The Art of Giving Feedback

Hi everyone and welcome to this month’s blog post.  We artists are all thin-skinned, sensitive people, which is what helps us to be so creative.  The down-side to that is that we get offended easily and are not good at receiving criticism, so this month’s article is about tips on giving feedback.

Start with something positive. 
There is always something nice you can say about anything. Even if the piece of music that you are critiquing just isn’t your cup of tea, there is always something you can highlight in a positive manner.  If it’s a song, you could comment on the narrative in the lyrics.  If it’s instrumental, maybe you like the unusual chord progression, or combination of instruments.  If it’s a film score, maybe the sync points were skilfully met.  Make sure you lead with this, the goodwill will allow the recipient to be more open to suggestions.

In my last year of uni, we had to make a proposal presentation about our major project.  One of the lecturers was especially keen that people start with some positive feedback about the proposal, before making suggestions or asking questions.  She understood how artists feel about contrary opinions to a work they are creating and how it is better received when you begin on a positive note.

Be respectful
This should be a no-brainer; if you are blunt and abrasive, your comments will not be well-received.  Yet it happens all the time; the giver of feedback is not showing any empathy towards the other person.  Think about how you would like someone to give you feedback on one of your compositions and frame your responses accordingly.

Be tactful
This goes hand-in-hand with being respectful.  It always stings a little when someone thinks the composition you’ve put your heart and soul into isn’t necessarily a work of genius (but you know it is, why can’t they see it?! 😫), so again, think how you would like to be approached with suggestions when you are the one giving feedback.  

There is so much hate on the internet and social media, it’s mind-boggling.  Some people are hateful because they think it’s funny, or it’s their way of making themselves feel better.  Other people are just thoughtless and have given no thought to how their comments are received.  I heard a Triple J Hack podcast episode a few years ago, where one of the breakfast presenters was talking about how much online hate he got and how it was affecting his mental health.  A member of the public rang in and said she was one of those people who had left a negative comment.  She said she was sorry and felt bad that she had written it; she hadn’t given any thought to what it would be like to receive a comment like that.  So always keep in mind; ‘how would I feel if I received this feedback?’

In Australia, we have this bizarre ‘tall poppy syndrome’; where once you get really successful at something (and if it happens quickly) you can become the subject of online (and print media) hate (Tones and I  being the perfect example).  Again, I think that people forget that their target is an actual person with real feelings and they don’t stop to think what it would be like to be in their shoes.  So be kind and show some empathy.

Be patient

You may think that the piece of music you are critiquing has absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever (and that’s always a possibility!)  That’s ok!  You can’t please all of the people all of the time.  It’s also not necessary to share that little tidbit with the composer; you want to help build them up, not tear them down (see the above paragraph).  Each piece of music that they write is an opportunity to learn and improve.

Giving feedback is a skill and like every skill, requires some practice.  Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll join me next month when I talk about how to receive feedback.