How To Write A Successful Music Review

You love music. You love writing. So, why not try writing a music review? Here’s how:

Listen and evaluate

“Before you decide to take up music review writing pick – or be assigned to – an album. You can check out other’s opinions on it. There is no harm in that if their opinions can’t sway you in their direction. Just go through them to get a clue at what you have in front of you.”, says Emma Stephen, a writer at Draftbeyond and Writinity.

Next, play the music. Play it as many times as you can, with breaks. If you have chores or long rides, take the album with you and play it in the car or on your phone.  This is a good way to develop an opinion.

Just imagine this – you play a song and you hate the sound immediately because you don’t like that type of music. But, what readers are looking for is an opinion of someone who might not like all music – that’s perfectly normal – but will at least take all kinds of music into consideration. You need to play the album at least five times to get a good grasp at the theme, the use of instruments, and so on.

Then you should evaluate – sometimes while you are listening, sometimes after. Make a journal and create a page for each song. You can rate your first opinion and make remarks on how your opinion is changing, what new things you are hearing and so on.  This will help you in writing your review as you will have all the details that you otherwise might forget in one place. Just remember to do your research and check if you spelled the names of authors, contributors, musical terms and songs correctly.

Be descriptive

Once you are done listening and evaluating, you should start writing. Take your journal and start. The worst mistake you can make is writing in strict musical terms – while it’s okay to include some. Describing a violin sound, for instance, in strict terms is not strong writing.

Violin has that unique, beautiful sound – you should describe your feelings about it. How did the music make you feel? What did you think when you were listening? Any memories? Associations? It all matters and you should put it in your writing.  Just make sure you are not making it too personal. As long as there’s some professionalism there, you are fine.

Write in an outstanding manner

One of the main things you should keep in mind is your grammar and spelling. Those can discredit your opinion like nothing else in this world – poor grammar and spelling looks unprofessional and ignorant. Pay attention to them during writing and always check thoroughly after.

Next, make sure that your sentences make sense after you finish writing. You should employ the best style practices you can in your writing. Use an active voice and express your thoughts and feelings in a unique matter.

Write in a persuasive way – if you like it, they should like it. If you hate it, they should too. Don’t forget to make a point as well.

Show no bias

“When you write reviews, you should never show any bias. Review the album as if you have never heard it even if it’s your favorite one. Bias is noticeable from a mile away and you should avoid it as much as possible.”, says Thomas Blankenship, a reviewer at Last Minute Writing and Researchpapersuk. For instance, never approach or write about an album with an “Oh, this is my favorite artist, everything he does is great!” attitude but with studious and dedicated reviewing of the music.

Be accessible

Your reviews need to be accessible as well. For one, this means that you need to format the review so it’s easily readable. Use headings, subheadings, bullet points and leave enough white space so that the reader can rest. Use album images to break up your text and add a visual effect. Videos and infographics are also a great option.

You should also be sure to use simple words. The review needs to be easy to understand even to someone without a college or high school education. It’s made for wider audiences and not just a select number of people, so avoid jargon as well. Make it so that everyone can easily get what you are trying to say. Be funny, entertaining and interesting – it’s music after all, a light, happy topic.

If you want to write music reviews that matter, you should always be honest and state your true and informed opinion based on several hearings of said music. Follow these tips and make your writing shine.