I second Kaflas comment. I've only been coming on here for a couple of weeks but in the review section there is so little in the way of real musical advice. I also see reviews that say something is brilliant, i listen to it and feel the song is fundamentally flawed and needs a compelte re write (I'm with tone on this).
Personal taste, musical ability (of reviewer and reviewee), age, aesthetic awareness, stylistic understanding, all determine how good/bad/useful a review is. But then, isn;t this the nature of a 'forum', where everyone gets a say? Personally I find the opinons on overall style the most useful, but that's because I am quite comfortable musically in being able to fix a song/piece of music that doesn't work. I suppose everyone has to take what they want from reviews and be prepared to get negative feedback by posting?
But this is all getting away from the original comment regarding production quality, and i stand by the arguement that this is a songwriting forum, not a studio production forum. (unless those styles of writing, such as dance, rely on production). I think the only time it should be called into question is if the poor quality masks the musical qualities.
When I teach songwriting we focus on lyrics, chords and melody. To me a song should be performable on a guitar/piano with a singer. The fundamental musical elements don't change when it is arranged/prduced. And if these elements aren't right in the first place, no amount of production will make a bad song good.
tone/dutchbeat
yes i run a forum as part of an educational project run across Worcestershire. Unfortunately it is limited to members involved in the project, as it does involve school kids. But you can visit the website:
www.musicandlyrics.org.ukThe songs on the site are first attempts from a couple of years back. Most of the songs are by under 16s and are collaborative between singers, lyricists and chord instrument players. They are not attempting to be original in terms of style, just to work as good songs.
Chris
www.chrislong.me.uk