WieWaldi In my opinion, the majority belong to the "anything goes" category. The other two are about the same number and thankfully there is nobody in the "No Comments Please!" section.

Thanks for the analysis! I seem to remember "General Comments Only" being a more popular choice on Pianoworld. Perhaps people feel more comfortable asking for critical comments from Pianotell members? That would be a good sign!

Sophia I really liked WieWaldi's suggestion of "supportive" because you can also be polite and say "I humbly suggest you find yourself another hobby since it seems you don't have what it takes to play piano." Which technically polite, that's not very supportive. Again, this has not happened and I don't think we should expect it, but... you know. Humans. So how about

When commenting, remember that ALL comments must be polite and supportive, even when etc

I like the suggestion.

WieWaldi I would consider to make the last policy like this:

All comments; anything goes! Strong honest feedback helps me.

I think it's a great idea for your personal recital submission, but maybe not such a good idea for the template. I don't think we can assume that all people choosing "All Comments; anything goes!" are doing so because "strong honest feedback helps [them]".

The revised template is:

You may use the template to specify the Comment Policy:

  • No Comments Please!
  • Please give me only positive comments, and no criticisms or suggestions for improvement.
  • Positive comments and suggestions for improvement, but no direct criticism.
  • All comments; anything goes!

And to help ensure that all commenters remember to be polite, Navindra adds the following text to the first post of each recital:

When commenting, remember that ALL comments must be polite and supportive, even when the performer has stated that any comments are allowed. If you need help making your criticisms polite, refer to <insert link to helpful document>. Thanks for helping to maintain a friendly environment!

Any thoughts, @navindra?

          rsl12 Please give me only positive comments, and no criticisms or suggestions for improvement.

          Can the second option be changed to
          Positive comments only, but no criticism or suggestions for improvement.

          That would make it better align with the way the other options are worded.

              rsl12 ShiroKuro

              This was the original text:

              You may use the ABF template to specify the Comment Policy:

              No Comments Please!
              Polite Comments only: no suggestions for improvement please.
              General Comments only: Polite, supportive, suggestions for improvement.
              Critical Comments: Anything goes!

              and this is the new proposal:

              You may use the template to specify the Comment Policy:

              No Comments Please!
              Positive comments only, but no criticism or suggestions for improvement.
              Positive comments and suggestions for improvement, but no direct criticism.
              All comments; anything goes!

              I don't mind edits and tweaks to help clarity (and I support that), but two of them read very similar now... although I understand the distinction when looking at the ABF version.

              --
              Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
              TIME

                    Jumping into the discussion with a suggestion to make the distinction clearer:

                    No Comments Please!
                    Positive comments only (no criticism or suggestions for improvement please)
                    Positive comments and suggestions for improvement (no direct criticism please)
                    All comments; anything goes!

                        rsl12 Also: I'm announcing Recital #4 on r/piano, to give them a month to prepare.

                        Hahahaha I would have started panicking now... but... it so happens that I managed to get a semi acceptable recording of my next recital piece today, as a farewell to Mr Alfred!

                            rsl12 Thanks everyone. I think it looks much, much better!

                            Actually it is the same as it was.
                            To be fair, we got rid of this General Comment.


                            Salute! General Comment!

                              Sophia Lucky you! My piece is coming together, but there are still trouble spots. Congratulations on finishing the book! Are you moving on to boogie-woogie finally? (I saw Christian had some video about it that I know you could handle.)

                                  rsl12 Congratulations on finishing the book! Are you moving on to boogie-woogie finally?

                                  Thanks! Actually, technically I haven't finished it yet. There is still a huge Bach piece (this one). But I never liked the piece and it's even more horrendous on piano than I anticipated, so...... I might cave and call it quits 😂

                                  Yes still moving towards my boogie woogie goal... but I realize I just need to go through all the steps in between, so I'm now following Christian's Easy Blues course (after I finished his Beginner's course).

                                  But I also want to continue with all the regular "stuff", so I'll probably go back to my John Thompson books and continue with those, in conjunction with learning blues. Because I was raised in the old skool thought of "only classical music is proper music" and I find it really hard to shake that - despite knowing better of course 😁

                                      I think it's a good idea to attack both classical and other genres! I do both as well, as you will hear in a month...

                                        rsl12 as you will hear in a month

                                        I can't wait!

                                          rsl12 Also: I'm announcing Recital #4 on r/piano, to give them a month to prepare.

                                          Oh gosh, I guess I should participate this time and play the Bach Italian Concerto! I will have to get out my "proper recorder" and it's a whole production to "properly record", honestly I dread the recording process more than anything else!

                                            I had sort of forgotten that the next recital is in May, which is now just around the corner! Well, I think I should aim for Hana Bi… we’ll see.

                                            @Sophia which version of the Toccato in Dm is that? Is it this one?

                                              ShiroKuro which version of the Toccato in Dm is that? Is it this one?

                                              That's the one, Shiro 🙂 Four pages of it, so give me one good reason why I shouldn't skip it 😃

                                                  Sophia Four pages of it, so give me one good reason why I shouldn't skip it 😃

                                                  😆 😆 😆

                                                  Joking aside, I think it's an awesome arrangement, and it looks very challenging, so I have no doubt it's a great thing to work on for pedagogical purposes.... But if you hate it.... 😅

                                                    Yeah, sigh. It definitely reminds me of the "spinach and brussels sprouts are good for you" days...
                                                    Apparently this is not an arrangement, the Alfred books says

                                                    Or do you mean it's adapted for piano, because originally it was written for organ? Either way, I'm not loving it. So now I face the difficult decision whether I want to be a Serious Pianist who Plays Bach:

                                                    Or have fun with more frivolous stuff...

                                                    Hmmm mmm m that's a tough one 😂

                                                      Sophia it sounds like it's an organ transcription for piano.

                                                      You can be both serious and fun! But if you're hating it, then maybe it's not for you (for the moment, at least) 🙂

                                                        Sophia If you listen to the video I posted and don't like how it sounds, then I would say it's ok to move on from this piece. If you listen to the video and think it sounds cool, then there's probably some benefit to sticking it out a bit more.

                                                        But I am firmly of the belief that life is too short to play (or study) music I dislike.

                                                        Or, if you like the piece well enough, but working on it feels like a slog, put it aside and plan to come back to it (but I think you actively dislike it, right?)

                                                          Good advice 😃 Yeah, I think I will put it aside for now. Then when I am a concert pianist, 50 years from now when I'm a centenarian, I will probably just play it straight from the sheet music 😃 Which means..... which MEANS........ I can post in the Alfred thread that I actually finished the book!!! Ooooh I can't believe it!