[Doodles]

A thought just occured to me...

Obviously this forum works great   - the ethos, the community, the mutual support etc - while a lot of others fall flat. However it is still limited primarily to songwriters reviewing each others work, without any people here reviewing as a typical listener would.

Could it be possible to link up with other creative forums based on a similar ethos? I.e. I will review your poem, painting, short story, comedy sketch, youtube vid, try out your i-phone ap, test your android game etc etc if you review my song(s). The idea came to me because I have had a go at creating a game in Excel, and shared on a game-creators forum. Loads of people are posting games, but nobody is trying/reviewing them  . I suggested their forum adopts an ethos similar to this site and the suggestion was well recieved  .  

Not only could this open the forum up to reviewers who are "pure listeners" and give forum members more exposure... it could also introduce us guys to some pretty cool stuff and people with other creative talents. The forums could also banner share etc and mutually grow members.

Just a thought...

[Helena4]

This is a good idea, because it gives you an idea of what the average consumer of your songs actually will notice and care about, definitely. Generally with popular music, it is often proven that what experts might think of it is irrelevant when compared to current public opinion (not that things cannot be liked both by experts and the public, just that if the experts do like it and the public don't then the experts are irrelevant and vica versa).

[Boydie]

I agree that this is a great idea DOODLES and will be part of the revamp

My "current thinking" can be found in post #13 on this thread:
http://www.songwriterforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=11156.0

There are a few "techy things" I need to iron out so I am still open to feedback and ideas

My overwhelming objective with any changes/enhancements to the forum is to NOT upset the current way things are, which is why I am taking my time 

[delb0y]

It's a great idea. No idea how it would work, but a great idea.

I love a bit of card-magic, me. I love the dexterity and the deception and the plots and the history and so on, and there was a time when I had a go. Round about then, I recall watching one of David Blaine's TV specials when he's wandering the streets of the world blowing people's minds with an impossible trick. People's reactions were just great. They were really freaked / happy / amazed /scared etc.

Yet the magic forums at the time were full of people (with incredible card manipulation skills, themselves) putting the then young David down because what he was actually using was a self-working trick that anyone could buy and use. It required, they said in their masses, no skill.

Except it did. It required the one skill that people who understood magical performance recommended more than any other - acting.

My point is, the general public lapped up this stuff, whilst those in the know, sniffed and said how it didn't require any skill and thus didn't count.

Not sure what I'm getting at, other than a viewpoint from non-songwriters (i.e. the general public) might be very interesting indeed.

[tina m]

The general public are just consumers arent they ...they just like things & dont like things..
 I dont think they know why they like one song  & not another ...they just do & im sure they couldnt tell you why
I also think they are a bit like spoilt children bcos of all the choice they have & if they did tell you why  it would be 'well that ones crap' or 'he cant sing'...i dont think that would be very helpful

as for other creative forums I will tell you a story:
some years ago me and a friend were in a band & wanted to make a band video but had no idea how so we joined a video editing forum ….the guys there were so sweet & so helpful & we thought we must join in the forum as you do here...so we startd to try to review peoples little films but bcos we knew nothing about film making all we could do was say 'ooh I like that one' & 'yes I realy liked this one' …..it was embarressing ...im sure it didnt help anyone there

so its a nice idea but ...

[delb0y]

all we could do was say 'ooh I like that one' & 'yes I realy liked this one' …..it was embarressing ...im sure it didnt help anyone there

That's me, in this forum! 

[Boydie]

The "Showcase" area would not be asking "non-songwriters" for critiques/review

I am not yet sure of the best way of doing it but "feedback" would be encouraged from listeners - whether it be in the forum or on a SoundCloud "showcase" playlist

[Skub]

If you have aspirations for your music and wish to sell to a commercial market,perhaps this is a good idea,but must be quantified from the perspective of the clueless person offering what is merely opinion.

Personally I have no interest in that aspect. If you take my wife as an example,she'll tell you within 20 seconds whether or no she likes a piece of music and that's it,set in stone. She will offer no relevant explanation,therefore her opinion is of no help.

[Boydie]

If you take my wife as an example,she'll tell you within 20 seconds whether or no she likes a piece of music and that's it,set in stone. She will offer no relevant explanation,therefore her opinion is of no help.

As a "review" I agree that this is not super helpful, but as feedback on a song I think this is as valuable as any other opinion with something as subjective as songs and "music"

[S.T.C]

I really don't know why there's a need for validation of your songs....for example....here's a snippet of a fictitious conversation with a non musical person .............'.i like that.it's a great song , yeah i would buy it.....don't know why ..i just would.'

I guess to some/many this would not suffice  ...it would for me...job done !

My guess is,even for those that could break it all down and give you an informed appraisal ,it would soon get tedious and in the end would stop.

Inviting other creative groups will just make it all more messy...because they will want you to explain to them how their watercolor,sculpture or whatever 'speaks to you' ......ain't no one got time for that.

What i see is, is a division between people who have no real idea what their doing and those that do,what ever their main skill set is , and i would like to see a 'pro' section , by invite only.....then you might attract a few outsiders with knowledge ,because they will be interacting with people that might even add to their musical spectrum.

Actually i'm thinking of setting something up ,not in any way competition for here...but it could be added in some way......?