Reviewing of Songs

In today's tracking scene, everyone who releases a song wants feedback. They want to know if you liked their song, or hated it. They also want to be treated fairly, and objectively. They want honest opinions that don't make them feel bad. They want to feel they've been reviewed by a fan of their variety of music. They want feedback that is meaningful to them, as well as others.

How you review a song reflects your musical tastes, as well as objectivity. How do you review a song and keep people happy? What should you look for in a Reviewing site? This article aims to show you.

This article will be divided into 2 main parts. One for the reviewer, and one for the artist being reviewed. It's goal is twofold. One - to point out to reviewers, and artists, the wants and needs of the other, and Two - To encourage more people to write constructive reviews for whatever site you wish. First, we will deal with the Artists.

Artists

Alright, so you've just finished your masterpiece, and you're looking for some feedback. But what kind? There are several types available. Here are some of the major types of reviews.

Competitive Review
This is typically, a ratings, or chart based review. these also occur in competitions. Your song is compared against several others, and in some way is plaed in order from best to worst. Pros are, that these are usually quick response feedback, provided there is a deadline set. Cons are, most competitive reviews offer very little feedback for improvement, and comments are often left to a forum for people to argue about.

Comment Review
These are typically found either in forums, or in comment blocks attached to songs. The comments are usually freestyle, offering a wide variety of feedback, from a 10 paragraph essay, to a short "You Suck!/You Rock!".

Scored Review
These Reviews are basically number systems. It can be as simple as a scale from 1-10, to an individualized scoring of each component of a song (ie: Instrumentation, Samples, Overall Feel/sound, Musical Complexity, technical complexity, Melody, and Harmony, could all be components of songs), on a scale from 1-10. Scores may or may not be aggregated and/or averaged into a final score.

Scored Comment Review
These are often the most typical kind of review, and consist of a scale from 1-10, along with a comment from the scorer as to why they voted that way. Comments vary from long detailed comments, to short, brief comments, as with the Comment Review.

So we know the major types of reviews. That's not all we need to look at... We need to look at the community in general. Do they suit your music? Should I ask my Hardcore Metal song to be reviewed at a site called "All Things DnB"? Not unless you're SERIOUSLY trying to redefine Hardcore Metal into something that fits into the "All Things DnB" listenership. You are more likely to get constructive criticism at a site called "MeTaLhEdZ", right?

Likewise, should I expect tons of feedback if all the songs are reviewed only on a simple scale from 1-10? Probably not... I might be able to get SOME info, or see if people like my song, but there's no way of knowing how to help myself become a better artist. Maybe all I want is to know how I fared against others...

Going back to the scale from 1-10... Are things weighted evenly? What's considered a good mark for a site? Some review sites see 5 as average, 7 as good, and 10 as great. Others might see 7 as average, 8 as good, 9 as great, and 10 as the MOTHER OF ALL SONGS. Getting graded on a scale is like going to school in many ways... The passing mark may be different from school to school.

Finally, as an artist, you need to ask, "What can I do to give back to this site?"... This might be as simple as using their forums and dicussing. Others might require your to write reviews. Some might just want you to submit your song and bugger off while it's judged... Pick a site that you feel comfortable helping out... Don't just leech, as this might drive the site to an early burial in that great trash heap in the sky.

Reviewers

So, you want to Review a song, eh? Want to test your writing skills? Want to voice your opinion on someone's hard work? Think you can do it without getting people angry? Think you can be objective? think you can tell someone exactly what is wrong with their music? Well, we'll just see about that. Your review reflects as much about your own musical tastes and personality as the music you are reviewing. Therefore, your attention to detail, and your sense of tact is very important not only to the artist you are reviewing, but to your own reputation as well. Here are some tips to guide you through this process.

Review music that you Respect
You don't need to like music to review it... You do need to respect it though. If you think Rap is the most offensive sound to your ears regardless of who made it, or what it actually sounds like, then don't review it. On the other hand if you don't like rap, but can see what people like about rap (Unique accent to the beat, interesting rhythmic devices, melodic hook, etc...) then you are qualified to write reviews for rap.

Don't be Offensive
Of course you MIGHT be able to write whatever you want for the most part... But several sites have posting guidelines. One of the hardest things to do is write a review for a song that you hate. However, you must remain objective. Never be offensive for the sake of being offensive. Telling someone "UR MuZik sux A$$" is not going to gain you any respect. It'll probalby get you booted from the site, and yourreview will be deleted.

Describe what you hear - Be specific
Most people want to know how you've listened to a song. Don't be afraid to compare. Even if it's to Commercial music. "The vocalist sounds like Amy Lee from Evanescence crossed with Barry White, with a touch of Cadaver, which matches well with the instrumentation. The guitar has excellent tone, but tends to interfere with the Bass at a few points (in pattern 1A for example)". This is a good comment. A bad one would be "The voice is Interesting. The instruments sound nice, but can sound bad at parts." Tell us what those parts are and why!

Give Meaningful Suggestions
again, this is the difference between a meaningful suggestion and poor ones. The good suggestion would be "Perhaps using a bit of compression on the guitar, or a lowpass filter on the bass would prevent this", whereas the bad suggestion would be "The song sounds Muddy. Fix it."

Know Your Scoring System
If you have a scale from 1-10, know what each number means. For instance, if you have a rubric (a list of descriptions for each number) then follow the rubric. For instance:

10: The song is the best I've ever heard
9: The song is exellent musically, but there is a minor glitch in sound quality
8: The song has 1 minor musical flaw, or a few minor technical glitches (unintended Hiss, Pop, etc)
7: The song has a major musical or technical flaw, or a several minor musical flaws.
and so on...

Of course, if your scoring system doesn't have a rubric, even as simple as "Excellent, Very Good, Good, Average and Bad", then you should explain WHY you scored the song the way you did. This will keep your review objective, and allow comparison to other reviews, despite the standards of others.

Be honest. Brutally so, if required
This is not contriadicting the "Never be offensive" rule. For instance, Brutally honest is "The cymbal sounds very tinny, and outdated. It didn't fit with the rest of the song and actually turned me off from the entire piece." The Offensive version would be "OMFG, That stupid cymbal sound almost made my EARS BLEED!!! It's sounds like Ghetto amiga quality. Who in their right mind would use that crap??!?!" Of course this is an exaggeration, but it shows the difference between brutal and offensive. And don't forget - People can smell Bullshit a mile away. "Oh yes, I LOVED that snare sample... I wish more people used samples like that."

Don't Be Sarcastic - EVER. Period. Full Stop.
The internet is not good for expressing sarcasm, for one. People might believe what you say, and actually value your opinion. Furthermore, it tends to crush people's spirits if you are sarcastic to them, and they find out later. "Oh yeah... THAT sample was just GREAT!!! TOOOOTALLY Blew me away! You MUST have spent HOURS on it!!!!" might actually get the response, "I did! I'm glad you liked it, I'm using it in my next song too". Which then has to be followed up with an "Uhh, I was being sarcastic...." Which is then followed by a person who is extremely hurt, because they spent hours on a sample they liked, and thought you liked as well, but didn't. You've lied to them now and have admittedit. They won't trust you or their site again. Sarcasm is NEVER constructive when criticizing someone's work.

As you can see, Reviewing is a task that artists take seriouslty. It's also something that the artist must subject themselves to, if they want feedback. As a result, it is the artist's respnsibility to find a site that will review them in a satisfactory manner, and it is the Reviewer's responsibility to give them that fair review they asked for. Even if it's a bad song. Doing it so that they thank you and attempt to improve their sound, should be the goal of every reviewer.