Understand The Dream Is Over.... (How To Write A Good Music Review)

Member Name: jarvis_0

Product:	How To Write A Good Music Review
Date:	27/07/02 (231 review reads)
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Well, having written a few (well actually I think most of my opinions have been music) opinions on music, I decided that I would try my hand at writing an opinion on writing a good music opinion!! I know that some of my opinions in the music category in the past have been??well, let's say shambolic??but I think that I have gotten pretty good at writing about these band thingys!!
I have thought about what criteria I need for a music opinion, whether it is me who has written it, or someone else who has written it?..if an opinion has a certain something??whether I have read that certain fact, or that rumour in another opinion, if it is there, then I am definitely going to think higher of an opinion??..

Of course, when I read a music opinion, I like to read both fact and opinion.

A GOOD INTRODUCTION:
This paragraph is the one that is going to grab the readers attention, and determine whether they are going to keep reading, or just stop dead (well in most cases anyway). The introductory paragraph, can have any number of things to it. A bit of a past about the band/artist that you are writing about??.maybe a bit of an opinion about the band/artist??.but you don?t want to fill all of the first paragraph with this information?.otherwise you probably aren?t going to have much else to say later on!!
Of course you will probably want to use the introductory paragraph to write about what you are going to be??well writing about!! This will give people a bit to go on, and a little something to base their idea on what your view of the artist/band will be?.and that can be VERY helpful!! I mean, it would probably be a better idea to write a little bit about what your opinion is going to be about, nothing in particular (pretty much what I am doing now)?.but make it at least a little interesting, so that maybe you will get a little laugh from the readers of the opinion (this is something that I seem to be very untrained in, and poor at??I couldn?t wri
te a funny paragraph about one of my favourite bands, if you gave me a year???)

BACKGROUND INFO:
Ok, as long as you didn?t give the whole history of the band you are writing about, in the first paragraph, then it wouldn?t be a bad idea to give a little (well the whole thing condensed) history to a band??.and the line-up (past and present) would probably be a good idea as well.
In the history, I have found it is a good idea to give a few anecdotes about past happenings within a band/artists career, and a little about how said band (if you are actually writing about a band) got together. This will increase your possible rating greatly.

RELEASES:
This is something that I haven?t given much thought to in pretty much all of my opinions??unless they are about a band in general. I don?t really pay much attention to this factor in most of my opinions anyway. But if you add a full (well not REALLY full!) list of a band/artist?s releases, then you may just get a bit of a higher rating (wink wink, nudge nudge)??.
Of course, adding a little bit about favourite tracks from each albums, and tracks to check out, will once again help your cause!!

LIVE:
When I write an opinion about seeing a band live (when I finally get round to writing one!!), I would consider adding the following things:
*Did you meet the band before hand or after the gig? Were they friendly? Did you get to have a little bit of a conversation with them? Tell everyone about it!!
*What were the conditions like inside the gig-hall? Were the band far away from you? Was there a big gap between the front-row and the stage? Did you get REAL close to the band/artist?? Tell us more!!
*What songs did the band play? Did they play your favourite song? A set-list (if you can remember it) is a sure-fire winner!!
*What bands were supporting the headliners? Did they play a blinding set? What were your opinions of the bands??
*What did you think of the headliner
s (probably the band you were there to see)??did they play well??.what did they sound like?? Were they as good live, as you would have imagined or hoped??

ALBUM:
If you are writing about an album, then it is a DEFINITE good idea, to give a tracklisting??well it?s not the most important thing, but it sure does help!! It can help people to recognise those single tracks that they may have heard and liked, but not known what album the song came from.
But of course the biggest part of writing an opinion on an album, is YOUR verdict on the tracks. You don?t have to give your opinion on every single track on the album, but it would help! Otherwise you wouldn?t really be writing your opinion would you?? But like I said, if you don?t want to write about all of the tracks, it would be a good idea to at least write about a few of them. Maybe a few of the more well known tracks, and if you really want to get someone?s attention a few that are more obscure on the album?..

THE BAND/ARTIST IN GENERAL:
Another good point on writing an opinion is to give a little info about the members of the band or artist. Maybe giving some of there favourite things or some of their interesting facts??..you don?t have to give a full on biography of each single member (hell, you can if you want!!) but it would certainly entertain the reader.
(I know, I know, I don?t do this???well not very often)?

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST?..:
The last thing you want to write (apart from maybe an OUTRO) is your opinion in general on whatever band/artist/album/live performance you have written about. A bit like an overview??so that you can make it clear what you are trying to say, if you didn?t put it o well in the main part of the opinion?..

OUTRO:
And lastly?.the outro??.I don?t have much to say here???.maybe it?s because I have said all I have to say??maybe I should finish up here with a witty comment, or a funny joke??..or maybe I should finish up by say
ing???I hope this opinion may have helped you!!

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