Updating close reasons to fit the new format

Question

As another year of Music SE comes to a close, it brings an opportunity for us as a site to reflect and make the site better. One way we can do this is through a newish global SE improvement. The close reason interface was updated within the last year to add more community guidance from the user who posted it to the users reviewing the question to close/reopen. This is an example from meta SE we should use as a template.

For simplicity, here are the current close reasons and number:

1. Questions seeking recommendations for specific equipment are off-topic, because they are primarily opinion based. Instead, describe the required function and setting in which the equipment will be used, and ask what you should look for to achieve that.
2. Basic analysis questions, such as "What key is this song in?", are off-topic. Questions should be substantial and refer to a well-defined work or subsection, including a concrete reference (sheet music, etc.).
3. Questions about transcribing or finding a particular song, including identifying chords, notes, key and time signatures, or similar elements, are off-topic since they are rarely useful to future readers.

We should also use this opportunity to not only clean up usage and guidance, but also try to carve space for a fourth close reason based on trying to make the current off-topic/close reasons lineup as best we can. For example, close reason #3 is jam packed and will most likely split during this process.

To keep voting and discussion on an answer simple, please try to limit to one answer to one close reason. You can suggest as many as you want still. If you really wanted to, you could even do one subsection of one close reason per answer.

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It's been a bit so we're going to start acting on some of the answers here.

• Close reason 1 will be replaced by this answer with amends from this answer the week of January 31st 2022.

Answer 1

NOTE: This proposal assumes a new close reason, as opposed to adding it to the existing "opinion-based" close reason. See also the original proposal, below.

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Brief description:

Requests for critique or general improvement advice are off-topic.

Usage guidance:

This question asks for feedback regarding an individual's musical or technical ability or development. If the question relates to a specific interpretive or technical problem, please help the user clarify and focus the question. Note that questions about physical limitations are on topic, but only up to the point where they request medical advice or evaluation, which is off topic.

Post notice close description:

This question was closed because it asks for an evaluation of an individual's musical or technical ability or development. It is not currently accepting answers. If you have a question about an interpretative or technical issue arising in a specific piece of music, please revise. For an evaluation or recommendation regarding personal ability, please post in our chat room.

Post owner guidance:

Your question asks for an evaluation of an aspect of your musical skill or development. Such questions are generally answerable only by opinions and are best asked directly to a professional teacher. You may find helpful guidance by posting your question in the chat room. If your intention is to ask about a problem arising from a specific piece of music, please revise your question to clarify, including the title, composer, and measure numbers involved, as well as an image of the score if available.

Privileged user guidance:

Suggest the user ask for an evaluation or other guidance in the chat room. If the question regards a specific musical problem, see if it can be rewritten to focus on the measure(s) involved (please include the title and composer, plus an image if available).

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Original proposal

A brief proposal for a new — or maybe just more explicit — close reason:

Questions asking for evaluation of one's technical or musical ability or development should be made clearly off topic for the following reasons:

1. They are inherently outside SE's goal to maintain a "simple" Q&A format.
2. At best, they rely on links to video or audio content that can/will eventually go dead, and frequently include neither, making them difficult to interpret.
3. Answers are near inevitably either opinion based or lists or possible issues, but defy definitive answers (see #1).
4. The majority will all include the same answer: "find a teacher"

Arguably these are already off-topic, but I believe the language should be made explicit, either as a new close reason (my preference) or as a revision to an existing one (say, "opinion-based").

I believe, however, these questions have value for the asker, the answerers, and future searchers, so, as an alternative, I propose a concerted and routine effort to move them — or encourage their movement — to the chat room. This encouragement could also be part of the text for the close reason.

Initially, I'm offering this as a proposal to gauge interest, but, if there is support, I'll edit to match the format of other answers here, including any discussion comments.

Answer 2

This is a suggestion to update the first close reason:

Brief description:

Recommendations for specific hardware, software, apps, equipment models/brands, or the like are off-topic.

Usage guidance:

This question asks for a product recommendation of either hardware, software, app, equipment brands/models, etc. If the question relates to general usage of hardware, equipment, or software please help the user edit to make it more clear.

Post notice close description:

This question was closed because it is about recommending a specific hardware, software, apps, equipment models/brands or the like. It is not currently accepting answers. If you wish to ask for a specific software or hardware recommendation, that type of question is best asked on either our Software or Hardware Recommendations sites.

Post owner guidance:

Your question asks for a recommendation of a specific product which attracts spam and will eventually become obsolete. You may still be able to get some help in our chat room. If the question is not about getting a recommendation for a specific product, see if it can be rewritten in the manner stated here. Try describing the required function and setting in which the equipment will be used, and ask what you should look for to achieve that.

Privileged user guidance:

Suggest the user ask for the recommendation in our chat instead if that’s their goal. If the question is not about getting a recommendation for a specific product, see if it can be rewritten in the manner stated here.

Answer 3

This is a suggestion to split and update part of reason three more focused finding and identifying songs and external resources:

Brief description:

Finding or identifying songs, exercises, artist, instruments, off-site resources, or the like are off-topic.

Usage guidance:

This question asks to find or identify songs, exercises, artist, instruments, off-site resources, or something similar. If the question is not about finding or identifying the above, please help the user edit the question to make it more clear.

Post notice close description:

This question was closed because it asks to find or identify songs, exercises, artists, instruments, off-site resources, or something similar. It is not currently accepting answers. Please use our chat to get some help in this area.

Post owner guidance:

Your question asks to identify or find one of the items above that is most likely not very useful to others as written. You may still be able to get some help in our chat room. If the question can be made more general and less about finding or identifying one of the things listed in the close reason, you may be able to edit it to make it on topic or ask a new question.

Privileged user guidance:

Suggest the user ask in our chat instead if that’s their goal. If the question asker is more into learning about a general concept instead of finding or identifying one of the topics above, lead them to ask a new question or edit the question to be about that.

Answer 4

Seems like a good opportunity to improve the user experience, especially for new users. I like Dom's suggestions regarding specific equipment - I have a slightly different suggestion for the Post owner guidance wording:

Post owner guidance:

Your question appears to ask for a recommendation of a specific product. Questions asked in this way make it harder for answers to suggest different techniques or approaches for solving the problem, and can attract spam and answers which will become obsolete. If possible, try to re-write the question in terms of what you want to achieve, as described here. If you really do want a product recommendation, you may still be able to get some help in our chat room.

Answer 5

Could we squeeze in an "or other offsite resource" somewhere into either 1 or 3? I find I'm often using that kind of wording for 'where can I find a book/record/sample/synth voice/music lessons' etc.

Here are a couple of copy/pastes I already have at hand…

I’m voting to close this question because recommendations for off-site information or learning materials tend to be opinion-based & don't add any value to the stack exchange network.

questions seeking specific product or service recommendations, where the answer is likely to be either entirely personal or short-lived as a result of changing markets, are off topic here. Please rephrase your question to describe the problem you're trying to solve or what you do not understand that prevents you from determining the answer yourself.

I’m voting to close this question because questions about locating or naming a particular resource, sound, composition or instrument are often relevant only to the original asker & rarely useful to future readers. They are also an unsearchable resource.

Answer 6

The "identification" close reason should be updated to better reflect that it includes "What guitar model is this? <picture of said guitar>" are off topic.

This answer is currently a stub. Please feel welcome to edit to add specific wording.

Answer 7

The "transcription" close reason would benefit from a couple of tweaks:

1. "Technique" should be included in the list of possible identification topics.
2. Guidance should include something like "A recording or video should be supplementary to the question rather than a necessary element."

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Proposal

proposed changes are in italics

Brief description:

Questions about transcribing or finding a particular song, including identifying chords, notes, key and time signatures, techniques, or similar elements, are off-topic since they are rarely useful to future readers.

Usage guidance:

Questions about transcribing or finding a particular song, including identifying chords, notes, key and time signatures, or similar elements, are off-topic since they are rarely useful to future readers. Videos or recordings should be supplementary to, but not essential parts of, the question.

Other close-reason elements would be similarly updated.

Additional language that might be useful: Questions should not rely solely or primarily on the examination of videos or recordings.