johncharles - being 'cocooned' and darling-you-were-wonderful isn't really the point. If I do screw up a song I want to know about it (although I think audience reactions will tell me first); when there are things I can learn from people I respect, I'm glad to learn them. It's a matter of what you say, how you say it, when you say it & even who you say it to (i.e. how well do you know the person). As I said above, "Nice song, what a shame you were out of tune" is not "sensitive, thoughtful, constructive criticism".