What does freshly-cut grass smell like? (How To Write A Good Music Review)

Member Name: miriamb

Product:	How To Write A Good Music Review
Date:	28/07/02 (444 review reads)
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Advantages: It's worth...

Disadvantages: ...the extra effort

How to write a good music opinion. If only it were as easy as working step-by-step through instructions for flat-packed furniture (ok, bad example!), or like following a recipe from Delia. But, particularly with a music review, it’s much more of a personal experience and therefore can be much more difficult to write about. This advice specifically applies to album reviews, seeing as these are the most frequently written.

I should also point out that this is only *my* advice, it is not definitive and different styles of writing can and do get high ratings. But, more often than not, they do fit into the mold I've described.

Basically, if you go to the effort of writing an opinion, my guess is you actually want people to read it. If you want lots of people to read it, it’s going to have to last longer than the time it occupies the New Opinions list. Although it’s true that most reads do come from there, if it doesn’t get good rates first off, it’s pretty much definite that it won’t get a high number of reads once it drops out of the list.

So, first impressions count. Bearing that in mind, with any opinion it’s really important to make your review look good. Doesn’t have to be fancy, mind, but spelling and grammar should be correct. It should appear at first glance to be a quality opinion. So you will, I guarantee it, find it easier to write it first in Word or whichever text programme you’re used to, and then copy and paste it into the dooyoo text box on site, once you’ve read it through and tweaked it. I promise you, the extra effort will pay off in the ratings you get (even if you have to edit out the ??s grrrrr).

Appearances aside, what about the content?

First off it’s useful to try and give as much info about the artist or band as could be necessary. If for example, you’re writing about the Sugarcubes, it’s worth mentioni
ng that Bjork was the lead singer. If you know, it can also be helpful to inform the reader who the artist or group was inspired or influenced by – it helps to paint them in a bigger picture. There are plenty of sites of the net that can help here, I’ve listed some at the bottom for general music info that are tried and trusted.

Right. Well, if you’ve gone to the bother of writing about the album, you probably have strong feelings about it, but sadly it aint enough to just say “They’re really great and I love them and I recommend this CD to everyone in the whole wide world ever!!!” It may be obvious to you but that doesn’t mean it will be to us.

If you really Really love it with a passion then try to explain why. Is it the style (which? examples of similar artists? is it representative?) or maybe it’s several tracks that really make it (which ones and why?).

What’s the general feel of the album? Is it upbeat or downtempo? Does it feel cold and emotionless, or warm and cosy, or maybe even sensual and seductive? What images does it arouse in you? Try to convey to the reader where the album as whole, or individual tracks, take you and how you feel after listening them. Are they uplifting and make you smile, or maybe remind you of a lost love? It’s really difficult to do this, in my opinion anyway, but try to make the sounds tangible, a sensation that can be felt and appreciated by your reader.

On to the actual album – this is probably the easiest bit. When was it released? How does it compare to other releases by the same artist? Or maybe it’s similar to an album by another artist – if so mention it. Is it the first, second, third, or ninetieth release by the artist or group in question – the reader may be aware of something released previously, so a bit of info on that (if relevant) can be extremely helpful.

Next: the
content. How many tracks are there? Which have been released as singles and when? Did they do well in the main/indie/dance charts? Now’s the time to maybe mention key lyrics, your reader may have heard the song you’re trying to explain but not know its name. If you tell them that the chorus has the main lyrics “(Freedom) don’t wanna let you down/ (Freedom) I will not give you up” chances are they’ll recognise it instantly (as ‘Freedom’ by George Michael or Robbie Williams). And so is the way with lyric recognition. Similarly, if something significant is introduced in the song that can be described with a fair degree of accuracy, like a violin solo at the start, or a gospel choir in the chorus, or maybe it ends with a mass of static and feedback - all these sort of things make it identifiable for your reader.

Another point of reference could be the video for the single, if you’ve seen it. No worries if not, but if you have, chances are someone else has too, but may have missed who it was by or what it was called.

Concerning the content – personally I don’t think you need a track by track listing, but if that’s the way you want to play it – go for it. Just remember to try to keep your audience entertained, and I mean that as loosely as possible. It doesn’t have to be rolling out one side-splitter after another, but keep the interest… not sure how to do this myself to be honest, but the longer the opinion is, the harder it gets! It’s absolutely fine to just discuss the individual tracks that you see as the high/lowlights, with your reasoning as to why you picked them and a bit of a breakdown, like how they fit into the album as a whole.

It’s also massively helpful to someone who’s reading if they know what sort of music you think highly of. If, for example, you really like your guitar-led indie-pop and you rate the new Do
ves CD, it follows that if the reader likes guitar-led indie-pop too then chances are they’ll agree with you on the Doves. Likewise with any style. Because music is so difficult to explain in words, any background you can provide to your personal take on the product will be appreciated. Let us know why we should trust you - you don't have to list your musical credentials or your CD collection, but give us a few pointers.

I don’t think you definitely need to describe the packaging or the format, but sometimes these are interesting. If say, there’s a particularly notable illustration or photo on the cover, and you think it adds to the “experience” then go for it. Similarly, if the inlay notes have loads of useful and interesting information, mention them. These are the little things that can add to the completeness of an opinion, but don’t feel obliged to mention them if there’s very little to say.

Finally – purchasing information. If you’re writing about a red-hot limited edition import then make this clear, because what you’re reviewing may not be what’s readily available to the reader. Similarly, because the number of tracks sometimes differs from CD to vinyl, it’s a good idea to clarify which you have. You might also want to say how much it was and where you got it from, so the reader can tell whether this is standard chart or mid-price item or a more obscure (and therefore usually more expensive) purchase.


So in a nutshell, Miriam’s guide to writing a good music opinion:

 Make it look good at first glance. Check spelling, grammar and layout in Word and read it through several times before posting.
 Assume nothing. Music comes in all shapes and sizes, so provide as much info as you can as to what the reader can expect. Although the band or artist may rock your world, it’s possible that we have never
heard of them!
 Try to explain WHY you like/love/hate the album, detailing some tracks to prove your point. Tell us how it makes you feel.
 Which artists are similar or related? How good an example is this album of its genre?
 If at all possible, try to establish some points of reference (key lyrics or a notable video).
 Tell your audience what else you like. Which viewpoint, musically, do you come from?
 Make sure we know which format you’re reviewing, how easy it will be to get our hands on, and how much it’s likely to set us back.
 And finally - enjoy it! Thinking about and really concentrating the music you like helps you appreciate it even more… honest.



Sites you may find useful:
www.allmusic.com – for everything music
www.rollingstone.com – for biographies and discographies
www.amazon.co.uk }
www.amazon.com } – for checking availability, prices etc.
www.cdnow.com }


Oh and just in case you were wondering, you pedants you, any incorrect grammar contained herein was absolutely intentional :P

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