Barri Tone...
I'm sure talent finds its way but often there are individuals who either luck out or give up before that talent gets discovered. Other times, they just lack the confidence or inclination to do anything with their talent.
I sometimes am perplexed why some individuals with a great talent of some description don't use it professionally but I CAN understand. After all, singing and song writing are my passions and the other things I could make a living out of if I chose just don't 'do it' for me.

harpoet...
Did you mean feedback on regular performances as Barri Tone has suggested or just in competitions? I have seen the feedback scenario at a couple of comps in my time and heard of it used in others. Personally, I find it a waste of time. Who ARE these folk to say what they do? Are they the gurus they are made out to be? I've heard complete rot spouted by these folk, just as I've heard Professors say the stupidest things on national television. The viewpoints in both cases are often skewed. Too often, the inexperienced or timid singer will take the judgements to heart even if it is complete rubbish. Barri Tone is right when he says most singers couldn't take it but that's only because they would actually think the judges' opinions mattered.
At this point, the only other forumer besides myself whose judgement I would trust is James.T.Orr. As an all rounder with eclectic tastes and real world experience, he is qualified to judge in my book. However, such people are few and far between unfortunately. Despite the myriad subjects in this world to keep our interest in life, most prefer shun expanding their horizons in favour of specialising - whether in music, psychology, business or the mating habits of Mongolian slugs. Why? I don't know.
Philosophy aside, in terms of entertainment value, fine, have some judges giving feedback, giving the illusion of professionalism at play. The point I'm making is there are so few 'experts' worth listening to that it really doesn't matter what most of them say unless you have something incredibly specific in mind such as learning how to join a particular band or get into a particular musical production or become accepted as a student at an exclusive school or gain the tutelage of a certain singing teacher. You may glean tips which can lead to important discoveries or realisations for yourself but more often than not, you'll just get hit with a lot of filler of little relevance.
It's fun to watch, listen to and ponder or discuss the feedback but for the singer, it can be confidence building or heart breaking if they attribute any value to the judges' comments which is my major beef with it. It doesn't affect me cos I've been around and seen what I need to to keep a clear head but for newbies or those lacking confidence or at the other end of the spectrum, the deluded, judges' feedback can be hurtful or falsely encouraging which again can lead to the singer being hurt if they crash and burn after trying to do something under the belief that they could given them by the judges' comments.
The closest thing approximating any use of judges' feedback I can think of now, is singers seeing why they got marked the way they did in a competition but most judges are so inconsistent that often it is difficult to see why some singers got chosen over others so again, I say, monumental waste of time. I suppose hearing the audience's responses to those judgements at the time in terms of cheers, boos or cricket chirping, pin dropping silence is useful too for the active minded singer.
If you want to improve, first and foremost, make sure you're in tune. Then test your limits as JTO encourages. Listen to all feedback whether positive or negative and take note of how much stock you put in the person providing that feedback before you take it to heart. Are they just being polite? Are they winding you up? Did you have to ASK for their feedback or was it unprompted? Being a good judge of character will help you out there. Dependent on how serious you are, record yourself and see what needs improving. Once you know that, you have something to work with when deciding if you need professional advice on further improvement.
There are a lot of self proclaimed experts in a lot of fields out there but how many of them would you trust? Use that same level of judgement when considering expert assistance in terms of your singing / performance skills. Just because they are singing teacher to some big name star, doesn't mean that student wouldn't have done well without them and there again, do you even LIKE that singer's voice? These are all things to consider.

(I hope you're taking note, puss in boots)

I use that same level of judgement of judges and their feedback in comps. There is no thought of 'It's just a karaoke comp,' unless I find the results questionable. As far as I'm concerned, these judges have a responsibility and I expect them to deliver just as I do my utmost to deliver whenever I happen to be in the judge's chair.
I should hate to be a judge giving feedback despite being adept at diplomacy for the 'not as good as the rest (to my ear)' singers. It's difficult to give similar feedback to several singers without sounding as if giving automated responses - especially if your fellow judge has beaten you to giving the exact feedback you were about to deliver. Plus, it would feel just a bit pretentious, I imagine. All the reams of commentary I provide here each week is my own point of view for people to accept or reject at their discretion. If elevated to a judge giving feedback, somehow, in people's minds, that would mean I somehow represent something other than that personal perspective and I shudder at the thought of that. Ew! LOL
Well, aren't you (un)lucky harpoet? ALL this typing tonight for you in particular! LOL
Submitted by Johnny Burrows on 05-10-2007

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