Hi again, Tom.
I think the answer to this is both yes and no. I think some people have the ability to be completely objective and take a song for the genre it is intended, however, most people do not have this ability. Most people are generally more familiar with their style of music and they've done enough writing and studying to be good critics for that genre, but they don't really have enough information about other genres to be fair.
There are some aspects of songs in just about any genre that can be critiqued whether or not the person is familiar with that genre, such as meter, rhyme pattern, topic, cliches, story, and form. Most songs should stay true to these elements throughout regardless of genre and anyone can help picking out weak spots. However, it is still tricky if a person if not very familiar with a genre. Alternative music, for example, likes to break a lot of these rules and that's considered okay, so knowing some basics about a genre is helpful in critiquing. It gets into a gray area. Some forms of music are more forgiving than others in regards to certain elements. In fact, in some genres, it's the breaking of the rules that makes it good and original. So a person critiquing should know this to truly be fair.
I recently posted a song on other sites that was in the Acoustic Rock genre. This song was a little different in it's form and that was the intended effect. I got several country critiques that suggested all kinds of changes. I couldn't believe these people were trying to turn an acoustic rock song into a country song, they just couldn't see outside their own genre. Bad critiques. I stated clearly the song was acoustic rock, that I was the artist (so I wasn't pitching it), and that it was non-commercial. People still critiqued it as if I was trying for a commercial country song....what's wrong with people?
So I guess as I sit here writing this I've come to the conclusion that for the most part the answer is "no"...people cannot give a fair critique outside their own genre. There are exceptions to this, but they are rare.
Hope this helps, Tom.
Gunstreet
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