1. Meet in the classroom on the scheduled date and time. You must be present in order to participate in Peer Feedback.
2. Wait for the moderator to begin the session. The moderator is there to help direct the flow of the conversation and facilitate the session.
3. If you're playing a song for others, be sure to let them know if there's specific feedback you're looking for and what your goals are for the song (e.g., get it ready to demo, play it out a club, record it on your own CD).
4. When listening to a song, be sure to type "done" when you're done listening. That way everyone will know when everyone has finished listening to the song and are ready to discuss it.
5. When offering to comment on a song, remember to follow the etiquette guidelines below.

II. Feedback Etiquette: When Playing Songs For Each Other...

• Don't give an opinion unless you're asked for it and keep your comments on topic. For example, don't offer an opinion on the chorus music for the song if the writer only wants to know whether the second verse is confusing lyrically.
• Know the writer's objectives. It makes a difference in your approach whether the song is a song they would like to pitch for other artists, versus Film/TV versus a song that will go on their own independent CD project. It might just be a song they wrote for their spouse for their anniversary. Be sure to know the writer's objectives so you can offer the most appropriate suggestions.
• Listen to how the song makes you feel before trying to analyze it. Some songs break all the rules and still create an emotional impact. Sometimes that's more important than the adhering to every principles of good craftsmanship.
• Always acknowledge the positive first. We all like to hear what is working right about the song before hearing suggestions about what to change to make it better.
• Use principles of craft when offering suggestions. Rather than saying, "I thought the music could be better" try to ground your suggestions in principles of craft as in "I felt there could be more melodic contrast between the verse and chorus."
• Be helpful rather than hurtful. The whole point of getting feedback is not about how much smarter you are than someone else but to help your fellow songwriters make their songs the best they can be.