A review is a short non-fiction text in which the author evaluates a work: for example, a film or a book. Previously, it was a genre for print publications, where recognised critics wrote. In our era, everyone writes reviews.
Why does a budding writer need this? First, they need it to hone their writing skills in writing a short journalistic form. Secondly, they can show expertise, promote their vision and draw readers’ attention to their own work.
In the article, we will look at how to write a music review, all stages from preparation to publication, give an example of a plan (structure) of the text, and tell you how to be inspired and who you can take as a model if you want to keep company with professional critics. Also, for writing a better music review, you need a sample, which you can order if you google “pay to write essay”. In this way, you will know what to include in it and how to review a music work correctly.
WHAT ARE REVIEWS?
- By genre. There are reviews of scientific works, and there are reviews of works of art. In the first case, experts analyze and give an objective assessment of the thesis, monograph, and dissertation. We will not touch them.
- By subgenre. Works of art are also different: these are TV shows, movies, books, music albums, and performances. The classification extends to the reviews themselves, so they talk about theatrical or film reviews as separate subgenres.
- By volume. Everything is clear here: texts are large and small. But usually, the volume is no more than 4000 characters – if the size is larger, it is correct to speak of a critical article.
- By the number of peer-reviewed works. The text can be devoted to one work (this is most often the case), but they are also written for several ones – for example, for a number of albums by one singer or even different ones, which the reviewer decided to compile into a single review.
- By reviewer. According to this criterion, consumer and expert reviews are distinguished; they differ in the quality of the assessment. In the first case, the author is a consumer who evaluates the work as a received product or service (like a review for a purchased smartphone or a visit to a barbershop). In the second case, the author is an expert who can demonstrate a detailed analysis.
In the reviewer typology, a third type is often distinguished – custom reviews. However, they can also be written at the consumer or expert level. In this article, we show you how to write a music review.
HOW TO WRITE A MUSIC REVIEW: TIPS & STEP-BY-STEP PLAN
It is important for the author to carefully consider the source material from the very beginning, prepare for writing the text and take care of its structure: it will take time to make the end result interesting.
Step 1: Getting Ready
Even before you start, you need to understand where the text will be published. If the reviewer already knows where and why they are going to write, this will determine:
- Text volume.
Is there a size limit? Instagram, for example, does not allow more than 2200 characters – you need to keep in mind that a review longer than the limit will either have to be shortened or cut into pieces and the latter placed in comments.
- Tone, style, language
What audience will read the text? How best to communicate with it – in professional terms, simpler? Will it be correct to operate with facts or show a more personal attitude? If the author wants to be heard, they should think about the readers and their expectations. For example, if the author is used to writing emotionally and with obscene vocabulary on a personal blog, this may be appropriate on a personal page, but a review is unlikely to be taken to an old-school literary magazine.
If the author is not familiar with the site (for example, they want to write a music review on Spotify, but they themselves are not a regular visitor), the site must first be studied: its formal rules, what is published there, and which reviews are the most popular.
Looking through a few dozen pages will be good practice: this way, it will be possible to study what approaches the authors are already using, what kind of audience is there, what is right for them, and what is unacceptable.
This does not mean that you should only write the way other commentators do. Rather, a preliminary analysis of the music work is reconnaissance in order to draw up a plan of the area, to study the unwritten rules that you can consciously follow or break.
Step 2. Studying the piece
Thoughtfully studying what the text will be devoted to is an obvious condition but a necessary one. Before you write a review of music work, you need to listen to it completely and carefully; if you listened to it a long time ago, it would be right to re-listen it. The album is worth listening to at least twice: once just as a listener, the second time – analyzing and noticing details that were previously missed.
Regardless of what you’re going to be reviewing, it’s a good idea to grab a notepad and note down every little thing that seems significant, every quotation that speaks. Here you can also write your own thoughts that arise in the process.
Step 3. Collecting material
There is no single correct answer to the question of how to write music reviews correctly – based primarily on personal emotions or dry facts. But knowledge of the subject is essential for a good reviewer, so it will be useful to study the background of the work. It means learning about its creator (or creators) and the circumstances of the creative process.
Step 4. Thinking over the structure
Before you start writing a music review, it is good to have a plan. There is a typical structure. It should not be used as a model but rather as a basis, which may change during writing:
- General description
The name of the work, the name of the main creators. While reviewing a music album, give the name of a label.
- Content retelling
Here you can describe the main theme of an album or song.
- Personal impressions and overall assessment
The transition to the central part of the plan – the author gives a general description of their opinion.
- Analysis
The reviewer illustrates the above with specific examples, analyzes the work, and argues their point of view.
- Description of advantages and disadvantages
Even if the review is exclusively positive or negative, it would be right to look at it from a different angle.
- Conclusions
You can summarize with recommendations: who may be interested in this work and what they need to know about it.
Step 5. Writing
So, it’s time to turn the drafts from the notebook, all the accumulated thoughts, and the collected texture into text. At first, you should write without editing, deviating from the plan. When you’re done, set the review aside; then come back, look with fresh eyes, and correct bad places.
Keep in mind that you can learn how to write reviews if you study, practice, and like what you write about.
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