Five points, whole numbers, and a reason behind every one.
MIDDERMUSIC scores the products it reviews on a five-point scale. This page covers our gear and product coverage: instruments, studio and stage equipment, and online lesson platforms.
Read on for what a score means, how we rank products against each other and when a score can change.
What a score out of 5 means
Scores are whole numbers from 1 to 5. No half points, no decimals.
A score sums up how well a product does its job for the buyer a review is written for, and the text around the score explains the reasoning behind it. The number is the headline; the review is the story.
Online lesson platforms: an overall rating out of 5
Our reviews of online lesson platforms give an overall rating out of 5. Our lesson guides judge each platform on four factors:
- Setup and ease of use: how easy it is to sign up, find lessons and use the app.
- Quality of lessons and teachers: how clear the instruction and the video are.
- Range of content: which styles and levels the platform covers, and how far it takes you.
- Useful features: multi-device access, feedback on your playing, and tools such as looping or slowing down video.
Gear guides: ranked by buyer
Gear is personal, so each gear guide ranks its picks and gives every product a “best for” label, such as best for beginners or best on a budget.
The ranking reflects how well each product fits the buyer the guide is written for. Where a gear guide or product card shows a score, it uses the same scale out of 5 as our lesson reviews.
Scores and commercial links
Some products in our reviews and guides carry affiliate links. Our affiliate disclosure explains how we earn money from those links.
Commissions and commercial relationships play no part in scores or rankings. A product earns its score on the criteria above, whether or not we have an affiliate link for it.
When a score changes
Products move on, and scores keep up. A score can change when a product changes, for example after a major update or a new pricing plan.
When we change a score, we update the review date and note what changed on the page. If we get a score wrong, we correct it and record the change in our corrections log.