MY SPIN ON THINGS. (How To Write A Good Music Review)

Member Name: PRINCESSPUSSYCAT

Product:	How To Write A Good Music Review
Date:	18/06/08 (589 review reads)
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--HOW TO WRITE A GOOD MUSIC REVIEW--

This 'How To' section of articles caught my eye on the database and as I have just written my fifth music review I feel well qualified to have a little say on the subject;) I do love a review with no research needed. -


Well I think this is going to read more along the lines of: 'How 'I' Like To Write a Music Review' and I am certainly no seasoned expert on the subject. Though I have been lucky enough to have received Crowns on all five of them. I have only actually just started writing about music although it is something that I have a real passion for. My musical taste is very diverse and I like genres such as: folk, Indie, heavy Rock, Power Pop, Classical music and just about everything else in between. But please, no jazz! (Sorry Paul! ;) Any writing is bound to be more intense when you are writing about something that you are passionate about.


So you need to harness all that enthusiastic energy and remember that the review that you are about to write about band or singer 'X', may not be known to the actual reader. So the first thing that needs to be done I feel, is to hone your knowledge of the Artist into a short, catchy opening paragraph to explain who the band/singer is; their style, influences, and a short history of previous or last releases, so that the reader, who may not know the first thing about the band learns a little more, before you begin the body of your review. It is also useful as you may want to draw comparisons between albums.-


I also like to include the line-up of the band with the respective instruments that they play. It just seems to complete the picture a little, before you launch into the album review. So the scene is set now and ready for you to go on to describe the album. Now everyone has a different writing style and also different ideas on how a review should be laid out. So I feel there is no right or wrong way of how to structure the review. It's up to personal choice really and what shape you want your review to be. The first time I wrote a music review I had the album playing and I just wrote down my observations on each track as it was playing, which turned out to be a bit messy. So I started again and played one track at a time and I took written notes which I then structured into a paragraph for each song that I listened to.


I know which tracks I want to write about after listening to the whole CD first. For one reason or another some tracks just seem to stand out for me as warranting a bit more of a mention than others. So after I have chosen about six which I feel are the ones I want to review, to give a good taster of the album, I set about describing each track. I don't personally like or believe in 'Track Listing'. That is a matter for personal choice though. You don't get a Track Listing in a professional music review such as: NME or Kerrang, it simply isn't necessary. But as I said, personal choice and some people prefer to have one. -


For the non musical person out there this can be quite a difficult task. There are certain terms and expressions that are used in music that only the experienced music reviewer will know. Terms that relate to the tempo, volume and mood of the music that can be very hard for the layman to describe. There are also terms for the sounds that the different musical instruments make, guitars, drums and keyboard, voice etc and each one has expressions that are used, that well describe the sound they are making. Drums crashing, guitar riffs, falsetto, etc and I don't know most of these and I think that this is something that you pick up as you go along.


If you're really keen you can always research musical terms or look at someone who specialises in music reviews on the site. See what descriptions they use. They write consistently and well and they also know what they are talking about and are a very good source of knowledge. These technical descriptive words and terms add to the useful value of a review for the consumer. It isn't enough to say I really like this band/artist, and their music is brilliant. This will mean something to you, but won't convey anything at all to the consumer. You have to elaborate as to why you think their music is brilliant, what makes it so and what sound the artist is producing. Also what mood is being conveyed through the music? Does it make you feel happy, sad, inspired or elated? All these things will help the consumer to make up their mind if the band/artist and album is one for them. -


Last but not least and one of the most important things I think is the title of your review. I always choose the title for any of my reviews last. Because I usually find that after writing about the product that a title springs out at me from my words. Sometimes though this does not happen and this is usually if the product isn't at all inspiring and then I will just use the product name, or in this case, the album title. But with so many title tracks, you could just choose the title of one of those, or play with the words of a track title. There are some great titles which make for a very arresting review header. Titles should be eye catching so that the reader will want to read on and your opening paragraph should reel them in. Make it strong or it won't get read at all.


Writing a music review is a bit technical but if you're passionate enough, and you picture your reader as someone who knows nothing about the band/artist and album you are about to describe, then your writing should make the artist and album shine through your words. Music is such a huge part of culture and everyday lives that writing about it I find is such a positive experience. I really enjoy writing a music review and find it a huge challenge after 'Products' and 'Films' and far more enjoyable.-




Thank you for reading
PRINCESSPUSSYCAT
2008*

Summary: My thoughts on 'How To' :)