You are extremely talented and thank you for sharing that.
I may have more specific comments later. My main reason for this post is so I can find this thread later. Gotta go back to work now. (and I probably need something more like heavy metal to go with that!)
