Putting the ego aside : A case study of the peer-to-peer feedback dialogue among electronic popular music makers within higher education

Settings where students showcase their original songs to peers and teachers can seem advantageous and harmless. However, beneath this surface is a complex, multifaceted negotiation. In this article, I engage with the construction of this complexity. I interviewed eight Norwegian electronic popular music students at the university level on how they experienced the real-time peer group song assessment (PGSA) setting. Through semi-structured interviews, I seek to give a critical view on how PGSA works as a vehicle for learning. I discuss how the student’s experience of risk varies according to what the student is presenting and what the feedback focuses on. The interviews indicate that feedback that engages with elements that contain the highest degree of creative and personal investment is the hardest feedback to give and yet most desirable to receive. Appendix 1 offers suggestions for presenters, peers and teachers related to the PGSA setting.