[MUSIC] Being able to give and receive feedback effectively, can be incredibly helpful. It can make you a better producer, it can make you a better artist, and frankly, it can just make you a better person. Let's start with giving feedback. When you give feedback to others, there's three things that can be super helpful. And that is to be specific, helpful, and kind. Be as specific as possible, the more general you are the harder it is for people to really understand what you have to say. Don't be afraid to say on the first verse I didn't like the bass sound but it's gotten way better in the second verse. The more specific you are, the more helpful you're actually being. And you should always endeavor to be helpful when you're giving feedback. That's really the whole idea of why you are giving feedback in the first place. It's not to show how much you know. But it's to be helpful to the person that you're giving the feedback to. And then be kind. The more kind you are as you're doing it, the easier it's going to be for somebody to really let it in. Now, the curriculum manager here at Berkeley Online, Leo Waldo, actually has this written on her white board in her office. And when I saw it I thought, man I've gotta include this, and this was from a professor of hers named Ron Burger, and it really made an impression on her, and I think it really made an impression on me too, and I think it will be really helpful for you. Let's talk about receiving feedback now. So when you receive feedback, I would encourage you to endeavor to be open, curious, and non-defensive. The more open you can be, just take a deep breath before you start receiving that feedback and just let it in. Just let in it so you can really understand what it is that people are saying. I would say to try to cultivate your curiosity. I'm actually really curious how my music affects other people. What emotional impact it has on them, whether or not they're understanding what the lyrics is, what the message is, what the story is. And then try to be as non-defensive as possible. Keep in mind your identity, your vision, and your intention as you receive that feedback. It might be a good idea, but it might not be a good idea necessarily for you. Whenever I'm working with an artist, we always have a conversation upfront. And I tell him look, you're the artist you have final say. We're not going to put anything on this record that you don't personally love. But what I ask for, is that if I have an idea that I'm really excited about and I think will really fit with your identity and your vision, is that you try it. And you don't just kind of try it, but you really try it. You try to make it work. And then we can listen to it, we can listen to it both ways or three or four ways and make a decision to what the best way is. A lot of times an idea won't be a perfect idea, but it may lead somewhere else. You may try something and that may make something else occur to you, and so two or three turns later you've come up with something really brilliant.