Inevitably, at some point or another in your songwriting career, you will be asked to give a critique of another songwriter's work. Here are a few guidelines you can follow to help make the process of critiquing a song go as smoothly as possible.

  Don't give a critique unless you're asked for it.  It's unprofessional to critique a song or offer suggestions on its re-writing unless you've been asked by the writer to do so. Even if you know exactly what's wrong with the song, the songwriter may have already had the song critiqued and demoed. Your "critique" would probably only frustrate the songwriter.

What are the writer's objectives? A songwriter's objectives can have a tremendous impact on how the song should be critiqued. A song written by a husband for his wife's birthday, or someone who writes strictly as a hobby need not be judged by the same commercial standards as a song written by a writer who wants to get it recorded by Tim McGraw. Also, potential songwriting artists have slightly more freedom in their writing style since they don't need to write songs other people will record - they'll record their own.

Listen to how the song makes you feel.  Your initial reaction to the song is probably the most important. If you concentrate on analyzing the song, you may lose the feel of it. Do you feel like dancing?  crying?   laughing?  Your songwriting instincts will guide you toward the proper critique. If you felt like turning the song off, maybe it took too long to get to the chorus.

Always acknowledge the positive first.  Before pointing out any flaws in the song, point out the song's strengths. Many people are so eager to offer advice on how to correct the song's shortcomings that they neglect to say anything good about the song. Immediately launching into what the songwriter could've done better places the writer on the defensive. It also makes it less likely that any advice you give will be listened to or well received.

Identify the central problem.  When you are ready to discuss potential weaknesses in the song be specific. It's important not to generalize, but to point toward specific problems the songwriter can address in rewriting. Avoid statements such as, "I didn't like the feel of the song" or "the chorus didn't work for me". Instead, try to use constructive criticism based on principles of solid songwriting craftsmanship - "I felt the song could use more contrast in the chorus", or "I felt like three verses before the first choruse may have been too many".

Be helpful rather than hurtful.  Choose your language carefully when critiquing a song. Criticism doesn't mean making the songwriter feel bad about themselves. A statement like, "your song isn't memorable enough" immediately puts the writer on the defensive. Instead, try to word criticism so that it clearly reflects this is your opinion. Again, try to be specific. Use statements such as, "I felt like there needed to be more repetition in the chorus" or "I wanted the melody to go higher in the chorus". When offering suggestions, use language such as "you might want to try another chord in place of the flat seven chord in the verse".

Hope to see you on the charts.

Danny