you make a very good point Jan, and I agree that some guideline would be useful.

One thing that makes it difficult to accurately critique music is that the people who are posting songs are all over the place on the musical learning curve. Just as it wouldn't be appropriate , helpful or encouraging to critique an essay written by a 6th grade student with the same severity as one might critique a university level submission, the criticism here should also take into consideration what level each person considers himself to be on, and other users should judge according to what a person at that level should know.

AFter all, the goal isn't to bash anyone's confidence, but rather to give helpful suggestions that might get the person to the next level of expertise. A little praise isn't a bad thing unless it is false praise that encourages people to retain bad habits

Perhaps a good starting point would be a group discussion in which we jointly decide on several different levels of expertise. Then we can come to an agreement about what skills should be expected at each level, and use that list as a basis for evaluating songs submitted by people of each group.

If people then post their songs accompanied by a self-detrmined "level" (novice, enthusiast, hobbyist, performer, engineer, to suggest a few. More ideas are welcome)
then the forum can compare the proficiency of the song to the expectations for that level.

For example, you wouldn't expect a hobbyist to have mastered the mixing process, but you'd expect him to have a reasonable song structure and to be on key

We could even have a scenario in which after a certain number of good reviews, the group promotes someone to the next level, after which they can no longer post songs to be judged at a lower level.

Thoughts?

Which levels of proficiency can we agree on? Let's brainstorm some ideas here.
And what are the expected proficiency levels for each stage of advancement?

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0