Offer and Request – A Critique Primer

In my role as an executive director of an arts nonprofit, I experienced the concept of “offer and request” as a way for seminar participants to contribute ideas and services to others in a constructive and productive way.  In thinking about this common practice, I noticed that it provided a way for participants to feel comfortable communicating needs and suggestions for the good of the group. I came to use it in my cello teaching as a critique “primer” for students to offer their praise their fellow performers and also request something of the performer which might challenge them to enhance their performance in the future.

This practice benefits both the listener and the performer in the following ways:

• The Listener learns to distinguish the beautiful qualities of the playing, and also learns to articulate constructive criticism for the performer. This can eventually be applied to the listener’s own practice and performance;
• The Performer benefits from the listener’s constructive criticism while gaining positive feedback. Students who may have performance anxiety gain a comfort level and realize that there is always something to celebrate and something to improve.