Leticia Mooney

Leticia Mooney

Author. Consultant. Coach. Life Reader.

Music Journalism 101 j. Writing the feature article.

The previous three instalments took you through preparing for interviews , and conducting interviews by phone and by email . Having got your skills down in actually doing the interview, your work is only two-thirds done. Now it’s time to learn how to pull it together. This is where your writing skills are vital, and why I’ve always stated that the best music journos are writers first and fans last.

Writing anything always comes down to purpose and audience. Without a strong sense of purpose, your writing will wander; without a strong sense of audience, anything you write will fail to hit the mark with your readers.

To some extent, music journalists and critics have it fairly easy because they always write for a defined audience, and, usually, they have a defined purpose. The purpose will usually be explained to you when the interview is confirmed: it is usually to promote a new album, or to promote a new tour. Such interviews easily comprise 90% of a music journalist’s work.

The daunting thing is knowing that if you’re a metal music journalist, that vast numbers of metal fans are very much metal geeks, and will generally have some sort of criticism about your work. This is why doing your research is so vitally important, especially if you are not incredibly familiar with a band. Even if you are not a metal geek, you can still do amazing work provided that your research is tight and you set high standards for yourself.

Good writing skills, as I mentioned above, are vitally important. One of the ‘standard’ formats for interviews in metal journalism, which you see online and in print – one that annoys me – is the regular old Q&A style ‘write-up’. If I’m going to be perfectly honest, to me a Q&A is not a write-up at all – it’s cheating. Anybody who’s ever written anything for me knows how much I dislike them.

Of course, such a format does have its place; at the same time, however, they aren’t as interesting to read, and they don’t force the writer to think or to utilise all the information he or she gained during their research stage.

One of the benefits of writing a full-length feature is that it gives you the opportunity to show your readers the personality of the interviewee. This is conveyed through how you represent their speech, the comments you make along the way, and any surrounding context you can put into a feature. For instance, you might interview someone who is rushing around doing pre-tour tasks while talking to you on their mobile phone, or who was driving somewhere interesting on their way home from a studio or something; you can’t use that information if you’re just writing Q&As. But in a feature, you can highlight where your interviewee was amused, or annoyed; you can explain where they were, you can use small talk and pre-interview conversation as one of the means of providing an insight into the person whom you are interviewing.

Musicians, of whatever level of fame, are just people. The best features give you an insight into that person, but doing it well requires you to write clearly, concisely, and engagingly. This is why writers generally – whether they are writers of fiction or non-fiction – tend to produce outstanding work: good writers make people their study.

But first, onto the method for getting your interview material into a useful format.

To transcribe or not to transcribe: that is the question

If you’re just starting out, it is a good idea to fully transcribe the recording of your interview, if you did it by phone or face-to-face. Once you’ve got a transcription, you pretty much have a plan – if your questions were structured well enough – to guide you in how to structure your feature article. Emailers are easier in the sense that they completely cut out the transcription step of the work.

One of the benefits of transcription is that you can start to think about the best placement for your material. You also have the added benefit of being able to print off the transcription (if you work best in hardcopy for planning), in order to work out which parts of the interview you want to use as direct quotes, which as paraphrase, and which as additional commentary or contextual information. Being able to scribble on your transcription to make notes for such a purpose can be highly beneficial.

If you’ve been doing this sort of thing for a while, it is natural that you will begin to work directly from the recordings: you’ll have the experience behind you that will give you the ability to know instinctively which material works as supporting info, and which parts to use as quotation.

But – in the beginning – always transcribe. It takes longer, but the skills it provides you with are invaluable.

Remember you are writing a story

All features are a story, in the same way that a piece of fiction is a story: it features a character (your interviewee), engaged in a particular subject (your purpose, generally an album or tour), and you need to write it in an engaging way, filled with expression and quotation (and dialogue, too, if you feel it fits).

To some extent, the structure of your interview questions will dictate the structure of your story; once you’ve analysed your transcript, you’ll know how the story will flow best, and which parts of it will be most engaging if they are presented directly.

The notes that you made during your research will provide you with good background information, which is hopefully verified or fleshed out by your interviewee. Engaging with the readers, generally fans of a band, is important: therefore if something is common knowledge amongst fans you can point out that fans will know X or Y, and you can go on to explain it for others who may not be au fait with that information.

The pyramid mode of writing: top down

There is a type of writing mode, known well to those who studied communication or technical writing at uni, known as the ‘pyramid mode’. This mode of writing dictates that a summary of the most important information should always appear at the beginning of a piece of writing, with the remainder flowing on from it.

In some ways, it is well to remember this when writing feature articles. However, if you write for a publication or blog online, then generally this is dictated to you anyway, through the need for a title and a teaser, and then the body of the article afterwards.

In print, such a structure is not defined by others on your behalf. If you find yourself writing for print, it is well worth keeping in mind that a strong feature will generally include some type of ‘summary’ at the top. But always be careful when you write them. It is one thing to write an abstract of an article, and something entirely different to write an engaging introduction that summarises the who, what, where, and why of what you’re writing.

When you find yourself in this position, always go for the engaging introduction, rather than a bland summary or abstract of an article. Why? In the first instance, you want to draw your readers in rather than put them off; in the second instance, it’s easier to write than a clinical or abstruse manifestation of what you’ve otherwise done; in the third instance, writing an engaging introduction can be done at the start rather than at the end of what you write, provided, of course, that you revisit it when you finish the feature to make sure that it is a true reflection of what you’ve written.

Important things to remember

1. Paraphrase to create prose

The material that you have from your interviewee, which you are not using as direct quotes, is not wasted material. This is where your richest material will, in fact, come from: you can paraphrase it, change it around, and use the information you have gained from the interview as part of what you are writing. It is perfectly legitimate to do this, provided you don’t get it wrong. If you have done sufficient research ahead of time, then what you gain ought to verify what you already know.

2. One sentence between quotes does not a feature article make

Given that writing full features is an often arduous and difficult task, it becomes tempting at times (especially at busy times) to plonk in a series of quotes with some scant intervening material. This is not a feature article: it is a patchwork of quotes, held together by the thinnest of connective tissues. If you don’t have time to write the feature properly, negotiate with whoever you are writing for, for an extra day. Going the extra distance to knit together a powerful article is better for your career, and for your self-respect as a journalist, than is turning in something that is on time but sub-standard.

3. Your article should have a natural sense of rhythm and flow

You can tell if your article has been poorly put together if its constitutent parts do not flow on from each other seamlessly, and if you are not drawn to read on from one part to the next. If on a re-read you find yourself drawn inextricably from the beginning to the end, however, you will know that you’ve done a good job. Keep an eye on the rhythm of the piece and on how it segues from one part to the next, and if it jolts or is gappy, do whatever you can to fix it – the end result is worth it.

4. Restructuring quotes is acceptable

Sometimes when you transcribe your recording, you will find that parts of some answers to questions are follow-on comments from material or issues previously discussed. In this situation, if you want to use it as a direct quote, you are better off shuffling the material around and putting the same material together – and this is perfectly acceptable, provided you quote accurately.

5. Be careful of making assumptions

If you find that your interviewee is tired, speaks as though he or she is homesick (especially on tour), or there is something else that piques your interest, be very wary of writing it as though it is fact. You are better off, if you find yourself in this situation, to leave any comments like that out of your write-up. Instead, file it in the back of your mind as something to ask as an additional question the next time you find yourself in a similar situation, and get the information directly: you might be wrong about what you’re hearing otherwise. If you do write an assumption as fact, it is feasible that you’ll find yourself the brunt of a very pissed off musician who requests amendments or, worse, that the entire article be pulled – thereby displeasing your editor and/or your publisher. It’s happened to me once, and once is enough. You learn very quickly from such mistakes.

6. When it’s finished, put your article aside and go back to it to proof and re-read later

One of the most important things you can do when you’re writing features (or writing anything destined for publication, let’s be honest) is to set the finished product aside once it’s done. If you can, let it lie fallow for a minimum of 24 hours, and don’t think about it at all during that time. It is incredibly valuable to go back to it with fresh eyes after you’ve had a break from it, because you will pick up errors in spelling and grammar, places where the flow is broken or inconsistent, and areas that you know can be rephrased or tightened up. This will especially be the case with your introduction.

7. When you think the article’s finished, read it aloud

Yes, you need to read it aloud, and yes you will feel like a right tosser reading your work aloud to yourself . However, this will give you the final insight into flow, and into grammatical and punctuation errors. If, when you read your work aloud, you stumble, have to re-read parts, or it otherwise doesn’t ‘feel right’, you know that those areas are the ones that you need to go back and fix.

The next instalment of this course will be the final one, and it will take you through common spelling errors and other issues that are the bane of all editors’ existence.

If you have any questions, this is your final chance to ask them!

Please contact me and let me know if you have questions, if you are unclear on anything, or if you have any comments. These will all go into a final Q&A instalment of this course, which will be final post in Music Journalism 101.

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Published by Leticia

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how to write an article on music

Guide on How to Write a Music Essay: Topics and Examples

how to write an article on music

Let's Understand What is Music Essay

You know how some school assignments are fun to write by default, right? When students see them on the course syllabus, they feel less like a burden and more like a guaranteed pleasure. They are about our interests and hobbies and therefore feel innate and intuitive to write. They are easy to navigate, and interesting topic ideas just pop into your head without much trouble.

music

Music essays belong to the category of fun essay writing. What is music essay? Anything from in-depth analysis to personal thoughts put into words and then to paper can fall into a music essay category. An essay about music can cover a wide range of topics, including music history, theory, social impact, significance, and musical review. It can be an analytical essay about any music genre, musical instruments, or today's music industry.

Don't get us wrong, you will still need to do extensive research to connect your opinions to a broader context, and you can't step out of academic writing standards, but the essay writing process will be fun.

In this article, our custom essay writing service is going to guide you through every step of writing an excellent music essay. You can draw inspiration from the list of music essay topics that our team prepared, and later on, you will learn what an outstanding essay on music is by an example of a music review essay.

What are Some Music Topics to Write About

There are so many exciting music topics to write about. We would have trouble choosing one. You can write about various music genres, be it country music or classical music; you can research music therapy or how music production happens.

Okay, forgive us for getting carried away; music makes us enthusiastic. Below you will find a list of various music essay topics prepared from our thesis writing service . Choose one and write a memorable essay about everyone's favorite art form.

Music Argumentative Essay Topics

Music essays can be written about an infinite number of themes. You can even write about performance or media comparison.

Here is a list of music argumentative essay topics. These edge-cutting topics will challenge your readers and get you an easy A+.

  • Exploring the evolution of modern music styles of the 21st century
  • Is it ethical to own and play rare musical instruments?
  • Is music therapy an effective mental health treatment?
  • Exploring the Intersection of Technology and Creativity in electronic music
  • The Relevance of traditional music theory in modern music production
  • The Role of musical pieces in the Transmission of cultural identity
  • The value of historical analysis in understanding the significance of music in society
  • How does exposing listeners to different genres of music break down barriers
  • Exploring the cognitive effects of music on human brain development
  • The therapeutic potential of music in treating mental disorders

Why is Music Important Essay Topics

Do you know which essay thrills our team the most? The importance of music in life essay. We put our minds together and came up with a list of topics about why music is so central to human life. Start writing why is music important essay, and we guarantee you that you will be surprised by how much fun you had crafting it.  

  • Popular Music and its Role in shaping cultural trends
  • Music as a metaphorical language for expressing emotions and thoughts
  • How music changes and influences social and political movements
  • How the music of different countries translates their history to outsiders
  • The innate connection between music and human beings
  • How music helps us understand feelings we have never experienced
  • Does music affect our everyday life and the way we think?
  • Examining the cross-cultural significance of music in society
  • How rock music influenced 70's political ideologies
  • How rap music closes gaps between different racial groups in the US

Consider delegating your ' write my essay ' request to our expert writers for crafting a perfect paper on any music topic!

Why I Love Music Essay Topics

We want to know what is music to you, and the best way to tell us is to write a why I love music essay. Below you will find a list of music essay topics that will help you express your love for music.

  • I love how certain songs and artists evoke Memories and Emotions
  • I love the diversity of music genres and how different styles enrich my love for music
  • I love how music connects me with people of different backgrounds
  • How the music of Linkin Park helped me through life's toughest challenges
  • What does my love for popular music say about me?
  • How the unique sounds of string instruments fuel my love for music
  • How music provides a temporary Release from the stresses of daily life
  • How music motivates me to chase my dreams
  • How the raw energy of rock music gets me through my daily life
  • Why my favorite song is more than just music to me

Need a Music Essay ASAP?

Our expert team is quick to get you an A+ on all your assignments!

Music Therapy Essay Topics

One of the most interesting topics about music for an essay is music therapy. We are sure you have heard all the stories of how music cures not only mental but also physical pains. Below you can find a list of topics that will help you craft a compelling music therapy essay. And don't forget that you can always rely on our assistance for fulfilling your ' write my paper ' requests!

  • The effectiveness of music therapy in reducing stress and pain for cancer patients
  • Does pop music have the same effects on music therapy as classical music?
  • Exploring the benefits of music therapy with other genres beyond classical music
  • The potential of music therapy in aiding substance abuse treatment and recovery
  • The Role of music therapy in Addressing PTSD and Trauma in military veterans
  • The impact of music therapy on enhancing social interaction and emotional expression in individuals with developmental disabilities
  • The use of music therapy in managing chronic pain
  • Does musical therapy help depression?
  • Does music reduce anxiety levels?
  • Is music therapy better than traditional medicine?

History of Music Essay Topics

If you love analytical essays and prefer to see the bigger picture, you can always write a music description essay. Below you can find some of the most interesting topics for the history of music essay.

  • The Significance of natural instruments in music production and performance
  • Tracing the historical development of Western music theory
  • How electronic music traces its roots back to classical music
  • How the music industry evolved from sheet music to streaming services
  • How modern producers relate to classical composers
  • The Origins and Influence of Jazz Music
  • How folk music saved the Stories of unnamed heroes
  • Do we know what the music of ancient civilizations sounded like?
  • Where does your favorite bandstand in the line of music evolve?
  • The Influence of African American Music on modern pop culture

Benefits of Music Essay Topics

If you are someone who wonders what are some of the values that music brings to our daily life, you should write the benefits of music essay. The music essay titles below can inspire you to write a captivating essay:

  • How music can be used to promote cultural awareness and understanding
  • The benefits of music education in promoting creativity and innovation
  • The social benefits of participating in music groups
  • The Impact of Music on Memory and Learning
  • The cognitive benefits of music education in early childhood development
  • The effects of music on mood and behavior
  • How learning to play an instrument improves cognitive functions.
  • How music connects people distanced by thousands of miles
  • The benefits of listening to music while exercising
  • How music can express the feelings words fail to do so 

Music Analysis Essay Example

Reading other people's papers is a great way to scale yours. There are many music essay examples, but the one crafted by our expert writers stands out in every possible way. You can learn what a great thesis statement looks like, how to write an engaging introduction, and what comprehensive body paragraphs should look like. 

Click on the sample below to see the music analysis essay example. 

How to Write a Music Essay with Steps

Writing music essays is definitely not rocket science, so don't be afraid. It's just like writing any other paper, and a music essay outline looks like any other essay structure.

music steps

  • Start by choosing a music essay topic. You can use our list above to get inspired. Choose a topic about music that feels more relevant and less researched so you can add brand-new insights. As we discussed, your music essay can be just about anything; it can be a concert report or an analytical paper about the evolution of music.
  • Continue by researching the topic. Gather all the relevant materials and information for your essay on music and start taking notes. You can use these notes as building blocks for the paper. Be prepared; even for short essays, you may need to read books and long articles.
  • Once you have all the necessary information, the ideas in your head will start to take shape. The next step is to develop a thesis statement out of all the ideas you have in your head. A thesis statement is a must as it informs readers what the entire music essay is about. Don't be afraid to be bold in your statement; new outlooks are always appreciated.
  • Next, you'll need a music essay introduction. Here you introduce the readers to the context and background information about the research topic. It should be clear, brief, and engaging. You should set the tone of your essay from the very beginning. Don't forget the introduction is where the thesis statement goes.
  • One of the most important parts of essay writing is crafting a central body paragraph about music. This is where you elaborate on your thesis, make main points, and support them with the evidence you gathered beforehand. Remember, your music essay should be well structured and depict a clear picture of your ideas.
  • Next, you will need to come up with an ideal closing paragraph. Here you will need to once again revisit the main points in your music essay, restate them in a logical manner and give the readers your final thoughts.
  • Don't forget to proofread your college essay. Whether you write a long or short essay on music, there will be grammatical and factual errors. Revise and look through your writing with a critical mind. You may find that some parts need rewriting.

FAQs on Writing a Music Essay

Though music essay writing is not the hardest job on the planet, there are still some questions that often pop up. Now that you have a writing guide and a list of essay topics about music, it's time to address the remaining inquiries. Keep reading to find the answers to the frequently asked questions. 

Should Artists' Music be Used in Advertising?

This has to be one of the most interesting topics to write a music essay about. Opinions split around the subject of whether an artist's music should be used in advertising. Opposing opinions make this matter controversial and therefore turn your essay into an interesting reading.

On the one hand, people supporting the idea of a certain artist's music being used in ads think that this gives musicians an opportunity to open up doors to more success and fame. Unforgettable ads help artists become more recognizable and use the exposure to create more music.

On the other hand, some argue that ads put the integrity of an artist at risk. They think it almost reduces musicians' craft to a jingle and takes them out of the top league of masters.

You can use the controversy to your advantage and craft an outstanding 'Should artists music be used in advertising essay.'

What Type of Music is Best for Writing an Essay?

There is no one answer to this question, as every genre has its intricate details, and if you put your heart into it, you can make a hell of a music essay out of anything.

But a common theme that everyone loves to research and write essays about music is classical music. This genre transcends time and space and amazes every generation. Its mathematical excellence and compelling sound tells stories that reach the deepest parts of everyone's hearts. You can either write about classical music's influence on the modern music industry or turn your ideas into a music definition essay. 

Whatever theme you choose to write about, make sure to conduct extensive research and support your opinions with sound arguments.

Why Do People Love Music?

A lot of researchers wonder why humans love music so much. There are so many reasons behind this that it would be impossible to count all of them down.

Most importantly, music is a way to express emotions and heal. Humans need to let their inner feelings out and share them with other people. Music allows us to communicate love, frustration, pain, and all this other mixture of emotions easily. Sometimes words fail to capture what we truly feel, but the music never does. You can write a music therapy essay about this topic.

Music is also linked with cultural identity. It represents the nation's core values and what they stand for. It is a great way to introduce outsiders to different cultures and let them understand the characters of certain people.

Last but not least, music is a source of entertainment. Humans love to sing and dance and communicate with others around them in this manner. You can make your essay writing music process so much more fun if you choose this theme.

Key Takeaways

Music essays are a pleasure to write and read. There are so many topics and themes to choose from, and if you follow our How to Write a Music Essay guide, you are guaranteed to craft a top-notch essay every time.

Be bold when selecting a subject even when unsure what is research essay topic on music, take the writing process easy, follow the academic standards, and you are good to go. Use our music essay sample to challenge yourself and write a professional paper. 

If you feel stuck and have no time our team of expert writers is always ready to give you help from all subject ( medical school personal statement school help ). Visit our website, submit your ' write my research paper ' request and a guaranteed A+ essay will be on your way in just one click.

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How To Write A Music Review: An Ultimate Guide

Everyone loves music. Whether you’re a fan of hip hop or country, classical or rock-n-roll, music is the soundtrack of our lives. But not all music is created equal. Some of it hits us harder than others. Some can take us to the heights of emotion, and some lulls us to sleep in an elevator. Whatever type of music you listen to, chances are that you’d like to know what’s good or what’s bad before you waste your time downloading a new album or purchasing a vinyl collector’s edition. That’s where music reviews come in. A music review will tell you what a critic thought of a piece of music so you can make an informed decision about whether you will enjoy that music. However, writing a music review isn’t as simple as saying whether you liked it. Instead, you need to offer specific and clear reasons for your reaction. In this article, we’ll take a look at the steps to writing a music review.

Define Fundamentals

First, however, we need to say a word about the role of music reviews in today’s streaming environment. In years past, most listeners would learn about new bands and new music from reviews, whether written in music magazines or delivered orally by friends or influencers. However, today, listeners are more likely to encounter new music as part of the automatic recommendations and tailored playlists delivered by music streaming services like Spotify. As a result, the role of the music review is less about exposing readers to new music and is now more about ratifying opinions about which albums are important, essential, or must-listens. 

It is important not to get too personal when writing about music. Reviews are normally not about your likes and dislikes, they are more about analysis. In some cases, you can add some personal touch, but in most, it is better to avoid it. You should show an understanding of music in general, not your taste.

Delegate If You Don’t Have Time

One of the most important areas for music reviews is actually in academic writing, where instructors assign music reviews in a variety of courses to help students think about understanding a variety of musical genres and their connection to subjects outside and beyond music. However, most students are not professional music critics and don’t always know how to write an effective music review. Reputable academic writing services like Write My Paper Hub can help students to do their essays and papers. These online services allow students to pay experts for the academic writing they need. Is it a good idea for an essay about music or a music review? It all depends on how you feel about the assignment and how much time you have. If the deadline is too close, and you know that it is difficult for you to concentrate on such a broad topic rather fast — it is better to delegate it. If you are not a big fan of music in general, you may like some songs, but you don’t understand fundamentals — again, it is better to delegate. If you feel like it can be nice to dig into this topic and get more information, express your option — write a review yourself.

Write a Music in Six Steps

If you are going to write your own music review, either for a class or for publication, you need to follow a few simple rules to make sure you give your audience the best music review experience. 

  • Listen to the music. This might seem obvious, but the first step in any music review is to listen to the music you plan to review. Ideally, you will listen to the album at least twice so you can form an initial impression and also consider how it hits you on a repeat listen, when some of the novelty has worn off. Keep track of your feelings and write notes about your reactions as you listen through the album. 
  • Research the album and the artist. When you have formed your own view and opinion, begin researching the album and the artist. Find out the background and the inspiration for the music, as well as any unusual songwriting or technical production information that might cast light on the purpose of the album so you can judge how well the album achieved the artist’s goals.
  • Compare the music to its broader context. Where does the album fit in the broader context of its genre, or in the history of music? Is there something new and innovative? Does it carry on time-honored traditions? Such questions can help to evaluate the overall importance and meaning of the album under review.
  • Consider your own biases. We all have particular music or artists we like or don’t like, but just because we don’t like someone doesn’t mean the quality of their music is bad, nor does our favorite artist always produce top-shelf material. As you work on your review, consider your perspective and preferences and try to adjust for them so you can provide an objective analysis of whether the album is good or bad.
  • Always be honest. It can be tempting to follow the crowd and write what you think they want to hear. But if you love an album that other critics don’t like, or hate one they do, your readers will rather know your honest opinion than a fake opinion you think will gather the most likes on social media. Audiences can recognize when a writer isn’t shooting straight, and they are less likely to keep reading if they don’t trust you are being square with them.
  • Follow good writing practices. It goes without saying that it’s important to follow good writing practices, including clarity and conciseness. Be sure to revise and edit your work carefully to make sure it is readable and easily understood by your target audience.

While it is not a good idea to let someone write your music for you, it is a good idea to delegate writing about it when you are not exactly in the mood. However, if you are, just follow the tips above and be ready in a matter of hours to write a music review from scratch. 

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3 responses.

This article was very informative because I train A&Rs how to write reviews but sometimes they can get stuck on their personal opinions and not looking at it the music project is in demand commercially.

Yvonne, I understand the commercial part of the industry. But there has to be a divider. If you’re commercial, be that. If you’re an artist, it changes everything. Some people don’t know how to tell the two apart, I on the other hand do. Not bragging, just the truth.

I like your article and as a musician myself, I like to start a music review platform.

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How To Write About Music: A Step-By-Step Guide

writing about music

Music speaks to something deep inside us and has the power to influence our mood, thoughts, and actions. It can bring us back to a time or place. It can remind us of people we love or things we enjoy doing.

Music is a powerful form of expression that has helped people express their pain, sorrow, pleasure, and hope. And music writing is equally powerful. This is similar to writing essay, but here you can ask help editius.com , and music should be written from the heart. As an aspiring writer, you want your writing to have the same impact on its readers as music does for listeners. But how do you write about music?

Here are some steps for how you can write about music that will both teach you how to do it well and make your writing sound like a piece of music!

#1. Select The Title of Your Song

You can get an idea for the title of your song from anything that is around you. Once you have a good idea of what you want your title to be, you can tweak it over and over again till you come to the perfect title to produce a song with meaning.

#2. Write Down Melody

All songs have that part that remains transfixed in the listener’s mind. This is referred to as a hook. This tune can either be in the chorus, or a singing melody, or a brief instrumental part. For the hook to be recollected by the people listening to the song, it should be brief (ideally 2-3 to four bars in duration).

Before writing your hook, listen to some popular songs and get to know how the hooks worked very well. Then put your instrument, i.e. your voice, to jot down a hook.

#3. Select the Melody Framework

What follows after penning down your melody is the melody framework. This is also known as the tuned plan. The most common framework of any song is the intro, stanza, and chorus line. You can also include a bridge.

The bridge should be a brief harmonious catchphrase and it should have the song title. The chorus line comes in between the stanza and the refrain. You can also incorporate a musical instrument part. This can follow the chorus.

Since songs have different parts, you may want to play them repeatedly for you to get the right framework. This is what will eventually turn it into a beautiful rhythm because the sections will have a nice flow.

Check the duration of each division, and how one stanza fits in with the following stanza. There is no laid out rule on how you should arrange your stanza. You might for example start the tune with a refrain, or even a stanza. Do what works best for the tune.

#4. Write Down the Stanzas

The third step after writing the title, the hook, and the refrain is to write down the stanzas. You can choose to let your song narrate a story, or it can be equally unplanned.

Whichever route you choose to take, be keen on the audio and the lyrics. Pay attention to how the lyrics flow with the tune. As a songwriter, there are key things you need to be keen on, i.e. the rhythm, stress, and intonation of audio.

#5. Write Down a Bridge (optional)

When you want to link two parts (a verse and a chorus) of a song, you can use a bridge. It breaks the monotony of repetition from the other parts. Another way of thinking about it is, a bridge is a transitional part.

The bridge can be anything from controlling the keys differently or slightly changing the variation on what was there earlier. You can change the stanzas, tune, tempo, or harmony.

The purpose of adding this transition, or changing the keys, is to include attention and diversity. You could do these variations by adding half a step or a whole step, thereby increasing suspense and enjoyment in the tune.

You could choose the option where the bass and drums go silent (breakdown effect), or another musical instrument left out. This causes tension and curiosity, specifically if the musical instruments are played again. You can add them back one by one or together.

#6. Write Down The Lines

When composing a song, the most vital part of this process is writing the lines. If you have been doing this for some time, get to the next step of writing the lines to match the tune.

We talked about the rhythmic pattern earlier, which can impact the implication of the lyric and how the listeners will decode. Listen to songs you love and see how the words and tune fit in together to form the song.

You can either choose to write your lyrics or pay someone to write your paper as you concentrate on the harmony. Since there is no rule in writing music, the lines can be written beforehand or after the tune. Or you can write them simultaneously, or focus on one section and then move to the next section.

The main aim of writing the songs whether you choose to pay someone to write for you , or you do it yourself, is to ensure that it is seamless, and the mixture articulates the meaning of the song, it conveys the appropriate feelings, and it also drives and moves not only you but also your listeners.

When you are coming up with the tempo, ensure that the lyrics are fitting comfortably. Test this out by saying the words at a similar pace as it will be intonated.

#7. Demo Recording

When you are ready to record your song, you do not need to go to a studio to do the recording. There is some software you can use to produce a sound record that is professionally done. This can be saved to your computer. At this point, you are ready to get feedback from other people after they have listened.

If you don’t have any skill in playing a musical instrument, you will want to get someone to play the instruments for you when recording. It is also possible to lease the recording studio, but it will be more expensive.

After listening to the song, you may decide to add more instruments or remove some. The objective here is to make it enjoyable for the audience, and this can be achieved by combining different instruments.

#8. Listen and Tweak

The final step in writing music is listening to it over and over again. Get to know what fits and what doesn’t fit and correct it. Take a break of like a day or two and then listen again to see if it flows because fresh ears can listen differently. You can also learn a lot by reading books about songwriting. Different composers advise on how to write music successfully.

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How to Write about Music: An Ultimate Guide

How to Write about Music: An Ultimate Guide

You are a big fan of music and can't imagine even a single day without it. You read all the music magazines and follow all the news in the industry. You know the release dates of all albums and singles of your favorite music bands and artists. But how can you fight the writer's block and write up a really catchy music review fast? 

Follow these 8 simple yet effective steps and you'll see how easy it can be. Here's how you come up with a winning music review that your readers will crave to read. 

Spark Your Creativity with Different Genres of Music 

Creativity is one of the key elements of authentic voice and catchy writing style. Don't limit yourself to only your favorite genres of music. It can be a really great idea to listen to music in genres that you usually don't listen to. For example, if you're a big fan of Lil Wayne, Cardi B, Migos, and Jay Z, why not spice up your music diet with Beethoven, Mozart, Shopen or Motorcycle, ATB, etc.? 

If you're an avid aficionado of Scorpions, Metallica, and Led Zeppelin, give Ferry Corsten, Tiesto, DeadMau5 a shot and see what will happen. We bet your creativity will boost like crazy and you'll get a couple of insights.  

Have a Pad or a Document at Hand to Write Down All Your Ideas 

The writing process can be broken down into 3 stages: ideation, writing, editing. While brainstorming can work well for the majority of people we challenge you to try this hack as well. Once you listen to the music that you need to write about you have a flow of images and thoughts in your mind. Why not write down all the ideas and images that are evoked by music right away? 

For this, keep a pad or a document at hand. And write, write, write. Don't think just write your rough ideas down. 

Keep Reading about Music and Following the Trends in the Music Industry 

Of course, for writing a meaningful music review, you should be aware of what's happening in the music industry. Keep an eye on the latest buzz and trends following our blog. We always bring to you the juiciest podcasts, interviews, blog articles,  news, tour journals, premieres, contests, etc. 

Listen to Live Music Whenever It's Possible 

It's always amazing to listen to live music visiting concerts and live performances of bands and musicians. You can dive deep into a great atmosphere of music magic and it can start painting vivid images into your imagination. 

Due to the pandemic, it's not that easy to do now. However, you can connect to live steaming while musicians are doing live performances, which can be even more affordable. It can also be exciting and useful for writing a better music review. 

Kill All the Distractions and Write up a Draft of Your Music Review

Once you have your creative juices flowing it's high time to start writing the first draft of your music review. 

Like essays, writing a decent review requires focus and time. That's why to come up with a good quality review fast, a cheap custom writing service e.g. AffordablePapers with a huge experience in writing academic essays of all kinds highly recommends you should kill all the distractions before you get down to writing.   

Make sure you have everything you need for writing at hand. And get rid of all the things that may distract you. Switch off your phone. Close all the tabs with social media networks. You may even turn off the music for the sake of the experiment. Set the timer. Focus on writing and write. 

Once you finish, check the time and compare the time with the typical amount of time that you need for writing the same piece. 

Spice up Your Music Review with Metaphors and Stylistic Figures 

Your music review should be more like a story if you want it to be really engaging. Every good story contains metaphors and stylistic figures. Consider them adding to your music review as well. It will spice it up and make it more attractive for the readers. 

On the other hand, avoid slang and plain phrases in your music review paper as they can spoil an overall impression. 

Be Honest in Your Music Review 

Another key point for writing up a decent music review is sharing your real feelings and thoughts on this or that piece of music. Make sure you highlight both positive and negative aspects. 

Tell your readers what you like about this piece of music and why. Layout your arguments. Then tell them what you don't like and give arguments why you don't like something. Don't sugarcoat it. Tell the truth. It will help you win the hearts of your readers. 

Check the Samples of Winning Music Reviews 

What a winning music review should look like? Have a look through at least 3-5 good music reviews that catch your attention and make you want to read them. Analyze them. What do they have in common? What can you use in your own music review? What is the structure? How do the authors convey their ideas? How do they support their ideas? What about metaphors? 

Be Open to Critique 

Now, you finish the draft of your music review. What's next? It's time to polish it. Read it aloud. Does it sound ok? Give your music review to your friends and ask them for a critique. Don't get offended if they say something unpleasant about your music review. Accept their critique, take their recommendations into account, and make your music review even better based on them. 

Writing up a winning music review is a time-consuming and challenging process. However, if you follow these steps, you may save a lot of time and have fun while writing it up.  

Hopefully, these unconventional tips will help you spark your creativity and become a better music review writer in no time. 

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My Top Strategies for Growing a Successful Music Blog

By Matt Campbell

Matt Campbell

Do you have a passion for music? Want to share your music knowledge with the masses? Based on my experience in creating and running a music blog, My Wedding Songs, I’ve learned a few things along the way about what it takes to become a taste-maker in a niche music category. In helping couples plan their wedding day playlist to helping DJs expand their repertoire, I’ve discovered a few best practices to create a successful music blog and online business. Here is some advice to get you started in the right direction for success.

Select a Music Micro Niche

When selecting your music category, you want to try to be a big fish in a small pond. For example, if you want to be a blog about hip-hop, rock or country music, there are already authoritative websites that exist that you would complete against. Trying to take readership from them is an uphill battle.

However, the more you can niche down, the more likelihood of success. As the saying goes, “a jack of all trades is a master of none.” If you are in the hip-hop category, consider breaking it down into a more specific category like Christian rap, trap or crunk. When reviewing the country genre, many of the subgenres may still be too big to target, like bluegrass. Consider niching down even further to include subgenres like Red Dirt or bro-country. A few subgenres in the rock industry you might explore include emo, post-rock and pop-punk.

Take the time to do your research. Choose a music genre that gets you out of bed every morning and that you can see yourself writing thousands of articles on over time.

Start a Newsletter on Day One

When you own a website, unless you sell a physical product, the best way to capture your audience and turn them into raving fans is to add them to your newsletter. Make the newsletter of great value to your readers. Whether you send emails daily, weekly or monthly, the content must contain information they look forward to getting.

Another great way to capture your audience’s information is to offer a lead magnet. This could be a planner, printable or calculator. Here are a few examples of popular lead magnets .

Editor’s picks

The 250 greatest guitarists of all time, the 500 greatest albums of all time, the 50 worst decisions in movie history, every awful thing trump has promised to do in a second term, publish consistently.

Your readers want to trust you and know that you will be there for them when you say you will be. Stick to your publishing dates. Whether you publish multiple times a day, daily or weekly, always keep your schedule. You can always post more frequently, but never decrease. This will keep Google crawlers and readers coming back to your website too.

Write Evergreen Content

Evergreen content stays relevant over a long period of time. Updating content periodically will also have readers coming back to your website for the latest developments. Examples of this kind of content include music charts, music artists’ bios and the greatest artists in your genre. Don’t just rely on the latest news.

The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?

Know Your Numbers

KPIs, key performance indicators, are the numbers that are most valuable to your blog’s success. These numbers also help make better business decisions. Important numbers include:

• Number of website visitors from organic search and paid advertising.

• Number of newsletter subscribers and the source they came from.

• Your expenses over time.

• Sources of all revenue.

• Your RPM (revenue per 1,000 visitors).

• Number of keyword phrases in the top three positions on Google , (which receive 75% of search clicks ).

• Search impressions and search clicks.

• The average number of pages visited per visitor.

Don’t get caught up on vanity numbers such as the number of social media followers and the number of website visitors. Use these numbers as guidelines, but I don’t recommend using them to make decisions. It is better to track social interactions (e.g., likes, mentions, comments) and website conversions (e.g., calls, form fills, sign-ups).

Write With a Purpose

Before deciding to write a blog post or article, what do you want the outcome to be from it? If no one is searching for the topic, consider revising the focus. Here’s how to approach writing purposeful articles:

• Perform keyword research to determine if anyone is interested in your topic. Know if the intended audience is large enough to target.

• You must understand search engine optimization, the process of increasing your visibility in search.

• Write your content as a benefit for your readers and solve their problems.

Be Different, Not Better

As the authors of the book Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets convey, what makes you stand out is being different from everyone else in the same space and being the category taste-maker in your own space. If you are one of many, you’re all fighting over the same piece of the pie. If you have your own pie, you can enjoy it all to yourself.

Having a successful music blog means having patience while you grow your audience, loving the topic and being different from everyone else. Don’t give up — each action is a chance to grow into an influential blog.

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how to write an article on music

Pro Writing Tips for Music Blogging

music blogging

In our modern digital world, writing crosses over into myriad niche industries, from business to marketing and even music. Even for the most talented musician, it takes more than just know-how to stand out in today’s dynamic music industry, which is saturated with unique artist personas and viral videos. But don’t underestimate the power of good old-fashioned music blogging to attract attention to your work and bring in new customers.

But what should you write about in order to engage your fans? Fortunately, you have plenty of options, and diversity is key. You want to project an image of industry knowledge, talent, and passion for the music industry in order to turn first-time visitors into regular readers. Here are some helpful tips for writing engaging content on your music blog.

Start with Goal-Setting

First, ask yourself what you want people to do once they read your content. Is the goal to inspire? Inform? Promote a particular song, album, or artist? Prompt visitors to subscribe to your newsletter?

Whatever your desired result, the number of visitors who perform that action is known as your conversion rate. Ideally, you want your readers to become repeat visitors to your site and share your content, increasing your traffic and overall conversion rate.

And if your site has a small number of conversions, it could be due to a variety of factors. Perhaps your music blog’s hosting platform is slow, causing readers to seek information elsewhere, or maybe your visitors are overwhelmed by pop-up advertising.

One of the top reasons a blog doesn’t convert readers is due to a lack of understanding of user intent and marketing trends . But writing blog posts that will keep readers coming back is a relatively simple endeavor, even if you only have nominal experience as a writer. You can engage readers over the long-term by simply writing about what you know and what inspires you.

Topic Brainstorming and Finding Your Niche

Once you’ve determined your blog’s overarching goals, then it’s time to figure out topics. Fortunately, your options are virtually limitless. For inspiration, check out the blogs of your competitors — what kinds of posts are popular on those sites? Look for posts with high numbers of likes, shares, and comments in order to identify trends and pinpoint the writing and formatting styles that keep fans coming back.

Your music blog posts could highlight a new or innovative industry trend, or write about tricks of the trade, from production gear you love to your favorite guitar riffs . Writing not only about what you know, but also what you’re passionate about, gives you an authenticity that new visitors to your site will appreciate.  

By the Numbers: Ideal Blog Post Frequency

With the constant stream of blog posts and content that saturates the internet every day, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. Especially when you’re just starting out in the music blogging industry, strive to post a new article on a weekly basis. According to Forbes , that timeframe will keep your website fresh and relevant without taking up too much of your time or alienating potential regular readers.

That said, post frequency means nothing if your content is low quality. When your blog posts are grammatically correct, properly formatted, and completely original, you’re likely to see higher conversion rates and more frequent shares.

And speaking of shares, your social media presence plays a key role in ensuring that your content commands attention.

The Social Media Connection

Writing and uploading an article isn’t the end of your music blog’s marketing journey; in fact, it’s just the first step. In order to drive traffic to your site, your posts need to attract attention.

Where newer blogs are concerned, social media promotion often provides a leg up, allowing you to reach a wider audience. By promoting a blog post on your social media sites, your current followers will be compelled to check out your content. And, if they like what they read, they’ll share it with their friends and followers.

That engagement cycle is critical to successful music promotion. Numerous artists rose to prominence thanks in part to their engaging social media presence, including Christian rock acts Mercy Me and For King & Country.

Final Thoughts

Content marketing and SEO aren’t necessarily part of every musical entrepreneur’s background, but today’s most popular artists often use skills unrelated to their music in order to engage loyal fans and attract new ones.

In order to rise above the countless artists looking to make a name for themselves in the music industry, musicians may need to get creative and think like an entrepreneur. And an eye-catching music blog full of interesting, creative content is an ideal starting point for fan engagement and retention, as well as successful promotion.

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Leah Nelson

Leah D. Nelson started writing about music in high school, and never stopped. She loves thrift shops, dogs, live music, and riding her bike. After spending several memorable years immersed the New Orleans music scene, she is now comfortably settled in Boise, Idaho. You can follow her musings on twitter: @leahdeann3

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How To … Practice & Rehearse

This was very helpful for an assignment that I had to do for school! I thought that the part about how you have to have diversity in your writing, and how to do that. I also found that when you said that you need to follow what people are interested in, attracting a wider audience and whatnot, was interesting.

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how to write an article on music

  • Music Lover

This is an example of how to write an article about being a music lover. It provides practice for the writing section of  the Cambridge English B1 Preliminary exam.  

B1 Preliminary Writing Part 2 Article: Music Lover

music lover

More exercises available:

  • Reading Part 1 & 2
  • Reading Part 3 & 4
  • Reading Part 5 & 6
  • Writing Part 1
  • Writing Part 2

Part 1 - Read five real-world notices, messages and other short texts for the main message.

  • Notices and Messages How to Video
  • Notices and Messages Set 1
  • Notices and Messages Set 2
  • Notices and Messages Set 3
  • Notices and Messages Set 4
  • Notices and Messages Set 5
  • Notices and Messages Set 6
  • Notices and Messages Set 7
  • Notices and Messages Set 8

Part 2 - Match five descriptions of people to eight short texts on a particular topic, showing detailed comprehension.

  • Films at the Cinema
  • Summer Camps
  • Trip to London

Part 3 - Read a longer text for detailed comprehension, gist, inference and global meaning, as well as writer’s attitude and opinion.

  • Being Special
  • Night Shift Work
  • Procedures for Part 3
  • Rock climbing
  • The Zookeeper

Part 4 - Read a longer text from which five sentences have been removed. Show understanding of how a coherent and well-structured text is formed.

  • Keep on Running
  • Student Budget
  • The Olympic Flame
  • The Puzzle Maker

Part 5 - Read a shorter text and choose the correct vocabulary items to complete gaps.

  • Book Recommendation
  • Mountain Climbing
  • Playing Computer Games
  • Popular Website
  • Saving a Tree
  • Single or Mixed-gender Schools
  • Work of Art

Part 6 - Read a shorter text and complete six gaps using one word for each gap.

  • Hometown Changes
  • Music Preferences
  • New Year’s Day
  • Party Invitation
  • Special Bike
  • Subject Choices
  • The First Day of Spring
  • The Oldest University in the World

Write about 100 words, answering the email and notes provided.

  • Birthday Money
  • Learning a language
  • New Cooking Club

Write about 100 words, either an article or story.

  • Being Healthy
  • Festival in Thailand
  • Learning and the Internet
  • Playing Games

Short Stories

  • A Broken Train
  • A Phone Call
  • Surprised Teacher
  • Weather Warning
  • Woke up late
  • Part 3 - Listening
  • Part 4 - Listening

Part 3 - Gap-Filled Exercise

  • Competition
  • Shopping Centre Visit

Part 4 - Multiple Choice Exercise

  • A Coach Trip
  • Fashion Designer
  • Talking about a Journey

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How to Write an Album Review

Music writing is something that cannot be taught, so in a sense editing a book called How to Write About Music is a pointless exercise.

How to Write about Music

Still, while you can’t instruct someone how to write beautiful prose about this melodious art form, you can inspire, shape and structure lessons to prompt the reader to write something about music. 

As Rick Moody states in his timely foreword to the book: “Among the many differences between the music writing of the seventies, let’s say, and the music writing of our own time, is the lack of a prevailing format.” He’s right! In the twenty-first century there are hundreds of magazines, thousands of music blogs, YouTube channels, newspapers, etc. all clamoring for well-written reviews, think pieces and musings on popular and not-so-popular music. There are no longer strict word count restrictions when writing for a website; the possibilities are endless and that’s daunting. Yet while so much has changed in the way we listen to and consume music, the basic concept of an album remains the same. Thus, the exercise of describing and critiquing an album is still a very valid and sought after form of music writing. 

It’s not an easy task, reviewing an album. The task at hand is to provide others with an informed impression of a piece of art. Marc Woodworth, in his introduction to the chapter on the album, reminds a writer of album reviews to write on their own terms. “The critic both uses and is sometimes blind to his prejudices and ideals – the more you know about yourself and how you process what you’re writing and given that self-knowledge, the better … Don’t write as someone who doesn’t care about what you care about.”

Here’s what the experts have to say about writing an album review: 

Try listening ‘in the wild’

“I listen to music as I would ‘in the wild’ before I approach it critically. That means listening to it regularly on headphones to and from work usually.” Matt LeMay, senior contributor, Pitchfork

“One thing I try to do consistently is listen to an album I’m reviewing in a variety of contexts. A lot of people might think of a music critic pensively listening to a record alone in a silent room and through huge, state-of- the-art headphones . . . and true, sometimes I do that. But that’s not the only way people listen to music, and I try to remember that when I’m writing about a record. I want to take it out for a test-drive— to try it out in real life. I try to listen on speakers and on headphones. I try to give it a few spins (pen and notebook in hand, usually) focused specifically on the music and when I’m playing it in the background of doing something else. Sometimes I’ll listen alone and sometimes with other people. Music filters into our lives in a variety of ways, and I try to keep this in mind when I’m evaluating it.” - Lindsay Zoladz, Associate Editor, Pitchfork

Listen often – but don’t overthink!

“A lot of people ask me how many times I try and listen to an album before reviewing it, and the truth is that there is no magic number. It really depends on how far in advance I’m given a record; sometimes I’ll live with a promo copy of a record for months before I have to sit down and organize my thoughts about it, and in other cases—especially with bigger, major label releases—I’ll hear an album for the first time a day or two before I have to file the review. I prefer situations between these two extremes. If you have too long to marinate on an album, you can sometimes overthink your opinion and second-guess your gut reaction—specifically if you see a lot of people arguing about it a lot on the internet. But of course, you don’t want to feel rushed, either. A lot of my favorite albums are “growers” that didn’t immediately grab me on first listen, but I came to appreciate them over many consecutive listens, and I try to consider this when listening and writing.” - Lindsay Zoladz, Associate Editor, Pitchfork

Do your research

“In general, it’s crucial for me to immerse myself in the music first, then, depending on the artist, do as much research as possible by reading interviews and articles. This research is not only for fact-gathering purposes, but also to understand how meaning is created and reinforced throughout the media, how publicity might have affected how people are writing about the music in question, and whether or not any of it aligns with my personal beliefs.” – Martin Lin, Editor-in-Chief, Tiny Mix Tapes

Try constructing a narrative

“I’ve realized that I try to make everything I write, even reviews, into some sort of narrative—there has to be a story or I don’t know what to say. And then I just smooth it all together into a legible story.” - Michael Azerrad, author, journalist and Editor-in-Chief of the Talkhouse

Embrace the editing process

“I wrote a 1500-word review about the Slint boxset (multiple LPs, book, and DVD) in the Wire magazine. I listened to the music, watched the film several times, and started by simply thinking about exactly what struck me as most significant about the band, their reputation, their album Spiderland and the historical gap between the time of its creation and the present. Once I had a lot of sentences more or less worked out in my head, I wrote a preliminary draft. Then I revised it many times, adding and expanding and cutting back and reshuffling certain key points. Then I sent it to the editor and we had several back-and- forth edits and changes. He wanted me to add some things and I thought about how I would do that effectively. It’s not just about “your voice” or “inspiration”—to write is to work with editors, to revise, and to sometimes change your mind and your emphasis.” - Drew Daniel, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Johns Hopkins University

Beware the pressures of reviewing in a digital era…

“With album reviews, there was a time when writers got advance albums two or three months before the general public ever heard it. So you could spend some time crafting a meaningful argument that was really unaffected by the fan reception of a record, or by the promotional campaign of that record. That landscape has changed so dramatically that writers don’t have much of an advantage over anyone else. Everyone has an opinion the moment an album is leaked or released, and editors are going to (understandably) demand that their writers join that chorus as quickly as possible so their outlet’s coverage doesn’t feel stale. When you’re under that kind of deadline pressure, as a writer, I think it’s much harder to write something personal and meaningful and structurally sound, so readers often get something half-cooked or something that pretty much repeats the safe status quo opinion that’s floating around out there.” - Casey Jarman, Managing Editor, the Believer

Try this exercise to begin to formulate your review: 

Album reviews should not be limited to music you know you love or know you hate. Challenge yourself to explore the unknown. Write a review of an album that you know absolutely nothing about by an artist you have never even heard of, music that has never crossed your path before. Try looking to genres you are unfamiliar with.

Write an album review of approximately 1000 words that describes your impressions of an album by an artist you are completely unfamiliar with. How to find an album you’ve never heard of? Go outside. Go to a record store, library, Goodwill or garage sale and find something that catches your eye. Maybe it’s the album artwork that draws you in. Maybe it’s a band name. If exploring in the real world isn’t an option, dig on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora or other sites. 

First listen to the record from start to finish at least twice and begin to write down your first impressions. How does it feel? What does it sound like? What does it remind you of? Then write up your notes into a short paragraph that just describes the music. 

Okay, now you can Google. Use the incredibly vast resources available to you to find out about this artist. Where are they located? What’s their story?

Now revisit the paragraph you wrote about the music and combine what you’ve learned about the artist with your first impressions.

Consider these questions while writing:

1. How will you succinctly introduce this record?

2. How does this record fit within its genre or, more broadly, pop or rock history?

3. Where would you want to listen to this record?

About How to Write About Music

If writing about music is like dancing about architecture, you'd do best to hone your chops and avoid clichés (like the one that begins this sentence) by learning from the prime movers. How to Write About Music offers a selection of the best writers on what is perhaps our most universally beloved art form. Selections from the critically-acclaimed 33 1/3 series appear alongside new interviews and insights from authors like Lester Bangs, Chuck Klosterman, Owen Pallet, Ann Powers and Alex Ross.

How to Write About Music includes primary sources of inspiration from a variety of go-to genres such as the album review, the personal essay, the blog post and the interview along with tips, writing prompts and advice from the writers themselves.

Music critics of the past and the present offer inspiration through their work on artists like Black Sabbath, Daft Punk, J Dilla, Joy Division, Kanye West, Neutral Milk Hotel, Radiohead, Pussy Riot and countless others. How to Write About Music is an invaluable text for all those who have ever dreamed of getting their music writing published and a pleasure for everyone who loves to read about music.

To find out more about the book then visit the store page , or the website .

Find out more about titles and buy the latest releases from Ally-Jane Grossan at Bloomsbury.com.

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How to Write a Music Review Like a Pro

Maybe you’re a budding journalist who wants to cover some upcoming indie concerts. Or an influencer who wants to share your favorite old-school reggae album with your followers. Or maybe you’re just a diehard music fan with a lot to say about the latest Spotify releases.

Point is, you want to learn how to write a music review. But where do you start?

1. Stressed at computer

Writing a music review isn’t rocket science. However, there are some tried and true guidelines that can help your piece “take off”…

First Things First

Before we open up our laptops or dig out our pens, let’s talk basics…

What is a Music Review?

Simply put, it’s a short article that discusses any piece of music . And I mean ANY. It can be a(n):

  • Music video
  • Live performance
  • Pre-recorded performance
  • Classical composition

It’s all fair game!

No matter what format you’re working with, the ultimate goal is to make your music review fun and informative to read.

2. Concert

A good concert review, for example, should make your readers feel like they’re actually there with you in the audience

How Do You Become a Reviewer?

Becoming a music reviewer can be as simple as starting a blog or an Instagram/Facebook/Twitter account. Or maybe even a podcast, TikTok account or YouTube channel, if you want to read your words out loud. Not only can you start sharing your opinions right away. You also get to be your own boss!

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This video has some useful tips about starting your own music blog on Wordpress.

Running your own platform certainly comes with more artistic freedom. However, if you want to reach a wider audience (and get paid!) more quickly, then it’s best to send queries to websites , magazines and/or newspapers that publish music reviews . Even if they’re only looking for a one-off, a well-written piece may eventually lead to a more permanent position. Or at least a good recommendation for future gigs!

Most editors will also want to see a sample of your writing. So, it’s a good idea to have a PDF with a few mock reviews to showcase your skills. Or, for an even more professional touch, you can create an online portfolio on a platform like Squarespace or Wix. Especially if you’re applying through a job site, having a URL handy means editors can make a quicker decision about whether or not to take you on.

How Do You Find Music to Review?

If you write for a website/magazine/newspaper, you’ll probably be pre-assigned music. However, if you’re an independent writer, you might be stuck about what to cover.

One idea is to look at new releases on streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music. This way, you can be (one of) the first to share your thoughts about a particular song or album. Especially if you scout out lesser-known artists flying under the radar of other music critics.

Of course, you don’t have to choose new music exclusively. Lots of readers enjoy fresh takes on music that was released years or even decades ago. 10-year , 20-year or other anniversaries of albums/songs/concert DVDs can be a particularly great time to look back and reconsider how these older tracks hold up from a modern perspective.

Or, you can reach out to up-and-coming bands and independent record companies or music publishers to ask for samples. Even if you only have a modest number of readers/followers, you’d be surprised at how many people are willing to give you sneak peaks of their work.

Tips and Tricks

So, you’ve picked your music and fixed a guideline with your editor (or your inner editor). Now what?

Here comes the fun part –– actually sitting down to write your review.

Every writer has their own routines and preferences. What works for some might not work for others. But however you slice it, some habits will ultimately make the process a lot easier…

3. Laptop and notebook

Many writers (myself included) find they’re most productive when they have a comfortable workspace. A clean desk with a view. A comfy chair. A hot beverage on hand. Whatever helps you relax and stay focused

Don’t skimp out on research

As the reviewer, you are supposed to be the expert on that particular piece of music. That’s why it’s important to establish your credibility with solid background information about the artist and their work.

4. Sticky notes

Love it or hate it, the researching stage is just as important as the writing/editing stage

First of all, you’ll want to pick good sources about the artist to read/watch/listen to. This can include:

  • Interviews on talk shows, podcasts, vlogs, etc.
  • Articles in magazines/newspapers
  • Bios on their official website
  • Verified social media posts on their Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Basically anything that will give you context about the artist’s music style , personal history and inspirations behind their work.

It may be tempting to start with Wikipedia. I get it. It exists for a reason. But if you do, don’t forget to fact-check EVERYTHING you find there with more reliable sources!

Some reviewers may consider it “cheating” to read/listen to what others have already said about a piece of music. However, after doing my own research and forming my own opinions, I always find it helpful to branch out and consider other points of view.

For example, other writers may have pointed out important biographical details or production aspects you might have missed in your research. Or, you might have strong opinions about another writer’s judgment on a piece of music. In this case, you can strengthen your own argument by either supporting or opposing this judgment.

However, try not to start beef by directly calling out another writer when you disagree with them. Instead, focus on strengthening your own argument, so readers can see for themselves how it’s the better review. Being civil will earn you more respect in the community and open up more writing opportunities in the future.

Also, if you do decide to read other reviews, don’t plagiarize . Always give proper credit when you borrow words or ideas. You don’t want a potential lawsuit on your hands!

Do listen carefully

Most music writers agree that you should listen to a piece at least 3 times before you start to write. After all, first impressions are important. But later impressions are really where you start to become familiar with and appreciate all the nuances of a piece.

5. Listening with headphones

Grab your headphones and keep a notebook (or note-taking app) handy to write down your ideas!

Make sure you’re somewhere free of distractions, so you can really focus on the music. Maybe it’s at a busy coffee shop, where you can let the chatter fade into the background, kick back with your noise-canceling headphones and let the sounds sink in. Maybe it’s when you’re home alone, letting your speakers fill the silence of your bedroom. Or maybe it’s somewhere in between these noise levels. Whatever works for you.

I also find it helpful to take breaks in between listening sessions. This way, you can clear your head and come back in a few hours (or even a few days!) with a fresh perspective.

Do craft a strong outline

When it comes to short stories or novels, I prefer to write freely and see where my creativity takes me.

However, music reviews — like all forms of journalism — need a tight, concise structure. Most people don’t want to read a 5000-word piece that goes off on tangents and takes forever to get to the point! That’s why it’s better to plot an outline before you actually begin to write.

Most music reviews contain this basic structure:

  • Introduction : aside from general information about the work (title, artist, date, etc.), this first paragraph should include a hook . This key sentence (or two) is how you pull your readers into the review and make them want to keep reading. Oftentimes, it’s an interesting fact, quote or observation.
  • Main body : 2-4 paragraphs that go into detail about the work.
  • Conclusion : the final paragraph. This is where you’ll summarize your thoughts about the work. You should also discuss whether or not you’d recommend it –– and if so, to what kinds of people!

6. Writing close up

The standard length for music reviews is 250-300 words . If you’re an independent writer, you could write more if you want to. But again, it’s better to keep your piece as short and sweet as possible.

Do try to cover all aspects

250-300 words may not sound like enough to write about an entire album or concert. And really, there is no such thing as a “definitive” review that covers absolutely everything. However, as long as you keep your writing short and to-the-point, you can still squeeze a surprising amount of information into a few short paragraphs.

Some topics may speak to you more than others. Some may not even be relevant at all. But generally speaking, here are some ideas you probably want to think about:

  • Inspiration behind the music (ex: the artist’s personal history, major influences, etc.)
  • Specific songs/lyrics/stage banter
  • Themes (ex: love, loss, sociopolitical commentary)
  • Composition (ex: chord progressions , melodies , rhythms )
  • Instrumentation (ex: types/brands of instruments, sound quality of the instruments)
  • Production (ex: key producers/engineers, arrangement, mixing , special effects, lighting)
  • Visuals (ex: album cover, choreography, stage design, graphics, band merch)
  • Atmosphere (ex: concert venue, audience, camera work)
  • The bigger picture (ex: public reception, sales, awards, chart positions, how a track fits in with the rest of the album/EP/score, how an album/EP/score fits in with the artist’s discography)

7. Sheet music

I’d recommend starting with 2 or 3 of these aspects that really stood out to you during the listening stage. Then, if you have room, you can always discuss other ideas.

Don’t overuse comparisons

Does the film score you’re reviewing remind you of one from a popular historical drama? Or does one of the songs on the album sound like it could’ve been performed by a well-known 80s thrash metal band? If it does, it’s okay to say so. Comparisons help put things in context for readers who are familiar with specific genres and artists.

Still, it’s better to cap the comparisons at 1 or 2 per review. You don’t want to limit yourself from expressing your own metaphors and descriptions!

8. The Beatles

Another downside to comparisons is that artists often change their sound throughout their careers. For example, a band that sounds “like the Beatles” could mean anything from the standard rock ‘n roll style of “Twist and Shout” to the experimental, psychedelic style of “A Day In the Life” to the orchestral soft rock of “The Long And Winding Road”

Instead of bogging down your review with comparisons to Bob Dylan or Nirvana or Like A Virgin-era Madonna, it’s better to write about how the piece fits into its genre and the artist’s history as a whole . For example, does a folk band’s song have a classic example of their signature bare-bones, acoustic guitar riffs ? Or does it experiment with new audio effects or unusual instruments you don’t normally hear in their repertoire?

If you write about what exactly makes a work sound the way it does, it will be a lot more engaging than an endless parade of references.

Sometimes when you write about music you didn’t enjoy, it’s tempting to be overly critical. After all, you want to be honest!

However, instead of “likes” and “dislikes” (which are highly subjective), it’s more helpful to think of strengths and weaknesses . For example, a song with cliché lyrics might still have an elaborate bassline. And a song with catchy lyrics and a memorable riff can still be tainted by a visually boring music video.

9. Lady justice

That being said, reviews are also about finding a delicate balance between objective facts and personal opinions . If you really loved a piece of music, you can let that passion shine through in your words. And if you didn’t… well, a bit of sass never hurt anyone. Just try not to get too carried away by making your entire review an overdose of sarcasm.

In short, considering both sides of the spectrum will make your argument a lot more persuasive than giving all praise or all criticism.

Do know your audience

Who is your target audience? It might be tempting to say “everyone”. But like clothes, reviews are never really one size fits all.

That’s why it’s important to think about exactly the type of people who read (or who you hope will read!) what you write. Once you know, you’ll not only have an idea about what to discuss in your review. You’ll also know how to use the best tone of voice to engage your readers.

For example, if you write for other music professionals, you’ll want to use proper musicological terms and be as objective as possible. Otherwise, you might sound too amateurish. On the other hand, if you write for Gen Z music fans, it’s better to skip the jargon and use a more personal, informal tone. Otherwise, you might sound too stuck-up.

10. Magazines

Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t inject your own unique voice into your writing. Just make sure you tweak it to whatever professional or informal tone suits the situation.

Don’t be boring

When it comes to creating memorable reviews, the best ones:

  • Avoid clichés (like the plague)
  • Limit generic adjectives like “cool”, “interesting” or “unique”
  • Use direct and punchy language

11. Question marks

How do you make your writing more punchy? One way is to rework tired clichés into quirky new similes . For example, instead of saying a vocalist sounds “like an angel”, you could say they sound “like a baby robin taking flight for the first time”. Or “a foodie’s inner thoughts when they dig into a gourmet burger”. The possibilities are endless!

Compound adjectives (adjectives with two or more words put together) can be a helpful substitute for generic adjectives. For example, instead of saying a song has a “cool” drum beat, you could say the beat is “chest-thumping” or “beach party-worthy”.

For an extra touch, you can also relive your high school English days and playing around with literary devices, like:

  • Alliteration: repeating consonant sounds. Ex: “toe-tapping”, “shoe-shuffling”.
  • Oxymoron: putting two opposites together. Ex: “well-managed chaos”, “deafening whispers”.
  • Personification: giving human qualities to non-humans. Ex: “groaning guitar riffs”, “a lovestruck camera”.

Don’t forget to edit

Okay, so you’ve finished your first draft. Now comes the real challenge – the editing stage.

Of course, the most basic part of editing is checking your spelling and grammar. Even for informal reviews, a glaring typo or run-on sentence will make your piece look amateurish.

12. Editing

However, the editing stage isn’t just about moving commas and removing letters. It’s also an opportunity to…

  • Fix what you missed. Ex: Do you still have too many “cool”s and “interesting”s? Is your discussion of the crowd negative? Did you forget to talk about how the backup vocals contrast the lead vocals?
  • Brainstorm better ideas . Ex: Could your title be catchier? Could your argument about the piano solo be stronger? Could your last sentence be more powerful?

Another key part of the editing stage is formatting your music review so it’s clean and easy to read. Especially if it’s being published online, using headings , subheadings and bullet points will make it more user-friendly on laptops, tablets and mobile devices.

Of course, there’s no such thing as a perfect review. So don’t get too discouraged if you’re struggling to find how to come up with a better last sentence or break up one long paragraph. Sometimes, it’s just better to fix what you can and accept your piece as it is. Then, you can approach your next review with fresher eyes –– and fresher ideas on how to improve your writing!

Don’t let writer’s block get you down

Writing is hard. I get it. Sometimes you’re just not in the mood and need a quick break.

13. Crumpled paper

Ironically, research shows that many writers are actually more productive when they take multiple breaks . For example, in the Pomodoro technique , you work non-stop for 25 minutes, then take a 5-10 minute break before diving back in. You never know. Taking this time to clear your head may help you finally write that perfect last sentence you’ve been struggling with!

Some other effective ways to fight writer’s block include:

  • Warming up with a 10-minute writing prompt . Ex: Write a mock customer review of a random household object, like an office chair or a tub of hand cream.
  • Trying a different workspace for a change of scenery. Ex: Move to a different room in your house or work outside in your backyard.
  • Scheduling your optimal work schedule . Ex: If you’re an early bird, try writing from 6 am to 2 pm. If you’re a night owl, try writing from 4 pm to midnight.

Final Thoughts

Like all skills, writing music reviews takes A LOT of practice. However, if you keep these tips and tricks in mind, it’ll make the whole process a lot a lot less stressful. Not to mention a lot more enjoyable for you and your readers.

How to Write a Music Review

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  • [Intermediate - 110] How to Promote Your App—Tools and Tips to Marketing a Mobile Application
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  • [Intermediate - 110] How to Write an Effective Meta Description
  • [Intermediate - 110] The Ideal Length of Content Types: Title, Post, Headlines, and Social Media
  • [Intermediate - 109] 9 Do’s and Don'ts for Writing Catchy, Viral Blog Headlines
  • [Intermediate - 109] How To Repurpose Content
  • [Advanced - 111] Tips for Creating Mobile-Optimized Content
  • [Intermediate - 108] 7 Best Techniques to Promote Your Website for Free
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  • [Intermediate - 108] How to Write Good, SEO-Friendly Articles
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[Beginner – 102] How to Start Your Own Music Blog

If you’re reading this, then you’re ready to get serious about starting your own music blog. As with everything in life, the best way to set yourself up for success—is to invest time and energy into creating a solid plan of action. Several things have changed in the last few years when it comes to music blogging, so you must ensure that your plan is current. This includes major music labels embracing everything from successful music blogs, promoting their musicians via social media, and encouraging music sharing via YouTube and SoundCloud . As well as multiple new ways to source and listen to music. The following information is designed to help you learn how to start a relevant music blog that will succeed.

The First Step In Starting A Successful Music Blog

The first thing you want to do is to take a look at the most successful music blogs online today. Even if they are not related to the genre of music you most enjoy, you want to see both what they have in common, and what makes them unique. The goal is not to copy a site, but to find inspiration—and gain a general frame of reference.

While researching the most successful music blogs of the moment, pay particular attention to whether they are global, and how long they have been around. Take detailed notes, covering what you do and do not like about the blogs you find—and utilize these notes for brainstorming.

Also, consider the avenues they utilize in conjunction with their blog. This includes interactive features, podcasts, apps, mixed tape streaming, and shared online playlists.

Select A Genre, And Define The Goals Of Your Blog

What is essential to keep in mind when selecting the genre and goals of your music blog, is whether or not you are filling a void that other music bloggers do not currently offer. This step is extremely important because it is where you will define what makes your blog unique. Consider questions such as:

  • Will you focus on local artists?
  • Will you focus on global independent artists?
  • What is your primary genre of interest?
  • Who is your target audience?
  • Is your goal to celebrate music you enjoy, or to critique music that you don’t enjoy?
  • If you are going to focus on popular musicians, what will you do to make your blog unique?

For example, if you opt to select popular musicians (aka highly competitive in both the music blogging industry and within general web searches) you could make it unique by focusing on “remakes.” You could blog about who has previously recorded, remixed, or used samples of popular songs—then discuss what you like about each. You could also focus on how many other genres (say both pop and country) the song has been recorded, or if the song has been recorded in other countries and languages.

Below are a few successful music blogs, who all have their own unique method of connecting with their audience.

  • BuzzBands.LA
  • OM-Records.com
  • DiscoBelle.net
  • StreetDose.com

Consider What You Will Blog About

In the early days of music blogging, bloggers needed to do little more than posting a song or video, and write a short review—but this is no longer the case. Today the music reviews you post must be passionate and informative—and your blog must have more depth than just a string of reviews.

When starting a music blog you must determine a few topics you will blog about, other than music reviews. This could be any combination of:

  • Interviews with local bands and musicians
  • Interviews with touring bands and musicians
  • Interviews with local or traveling industry professionals
  • Fun facts about the artists you blog about
  • Music history
  • Discussions about how your genre is different around the globe

A successful music blog is a blog that has a steady stream of both new and repeat traffic. You want to brand your blog as a resource for your readers—and give them more reasons to visit your blog than just hearing new music from the artists you review. The ideas above will get you heading in the right direction—but there are many different directions you can take.

Creativity And Consistency Are Essential

In case it has to be said, you must be creative to succeed in the world of professional blogging. You must craft engaging blog posts that your visitors want to read. Set specific goals for how many music reviews to add each week, as well as how many blog posts related to your genre you will commit to.

Aim for 3-5 posts each week while you are just getting started, and maintain 2-4 once you are more established.

While posting with consistency is essential, so is creativity and quality. There will be times where you struggle to find a topic to blog about—so consider current trends or the time of year. For example, you could write  a blog about “Timeless Summer Favorites”, ”Award Winning Artists”, ”One-Hit Wonders”,  or a “Great Holiday Song’s You’ve Probably Never Heard.”

Spread The Word

You must begin networking ASAP. If relevant, reach out to local bands and industry leaders for live interviews. Also, connect with local and globally celebrated musicians and industry leaders on social media—and at live events. This will help to spread the word that there is a new blog in the music industry, and is essential for building your fans and followers.

Keep in mind that you need to do more than just “friend” or “follow”, but begin to build mutually beneficial relationships. Building connections are essential to all industries, but especially in the music industry. For example, if you become a regular within your local music joints—they are likely to pass along your info to musicians and industry leaders.

If your blog will be featuring local and less mainstream artists, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn how easy it will be for you to gain access to them for podcast interviews, live interviews, free tickets to concerts, free music, free paraphernalia, and even free press releases that can become part of your blog content. As you gain momentum, you will receive the same from major artists, music festivals and events, and major music labels.

As your popularity continues to grow, you won’t have to search as hard for advertising and ways to monetize your site—as the opportunities will start coming to you.

Build A Team

You are sure to love music, or we wouldn’t be discussing how to start a music blog. However, once music blogging becomes your part-time or full-time gig—you run the risk of burning out. If your passion for music begins to fade, your readers will notice. This is why it is essential to building a team, even if it is small. This could be other bloggers, someone you can send to some of the live performances you want to be covered, and individuals who love the same genre of music, and will help you source new songs and musicians.

The advice above highlights the key ingredients you will need to focus on when starting a music blog. Starting a music blog will also require you to design (or outsource the design) of your blog, research relevant keywords, invest in free and paid online marketing, and create written content to compliment your blog.

Even though audio music is the primary focus of your blog, the written content is essential for optimizing your blog—as well as providing your blog visitors with relevant tips, tricks, and advice that will keep them coming back on a regular basis. On top of that, the written content is essential for marketing materials—including white papers, press releases, and guest blog posts designed to drive traffic back to your primary music blog.

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Top 10 Topics to Pitch to Music Magazines

Though music sales have slid over the years because of piracy and illegal downloads, the industry still remains a billion-dollar business. In 2013, the industry achieved $16.5 billion in revenues worldwide, slightly up from the previous year but about half of its former glory. At its peak, the music industry was generating $38 billion in annual sales.

Many consumer and trade magazines target broad and niche interests in the music industry—from Country music to Heavy Metal—making them dynamic markets for your articles. To break into a music publication or website, pitch one or more of these hot topics to editors:

1. Top Music Lists

Billboard magazine is a champion on this one. It releases several top national and international lists regularly. It doesn’t take long for the other magazines to follow suit. You can write the top lists yourself, create a whole new list to spark curiosity, or contradict or approve the list.

2. Independent Music

Underground or indie music has never been so popular than in recent years, thanks to more inexpensive technologies, strong fan support, and websites such as iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, and Facebook. You can cover the growth of the indie scene, the hottest indie bands, the cross-over artists, hottest independent labels, and how to begin in indie recording.

3. Album Reviews

Some conscious music enthusiasts do take time to read album reviews before they buy one. Even producers consider initial critic reviews and use them to either move the release of the entire album to later date. Single or album reviews can make or break someone else’s career. If you have the knack for music, be one of the staunchest critics in the industry.

4. Concert Scenes

The concert scene is vibrant, and artists are now touring not only in the country, but also all over the world. You can cover live concerts, create a personal account of your experience, or write about any upcoming tours that local people should want to attend.

5. Musicians

Some love the music, while others learn to love it because of the artists. Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Cristina Aguilera, and Adele are just some of the hundreds of artists people are clamoring for and interested in. You can share updates about them, publish interviews or anecdotes, or get into the juiciest details.

6. Music Festivals

Coachella , Woodstock , Blackbird , Big Spring Jam , Pitchfork , Voodoo Music Experience —these are just a handful of festivals held all over the United States. You can create press releases or features to increase appeal and crowd number, talk about what happened during the festival, scoop interviews from the artists, or discover upcoming festivals.

7. Instruments

Music lovers also count on magazines for great instruments to buy, either for leisure or work. You can cover all types of instruments and brands, review products, talk about where to get them, share new innovations or technology, or showcase the hottest instruments used by the biggest bands and artists.

8. TV Shows

Recently, music has landed itself a spot on several channels in the United States: Glee , X Factor , The Voice , The Glee Project , and Sing-off . Then there’s the iconic MTV and American Idol . Get their fans giddy on the next upcoming episodes, latest behind-the-scene scoops, future plans, hosts, artists, and music covered. You can also review the respective shows based on your opinions or research.

9. Movie Soundtracks

Movies and songs are married. The former would be boring without the other, and sometimes the success of one can be attributed to the other. You can go deeper into the relationship by knowing how songs bring more life to the movies, as well as cover sales of soundtracks, or review the hottest soundtracks from recent blockbuster movies.

10. Music Industry

The music industry is vibrant, thanks to politics, key players, and rules and regulations.

Who’s Your Audience?

The demographics of the music industry are broad. Rolling Stone , for example, has around 150,000 subscribers globally, 58 percent of which are male. The median age is 32. Vibe magazine’s target readership is mostly young, urban followers of hip-hop culture.

Country Music magazine attracts country music fans, 25 to 45 years old, with an income of $75,000.

And Paste magazine attracts readers ages 25-35 who earn around $70,000 in annual income.

  • Mojo magazine – a U.K. monthly music magazine established in 1993. Circ.: 95,000. Current editor-in-chief: Phil Alexander
  • Vibe – a quarterly hip-hop music and entertainment magazine established in 1993. Circ.: 31,000. Current editor-in-chief: Jermaine Hall
  • Rolling Stone – a music and popular culture magazine founded in 1967. Circ.: 1,500,000. Current editor: Jann Wenner
  • Billboard – a weekly international news and music trade magazine launched in 1894. Circ. 16,000. Current editor: Danyel Smith
  • Alternative Press – a monthly American music magazine founded in 1985. Current editor: Jason Pettigrew
  • Decibel – a monthly heavy-metal music magazine founded in 2004. Current editor: Albert Mudrian
  • Guitar Player magazine – a monthly music magazine for guitarists founded in 1967. Circ.: 134,000. Current editor: Michael Molenda
  • XXL magazine – a bimonthly hip-hop magazine founded in 1997. Current editor: Vanessa Satten
  • Relix Magazine – a general music magazine founded in 1974. Publishes eight issues annually. Current editor: Mike Greenhaus
  • Making Music magazine – a bimonthly music/lifestyle magazine founded in 2004. Circ.: 35,000. Current editor: Antoinette Follett
  • Paste magazine – a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine founded in 2002. Current editor: Josh Jackson
  • Country Weekly – a weekly country music magazine founded in 1994. Circ.: 63,000. Current Editor-in-Chief: Lisa Konicki

Wikipedia maintains a thorough list of music magazines at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_music_magazines . This list can help you research music publications and obtain editors’ names and website addresses. You can also search our Writer’s Guidelines Database for music and arts magazines that pay freelance writers for articles.

What Editors Want

You need to have a lot of spunk, character, and passion for music. It’s very important that you understand the dynamics of the industry, as well as establish great relationships with artists, their managers, and even labels (so you can have sources of stories). The articles can range from 500 to 2,000 words.

How to Pitch Ideas

First, check if the magazine has its own writer’s guidelines online; if not, e-mail the editor or editorial staff and ask for them. To help you decide what the magazine intends to publish in future issues, review its current or next year’s editorial calendar. Do any topics appeal to you? Can you cover any of them? Send the editor an e-mail and propose your idea. Be detailed but don’t make the e-mail too long. Include only one developed idea in your query.

How Much Can You Earn

Pay rates vary from magazine to magazine depending on readership and advertising. Rolling Stone magazine is known to pay its top writers more than $1/word, but breaking into the magazine is extremely difficult, even for experienced writers. Smaller music magazines tend to pay (on average) between 20 and 55 cents/word. The editors usually pay more if the writer can include photos.

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Painting of balding man wearing a white shirt and a tie, sitting at a piano and writing on sheets of music.

George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ is a story of jazz, race and the fraught notion of America’s melting pot

how to write an article on music

Associate Professor and Chair of Music, Colorado College

Disclosure statement

Ryan Raul Bañagale does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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February 12, 1924, was a frigid day in New York City. But that didn’t stop an intrepid group of concertgoers from gathering in midtown Manhattan’s Aeolian Hall for “An Experiment in Modern Music.” The organizer, bandleader Paul Whiteman , wanted to show how jazz and classical music could come together. So he commissioned a new work by a 25-year-old Jewish-American upstart named George Gershwin .

Gershwin’s contribution to the program, “ Rhapsody in Blue ,” would go on to exceed anyone’s wildest expectations, becoming one of the best-known works of the 20th century. Beyond the concert hall, it would appear in iconic films such as Woody Allen’s “ Manhattan ” and Disney’s “ Fantasia 2000 .” It was performed during the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics , and if you ever fly on United Airlines, you’ll hear it playing during the preflight safety videos .

I’ve spent nearly two decades researching and writing about this piece . To me, “Rhapsody” isn’t some static composition stuck in the past; rather, it’s a continuously evolving piece of music whose meaning has changed over time.

Programming “Rhapsody” for concerts today has become somewhat of a double-edged sword. A century after it premiered, it remains a crowd favorite – and almost always guarantees a sold-out show. But more and more scholars are starting to see the work as a whitewashed version of Harlem’s vibrant Black music scene.

A cobbled-together hit

Whiteman commissioned Gershwin to write “Rhapsody” sometime in late 1923. But as the story goes, the composer forgot about his assignment until he read about the upcoming concert in a newspaper on Jan. 4, 1924.

Gershwin had to work quickly, writing as time allowed in his busy schedule. Manuscript evidence suggests that he only worked on the piece a total of 10 days over the span of several weeks.

Handwritten sheet music.

Accordingly, he relied on the familiar melodies, harmonies, rhythms and musical structures that had started to garner him acclaim as a popular composer for the Broadway stage. This music was increasingly influenced by early jazz, as the improvised, syncopated and blues-infused sound of Black musicians such as Louis Armstrong made its way north from New Orleans. Gershwin also mingled with, and was influenced by, some of the great Harlem stride pianists of the day, including James P. Johnson and Willie “The Lion” Smith .

Despite being quickly cobbled together, “Rhapsody in Blue” ultimately sold hundreds of thousands of records and copies of sheet music . Gershwin’s own performances of the work on tour also helped boost its popularity.

But success also opened up the piece to criticism – particularly that Gershwin had appropriated Black music.

Black musicians feel snubbed

This is not only a 21st-century critique by music historians. Even back then, some Black artists were miffed.

But rather than calling it out in print, they did so through their own art.

In 1929, blues artist Bessie Smith starred in a short film called “ St. Louis Blues ,” based on the song of the same name by composer W.C. Handy . It features an all-Black cast, including members of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and the Hall Johnson Choir . Instrumental and vocal versions of Handy’s song provide the sonic backdrop for this 15-minute film – with one very pointed exception.

Smith plays the part of Bessie, an unrequited lover to a duplicitous gambler named Jimmy. In the final scene, after a previous falling out, Jimmy and Bessie reconcile in a club. They embrace on the dance floor to the strains of “St. Louis Blues.”

But unbeknownst to the love-struck Bessie, Jimmy carefully picks her pocket and unmercifully shoves her back to her bar stool. After Jimmy flashes his newly acquired bankroll, the opening clarinet glissando of “Rhapsody in Blue” begins. During this brief, 20-second cue , Jimmy boastfully backs out of the club, bowing and tipping his hat like a performer acknowledging his ovation.

It’s hard not to see the subtext of introducing Gershwin’s famous piece at this moment: Just as Jimmy has robbed Bessie, the film suggests that Gershwin had pilfered jazz from the Black community.

Another musical response to “Rhapsody” emerged in 1927 from Gershwin’s stride pianist friend, James P. Johnson: “ Yamekraw .” Publisher Perry Bradford billed the work as “not a ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ but a Rhapsody in Black and White (Black notes on White paper).”

Of course, the “black notes” were more than just the score itself. Johnson demonstrates how a Black musician would approach the rhapsody genre .

Stuck in the middle with ‘Blue’

Gershwin once described “Rhapsody” “ as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America – of our vast melting pot .”

The problem with the “melting pot” metaphor is that it asks immigrants to leave behind cultural practices and identities in order to assimilate into the majority population.

And that’s just what Whiteman’s musical experiment at Aeolian Hall a century ago was all about: He sought, as he put it, to “ make a lady out of jazz .”

As the concert’s program read , “Mr. Whiteman intends to point out, with the assistance of his orchestra and associates, the tremendous strides which have been made in popular music from the day of the discordant Jazz … to the really melodious music of today.”

In other words, he wanted to fold the era’s popular jazz music into classical music – and, in doing so, draw out the inherent beauty in the beast, making it more acceptable to white audiences.

“Rhapsody in Blue” and other classical-jazz hybrid works like it would soon become known as “middlebrow” music .

This fraught term emerges from the space between the so-called “lowbrow” and “highbrow,” descriptors that locate works of art on a scale from pedestrian to intellectual. These terms originally related to the pseudoscience of phrenology , which drew conclusions about intelligence based on skull shape and the location of the ridge of one’s brow line.

Highbrow music, made by and for white people, was considered the most sophisticated.

But highbrow music could also conveniently elevate lowbrow music by borrowing – or rather, appropriating – musical elements such as rhythm and harmony. Merging the two, the low gets to the middle. But it could never get to the top on its own terms.

If Gershwin’s “Rhapsody” is meant to be heard as a “musical kaleidoscope of America,” it is important to remember who’s holding the lens, what music gets added to the mix, and how it has changed once admitted.

But it’s also important to remember that 100 years is a long time. What the culture values, and why, inevitably changes. The same is true for “Rhapsody in Blue.”

  • Classical music
  • Cultural appropriation
  • Popular music
  • Music composition
  • American Jazz
  • Harlem Renaissance
  • Black musicians
  • Appropriation

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How to Write an Article: A Proven Step-by-Step Guide

Tom Winter

Are you dreaming of becoming a notable writer or looking to enhance your content writing skills? Whatever your reasons for stepping into the writing world, crafting compelling articles can open numerous opportunities. Writing, when viewed as a skill rather than an innate talent, is something anyone can master with persistence, practice, and the proper guidance.

That’s precisely why I’ve created this comprehensive guide on ‘how to write an article.’ Whether you’re pursuing writing as a hobby or eyeing it as a potential career path, understanding the basics will lead you to higher levels of expertise. This step-by-step guide has been painstakingly designed based on my content creation experience. Let’s embark on this captivating journey toward becoming an accomplished article writer!

What is an Article?

what is an article

An article is more than words stitched together cohesively; it’s a carefully crafted medium expressing thoughts, presenting facts, sharing knowledge, or narrating stories. Essentially encapsulating any topic under the sun (or beyond!), an article is a versatile format meant to inform, entertain, or persuade readers.

Articles are ubiquitous; they grace your morning newspaper (or digital equivalents), illuminate blogs across various platforms, inhabit scholarly journals, and embellish magazines. Irrespective of their varying lengths and formats, which range from news reports and features to opinion pieces and how-to guides, all articles share some common objectives. Learning how to write this type of content involves mastering the ability to meet these underlying goals effectively.

Objectives of Article Writing

Objectives of Article Writing

The primary goal behind learning how to write an article is not merely putting words on paper. Instead, you’re trying to communicate ideas effectively. Each piece of writing carries unique objectives intricately tailored according to the creator’s intent and the target audience’s interests. Generally speaking, when you immerse yourself in writing an article, you should aim to achieve several fundamental goals.

First, deliver value to your readers. An engaging and informative article provides insightful information or tackles a problem your audience faces. You’re not merely filling up pages; you must offer solutions, present new perspectives, or provide educational material.

Next comes advancing knowledge within a specific field or subject matter. Especially relevant for academic or industry-focused writings, articles are often used to spread original research findings and innovative concepts that strengthen our collective understanding and drive progress.

Another vital objective for those mastering how to write an article is persuasion. This can come in various forms: convincing people about a particular viewpoint or motivating them to make a specific choice. Articles don’t always have to be neutral; they can be powerful tools for shifting public opinion.

Finally, let’s not forget entertainment – because who said only fictional work can entertain? Articles can stir our emotions or pique our interest with captivating storytelling techniques. It bridges the gap between reader and writer using shared experiences or universal truths.

Remember that high-quality content remains common across all boundaries despite these distinct objectives. No matter what type of writer you aspire to become—informative, persuasive, educational, or entertaining—strive for clarity, accuracy, and stimulation in every sentence you craft.

What is the Format of an Article?

What is the Format of an Article?

When considering how to write an article, understanding its foundation – in this case, the format – should be at the top of your list. A proper structure is like a blueprint, providing a direction for your creative construction.

First and foremost, let’s clarify one essential point: articles aren’t just homogenous chunks of text. A well-crafted article embodies different elements that merge to form an engaging, informative body of work. Here are those elements in order:

  • The Intriguing Title

At the top sits the title or heading; it’s your first chance to engage with a reader. This element requires serious consideration since it can determine whether someone will continue reading your material.

  • Engaging Introduction

Next comes the introduction, where you set expectations and hint at what’s to come. An artfully written introduction generates intrigue and gives readers a compelling reason to stick around.

  • Informative Body

The main body entails a detailed exploration of your topic, often broken down into subtopics or points for more manageable consumption and better flow of information.

  • Impactful Conclusion

Lastly, you have the conclusion, where you tie everything neatly together by revisiting key points and offering final thoughts.

While these components might appear straightforward on paper, mastering them requires practice, experimentation with writing styles, and a good understanding of your target audience. 

By putting in the work to familiarize yourself with how to create articles and how they’re structured, you’ll soon discover new ways to develop engaging content each time you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard!). Translating complex concepts into digestible content doesn’t need to feel daunting anymore! Now that we’ve tackled the format, our focus can shift to what should be included in an article.

What Should Be in an Article?

What Should Be in an Article?

Understanding that specific items should be featured in your writing is crucial. A well-crafted article resembles a neatly packed suitcase – everything has its place and purpose.

Key Information

First and foremost, you need essential information. Start by presenting the topic plainly so readers can grasp its relevance immediately. This sets the tone of why you are writing the article. The degree of depth at this point will depend on your audience; be mindful not to overwhelm beginners with too much jargon or over-simplify things for experts.

Introduction

Secondly, every article must have an engaging introduction—this acts as the hook that reels your audience. Think of it as a movie trailer—it offers a taste of what’s to come without giving away all the details.

Third is the body, wherein you get into the crux of your argument or discussion. This is the point at which you present your ideas sequentially, along with supporting evidence or examples. Depending on the nature of your topic and personal style, this may vary from storytelling forms to more analytical breakdowns.

Lastly, you’ll need a fitting conclusion that wraps up all previously discussed points, effectively tying together every loose thread at the end. This helps cement your main ideas within the reader’s mind even after they’ve finished reading.

To summarize:  

  • Critical Information: Provides context for understanding
  • Introduction: Sheds further light on what will follow while piquing interest  
  • Body: Discusses topic intricacies using narratives or case studies
  • Conclusion: Ties up loose ends and reemphasizes important takeaways

In my experience writing articles for beginners and experts alike, I found these elements indispensable when conveying complex topics articulately and professionally. Always keep them at hand when looking to produce written material.

How should you structure an article?

How should you structure an article?

Crafting a well-structured article is akin to assembling a puzzle – every piece has its place and purpose. Let’s look at how to create the perfect skeleton for your content.

The introduction is your article’s welcome mat. It should be inviting and informative, briefly outlining what a reader can expect from your writing. Additionally, it must instantly grab the readers’ attention so they feel compelled to continue reading. To master the art of creating effective introductions, remember these key points:

  • Keep it short and precise.
  • Use compelling hooks like quotes or intriguing facts.
  • State clearly what the article will cover without revealing everything upfront.

Moving on, you encounter the body of your piece. This segment expands on the ideas outlined in the introduction while presenting fresh subtopics related to your core story. If we compare article writing to crossing a bridge, each paragraph represents a step toward the other side (the conclusion). Here are some tips for maintaining orderliness within your body:

  • Stick closely to one idea per paragraph as it enhances readability.
  • Ensure paragraphs flow logically by utilizing transitional words or sentences.
  • Offer evidence or examples supporting your claims and reinforce credibility.

As you approach the far side of our imaginary bridge, we reach an equally essential section of the article known as the conclusion. At this point, you should be looking to wrap your message up neatly while delivering on what was initially promised during the introduction. This section summarizes the main points, providing closure and ensuring readers feel satisfied.

Remember this golden rule when writing the conclusion: follow the  “Describe what you’re going to tell them (Introduction), tell them (Body), and then summarize what you told them (Conclusion).”  It’s a proven formula for delivering informative, engaging, and well-structured articles. 

One final tip before moving on: maintaining an active voice significantly enhances clarity for your readers. It makes them feel like they’re participating actively in the story unfolding within your article. In addition, it helps ensure easy readability, which is vital for keeping your audience engaged.

Tips for Writing a Good Article

Tips for Writing a Good Article

A persuasive, engaging, and insightful article requires careful thought and planning. Half the battle won is by knowing how to start writing and make content captivating. Below are vital tips that can enhance your article writing skills.

Heading or Title

An audience’s first impression hinges on the quality of your title. A good heading should be clear, attention-grabbing, and give an accurate snapshot of what’s contained in the piece’s body. Here are a few guidelines on how to create an impactful title:

  • Make it Compelling: Your title needs to spark interest and motivate readers to delve further into your work.
  • Keep it concise: You want to have a manageable heading. Aim for brevity yet inclusiveness.
  • Optimize with keywords: To boost search engine visibility, sprinkle relevant keywords naturally throughout your title.

By applying these techniques, you can increase reader engagement right from the get-go.

Body of the Article

After winning over potential readers with your catchy title, it’s time to provide substantial content in the form of the body text. Here’s how articles are typically structured:

Introduction:  Begin by providing an appealing overview that hooks your audience and baits them to read more. You can ask poignant questions or share interesting facts about your topic here.

Main Content:  Build on the groundwork set by your introduction. Lay out detailed information in a logical sequence with clear articulation.

Conclusion:  This reemphasizes the critical points discussed in the body while delivering a lasting impression of why those points matter.

Remember that clarity is critical when drafting each part because our objective here is to share information and communicate effectively. Properly understanding this approach ensures that the writing experience becomes creative and productive.

Step By Step Guide for Article Writing

Step By Step Guide for Article Writing

How do you write an article that engages your readers from the first line until the last? That’s what most writers, whether beginners or seasoned pros are trying to achieve. I’ll describe a step-by-step process for crafting such gripping articles in this guide.

Step 1: Find Your Target Audience

First and foremost, identify your target readers. Speaking directly to a specific group improves engagement and helps you craft messages that resonate deeply. To pinpoint your audience:

  • Take note of demographic attributes like age, gender, and profession.
  • Consider their preferences and needs.
  • Look into how much knowledge they are likely to possess concerning your topic.

Knowing this will help you decide what tone, language, and style best suits your readers. Remember, by understanding your audience better, you make it much easier to provide them with engaging content.

Step 2: Select a Topic and an Attractive Heading

Having understood your audience, select a relevant topic based on their interests and questions. Be sure it’s one you can competently discuss. When deciding how to start writing an article, ensure it begins with a captivating title.

A title should hint at what readers will gain from the article without revealing everything. Maintain some element of intrigue or provocation. For example, ‘6 Essentials You Probably Don’t Know About Gardening’ instead of just ‘Gardening Tips’.

Step 3: Research is Key

Good research is crucial to building credibility for beginners and experts alike. It prevents errors that could tarnish your piece immensely.

Thoroughly explore relevant books, scholarly articles, or reputable online resources. Find facts that build authenticity while debunking misconceptions that relate to your topic. Take notes on critical points discovered during this process—it’ll save you time when creating your first draft.

Step 4: Write a Comprehensive Brief

Having done your research, it’s time to write an outline or a brief—a roadmap for your article. This conveys how articles are written systematically without losing track of the main points.

Begin by starting the introduction with a punchy opener that draws readers in and a summary of what they’ll glean from reading. Section out specific points and ideas as separate headings and bullet points under each section to form the body. A conclusion rounds things up by restating key takeaways.

Step 5: Write and Proofread

Now comes the bulk of the work—writing. Respect the brief created earlier to ensure consistency and structure while drafting content. Use short, clear sentences while largely avoiding jargon unless absolutely necessary.

Post-writing, proofread ardently to check for typographical errors, inconsistent tenses, and poor sentence structures—and don’t forget factual correctness! It helps to read aloud, which can reveal awkward phrases that slipped through initial edits.

Step 6: Add Images and Infographics

To break text monotony and increase comprehension, introduce visuals such as images, infographics, or videos into your piece. They provide aesthetic relief while supporting the main ideas, increasing overall engagement.

Remember to source royalty-free images or get permission for copyrighted ones—you don’t want legal battles later!

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Article Writing

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Article Writing

Regarding article writing, a few pitfalls can compromise the quality of your content. Knowing these and how to avoid them will enhance your work’s clarity, depth, and impact.

The first mistake often made is skimping on research. An article without solid underpinnings won’t merely be bland – it might mislead readers. Therefore, prioritize comprehensive investigation before penning down anything. Understanding common misconceptions or misinterpretations about your topic will strengthen your case. 

Next, sidestep unnecessary jargon or excessively complex language. While showcasing an impressive vocabulary might seem appealing, remember that your primary objective is imparting information efficiently and effectively.

Moreover, failing to structure articles effectively represents another standard error. A structured piece aids in delivering complex ideas coherently. Maintaining a logical sequence facilitates reader comprehension, whether explaining a detailed concept or narrating an incident.

A piece lacking aesthetic allure can fail its purpose regardless of the value of its text. That’s where images come into play. Neglecting them is an all-too-common mistake among beginners. Relevant pictures inserted at appropriate junctures serve as visual breaks from texts and stimulate interest among readers.

Lastly, proofreading is vital in determining whether you can deliver a well-written article. Typos and grammatical errors can significantly undermine professional credibility while disrupting a smooth reading experience.

So, when pondering how articles are written, avoiding these mistakes goes a long way toward producing high-quality content that embodies both substance and style. Remember: practice is paramount when learning how to write excellent material!

How to Write an Article with SEOwind AI Writer?

How to Write an Article with SEOwind AI Writer

Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence has been a major step in many industries. One such significant tool is SEOwind AI Writer, which is critical for those curious about how to write an article leveraging AI. In this section, I’ll cover how you can effectively use SEOwind AI writer to create compelling articles.

Step 1: Create a Brief and Outline

The first step in writing an article revolves around understanding your audience’s interests and then articulating them in a comprehensive brief that outlines the content’s framework.

  • Decide on the topic: What ideas will you share via your article?
  • Define your audience: Knowing who will read your text significantly influences your tone, style, and content depth.
  • Establish main points: Highlight the key points or arguments you wish to exhibit in your drafted piece. This helps create a skeleton for your work and maintain a logical flow of information.

With SEOwind:

  • you get all the content and keyword research for top-performing content in one place,
  • you can generate a comprehensive AI outline with one click,
  • users can quickly create a title, description, and keywords that match the topic you’re writing about.

As insightful as it might seem, having a roadmap doubles as a guide throughout the creative process. SEOwind offers a user-friendly interface that allows the easy input of essential elements like keywords, title suggestions, content length, etc. These provide an insightful outline, saving time with an indispensable tool that demonstrates the practicality of article writing.

Step 2: Write an AI Article using SEOwind

Once you have a brief ready, you can write an AI article with a single click. It will consider all the data you provided and much more, such as copywriting and SEO best practices , to deliver content that ranks.

Step 3: Give it a Human Touch

Finally, SEOwind’s intuitive platform delivers impeccably constructed content to dispel any confusion about writing an article. The result is inevitably exceptional, with well-structured sentences and logically sequenced sections that meet your demands.

However, artificial intelligence can sometimes miss the unique personal touch that enhances relatability in communication—making articles more compelling. Let’s master adding individualistic charm to personalize articles so that they resonate with audiences.

Tailoring the AI-generated piece with personal anecdotes or custom inputs helps to break the monotony and bolster engagement rates. Always remember to tweak essential SEO elements like meta descriptions and relevant backlinks.

So, whether it’s enhancing casual language flow or eliminating robotic consistency, the slightest modifications can breathe life into the text and transform your article into a harmonious man-machine effort. Remember – it’s not just about technology making life easy but also how effectively we utilize this emerging trend!

Common Questions on how to write an article

Delving into the writing world, especially regarding articles, can often lead to a swarm of questions. Let’s tackle some common queries that newbies and seasoned writers frequently stumble upon to make your journey more comfortable and rewarding.

What is the easiest way to write an article?

The easiest way to write an article begins with a clear structure. Here are five simple steps you can follow:

  • Identify your audience: The first thing you should consider while planning your article is who will read it? Identifying your target audience helps shape the article’s content, style, and purpose.
  • Decide on a topic and outline: Determining what to write about can sometimes be a formidable task. Try to ensure you cover a topic you can cover effectively or for which you feel great passion. Next, outline the main points you want to present throughout your piece.
  • Do the research: Dig deep into resources for pertinent information regarding your topic and gather as much knowledge as possible. An informed writer paves the way for a knowledgeable reader.
  • Drafting phase: Begin with an engaging introduction followed by systematically fleshing out each point from your outline in body paragraphs before ending with conclusive remarks tying together all the earlier arguments.
  • Fine-tune through editing and proofreading: Errors happen no matter how qualified or experienced a writer may be! So make sure to edit and proofread before publishing.

Keep these keys in mind and remain patient and persistent. There’s no easier alternative for writing an article.

How can I write an article without knowing about the topic?

We sometimes need to write about less familiar subjects – but do not fret! Here’s my approach:

  • First off, start by thoroughly researching subject-centric reliable sources. The more information you have, the better poised you are to write confidently about it.
  • While researching, take notes and highlight the most essential points.
  • Create an outline by organizing these points logically – this essentially becomes your article’s backbone.
  • Start writing based on your research and outlined structure. If certain aspects remain unclear, keep investigating until clarity prevails.

Getting outside your comfort zone can be daunting, but is also a thrilling chance to expand your horizons.

What is your process for writing an article quickly?

In terms of speed versus quality in writing an article – strikingly enough, they aren’t mutually exclusive. To produce a high-quality piece swiftly, adhere to the following steps:

  • Establish purpose and audience: Before cogs start turning on phrase-spinning, be clear on why you’re writing and who will likely read it.
  • Brainstorm broadly, then refine: Cast a wide net initially regarding ideas around your topic. Then, narrow down those areas that amplify your core message or meet objectives.
  • Create a robust outline: A detailed roadmap prevents meandering during actual writing and saves time!
  • Ignore perfection in the first draft: Speed up initial drafting by prioritizing getting your thoughts on paper over perfect grammar or sentence compositions.
  • Be disciplined with edits and revisions: Try adopting a cut, shorten, and replace mantra while trimming fluff without mercy!

Writing quickly requires practice and strategic planning – but rest assured, it’s entirely possible!

Tom Winter

Seasoned SaaS and agency growth expert with deep expertise in AI, content marketing, and SEO. With SEOwind, he crafts AI-powered content that tops Google searches and magnetizes clicks. With a track record of rocketing startups to global reach and coaching teams to smash growth, Tom's all about sharing his rich arsenal of strategies through engaging podcasts and webinars. He's your go-to guy for transforming organic traffic, supercharging content creation, and driving sales through the roof.

Table of Contents

  • 1 What is an Article?
  • 2 Objectives of Article Writing
  • 3 What is the Format of an Article?
  • 4 What Should Be in an Article?
  • 5 How should you structure an article?
  • 6 Tips for Writing a Good Article
  • 7 Step By Step Guide for Article Writing
  • 8 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Article Writing
  • 9 How to Write an Article with SEOwind AI Writer?
  • 10 Common Questions on how to write an article

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Essay on Music for Students and Children

500+ words essay on music.

Music is a vital part of different moments of human life. It spreads happiness and joy in a person’s life. Music is the soul of life and gives immense peace to us. In the words of William Shakespeare, “If music is the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die.” Thus, Music helps us in connecting with our souls or real self.

Essay on Music

What is Music?

Music is a pleasant sound which is a combination of melodies and harmony and which soothes you. Music may also refer to the art of composing such pleasant sounds with the help of the various musical instruments. A person who knows music is a Musician.

The music consists of Sargam, Ragas, Taals, etc. Music is not only what is composed of men but also which exists in nature. Have you ever heard the sound of a waterfall or a flowing river ? Could you hear music there? Thus, everything in harmony has music. Here, I would like to quote a line by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the greatest musicians, “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.”

Importance of Music:

Music has great qualities of healing a person emotionally and mentally. Music is a form of meditation. While composing or listening music ones tends to forget all his worries, sorrows and pains. But, in order to appreciate good music, we need to cultivate our musical taste. It can be cited that in the Dwapar Yug, the Gopis would get mesmerized with the music that flowed from Lord Krishna’s flute. They would surrender themselves to Him. Also, the research has proved that the plants which hear the Music grow at a faster rate in comparison to the others.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Magical Powers of Music:

It has the power to cure diseases such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc. The power of Music can be testified by the legends about Tansen of his bringing the rains by singing Raag Megh Malhar and lighting lamps by Raga Deepak. It also helps in improving the concentration and is thus of great help to the students.

Conclusion:

Music is the essence of life. Everything that has rhythm has music. Our breathing also has a rhythm. Thus, we can say that there is music in every human being or a living creature. Music has the ability to convey all sorts of emotions to people. Music is also a very powerful means to connect with God. We can conclude that Music is the purest form of worship of God and to connect with our soul.

FAQs on Essay on Music:

Q.1. Why is Music known as the Universal Language?

Ans.1. Music is known as the Universal language because it knows no boundaries. It flows freely beyond the barriers of language, religion, country, etc. Anybody can enjoy music irrespective of his age.

Q.2. What are the various styles of Music in India?

Ans.2. India is a country of diversities. Thus, it has numerous styles of music. Some of them are Classical, Pop, Ghazals, Bhajans, Carnatic, Folk, Khyal, Thumri, Qawwali, Bhangra, Drupad, Dadra, Dhamar, Bandish, Baithak Gana, Sufi, Indo Jazz, Odissi, Tarana, Sugama Sangeet, Bhavageet, etc.

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turn it up —

Ai can now master your music—and it does shockingly well, suddenly, everyone can master their own music..

Nate Anderson - Feb 6, 2024 12:00 pm UTC

AI can now master your music—and it does shockingly well

It was just a stray remark at the end of a guitar lesson last fall.

My teacher is a veteran musician whose band has had both major label and indie record deals, and he loves the analog, the human, the vintage, the imperfect. So it didn't surprise me to learn that he still likes to mix tracks with an old analog board or that he has a long-time "mastering guy" who finalizes the band's albums.

What did surprise me was the comment that he had for some time been testing LANDR, the online music service that offers AI-powered mastering. Pay a monthly fee, upload a well-mixed track, and in a minute, the system spits back a song that hits modern loudness standards and is punched up with additional clarity, EQ, stereo width, and dynamics processing.

After mastering, the end result should sound "more like a record," but this stage of the music-making process has always required subtle value judgments, as every change operates on the entire stereo track. And well-trained humans excel at subtle value judgments.

So I was expecting some line about the slight edge that ears and hands still held over our machine overlords. Instead, I heard: "In the last year, LANDR has improved so much that it now sounds as good as, or in some cases better than, things we've had mastered professionally."

AI-powered mastering systems allow endless tweaking (mastering engineers generally offer a specific number of revisions). They return results within a minute (mastering engineers might need up to a week). They are comparatively cheap (mastering engineers might charge anywhere from $30 up to a few hundred bucks a track, depending on their experience). And now they can sound better than humans? This statement, coming from a guy who won't buy a guitar made after 1975, was high praise indeed.

I flagged the remark as something to investigate later.

A few weeks after our conversation, Apple released version 10.8 of Logic Pro, its flagship digital audio workstation (DAW) and the big sibling to GarageBand. Stuffed inside the update was Mastering Assistant , Apple's own take on AI-powered mastering. If you were a Logic user, you suddenly got this capability for free—and you could run it right inside your laptop, desktop, or iPad.

So between my guitar teacher and Apple, the consensus seemed to be that AI-powered mastering was in fact A Thing That Could Now Be Done Well. Which meant I had to try it.

See, in 2023, I built a small home music studio for under a thousand bucks—gear is ridiculously cheap and high quality compared to the old analog era—and taught myself tracking and mix engineering. This was a surprisingly technical process. It took months before I knew my 1176 from my LA-2A or my large condenser from my dynamic mic or my dBFS from my LUFS. Mic placement alone, especially for complex analog instruments like acoustic guitars, took considerable trial and error to get right.

Alongside this engineering boot camp, I began writing songs as part of my long-sublimated desire to don the tight leather pants and bring real rock'n'roll back from the dead. I liked some of my compositions, too—not always a given in this sort of creative endeavor. The lyrics felt clever, the melodies hummable. I began to record.

But something stood in my way. Even as I learned proper technique and my recordings went from "meh" to "now we're talking," they never quite possessed that pro-level radio sheen. How to get it? Many people mumbled "mastering" like it was a dark art, as though some hidden final alchemy would "glue" your track together and lacquer it in a high-gloss finish, and they said this alchemy could only be performed by grizzled mastering engineers working with special mastering compressors and EQs of almost unfathomable complexity.

reader comments

Promoted comments.

how to write an article on music

Great article for the home studio enthusiast. I own Ozone and just used it on a country pop track. I have mixed feelings about Mastering. I work my ass off mixing a track for balance and dynamics and then it goes through Mastering where software or a human will EQ, limit, play with the phase, etc. It's almost insulting, but there's no way around it. The history of mastering is tied to vinyl record production. There are technical limitations to the energy and frequencies that can be pressing into a hot piece of plastic. THAT has been the traditional role of the Mastering Engineer - to tweak an already good mix for the limitations of vinyl. Today, Mastering has just become a race to get it loud and bright at -14 lufs. Don't mind me, I'm just a grumpy old man.

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A bold man with a goatee closes his eyes and looks to the side.

Billy Joel Said He’d Retired From Pop. Here’s What Brought Him Back.

The singer and songwriter debuted “Turn the Lights Back On,” his first new song in nearly 20 years, at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.

Billy Joel backstage at Madison Square Garden, where he’s played a monthly residency since 2014. Credit... Thea Traff for The New York Times

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Caryn Ganz

By Caryn Ganz

Reporting from Oyster Bay, N.Y.

  • Feb. 5, 2024

Billy Joel’s first new pop song in nearly two decades was sparked by someone miles from the record business: a Long Island doctor.

Joel, 74, has long made it known that he isn’t interested in making more albums. He released 12 studio LPs between 1971 and 1993 — most platinum several times over — and retired from the format, though he never stopped tinkering with classical music , or playing live.

But new songs? “I have this fear of writing something that’s not good,” he said in an interview last month at his estate in Oyster Bay, N.Y. “I have a very high bar for myself. And the work to get there is intimidating. I don’t want to go through it anymore.”

Joel’s influence as a songwriter has endured, drawing in new generations. (“He is everything,” Olivia Rodrigo , 20, who referenced him in her song “Deja Vu,” said last summer.) Over the years, the list of people who’d tried to cajole him back into writing and recording grew legion: Clive Davis. Rick Rubin. Elton John. Yet when Joel’s family doctor urged him to meet “a kid” interested in discussing music near his place out east in Sag Harbor, he agreed to a lunch.

The eager man across the table two years ago was Freddy Wexler , now 37, a Los Angeles-based songwriter and producer who grew up in New York and sure knew a lot about Billy Joel. He’d been trying to track down his idol via industry channels with little luck, but his wife — secretly devoted to keeping this dream alive — found an improbable connection.

Joel ordered clams on the half-shell and a BLT to go, Wexler recalled, so he knew he had to move fast: “I said, I don’t believe that you can’t write songs anymore or that you won’t write songs anymore. And he said something like, ‘OK, believe whatever you want.’”

Wexler pivoted, asking if Joel had any unfinished ideas from the ’70s or ’80s. Joel was intrigued enough to meet again to hear some of Wexler’s music; convinced he was the real deal, he later sent over a CD. The younger musician was briefly stymied: “I didn’t have a CD player, so that was a thing.”

A stage bathed in light, with an array of musicians including strings and a man at a grand piano.

The two went back and forth working on the material, growing close in the process, and Wexler eventually revealed he had a song he’d started with a few friends that he wanted Joel to hear: “Turn the Lights Back On,” a slow-building track in a waltzing 6/8 meter with a reflective narrator hoping to save a flagging romance. (One of Joel’s most famous songs — the one that provided his nickname — is also in that atypical pop time signature.)

To Wexler’s relief, Joel approved of the music. When he finally roped his hero into a recording session and persuaded him to take the mic, Wexler excitedly burst through the studio doors and asked how it felt. “Like singing, I guess,” Joel told him.

Joel, direct and low-key, sat at a long table in his gatehouse overlooking Oyster Bay Harbor and took occasional puffs of a fruity vape (a replacement for cigars). Listening back to that first take, he explained, he’d actually had a very significant reaction: “I don’t hate it.”

“I don’t know what that meant to him, ’cause it must have been very underwhelming,” Joel said. “When I say I don’t hate it, that’s a big deal.”

Though nearly 20,000 people have packed Madison Square Garden monthly (minus the height of the pandemic) since 2014 to hear Joel croon his catalog at his Manhattan residency, “I don’t think of myself as a singer,” he said plainly. “I’m a piano player.”

“I don’t like my own voice. So I usually come back and listen to a recording with my voice on it and I’m always disappointed that I’m singing it,” he explained. “I’m always trying to sound like somebody else.”

In a twist of fate, that admission was probably crucial to bringing “Turn the Lights Back On” to life. During the pair’s first meeting, Wexler posed a question about Joel’s process: “I said to him, Have you ever imagined you’re someone else when you’re writing? And he kind of looked at me and goes, ‘I’ve always done that.’”

When Joel was younger, he would step to the microphone picturing Ray Charles, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding. “If you think you’re not you, you’re somebody else that can pull this off,” he said.

Wexler could relate. He started out as an artist, and shifted to songwriting after the label that signed him folded. He went on to write on tracks for Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Blackpink, but when he wanted to reclaim his own voice, he found he didn’t have the self-confidence. So he created a character — a guy named Jackson Penn.

Collaborative writing had never clicked for Joel in the past. He’d tried with Burt Bacharach and John Oates, he said. Looking back at his most fruitful recording years, he has few happy memories of the creative process. “Writing was hell. Unless it came really quick. Like ‘New York State of Mind’ just came bang, like a bolt out of the blue,” he said. “I had it in my head before I even got home.” (He was on a Greyhound bus at the time.) “Allentown,” on the other hand, “hung around for years,” he recalled. “Originally it was called ‘Levittown,’ and I really didn’t have anything to write about.”

After his “River of Dreams” album in 1993, Joel’s only pop releases were “All My Life” (which he wrote for Tony Bennett) and “Christmas in Fallujah” (which was sung by Cass Dillon), both from 2007. “I haven’t really made a recording that I thought about releasing as one of my own records for 30 years,” he said. Bennett, for the record, had a different reaction to Joel’s insecurities when they were preparing to duet: “He goes, ‘Well, do that Billy Joel thing.’ I said, ‘I don’t really know what that is.’ And he goes, ‘Well, maybe you should talk to a psychiatrist.’”

Much has changed about recording and releasing music since “River of Dreams,” which came out 10 years before the iTunes Store opened, but past experiences have left Joel wary. “I’ve been taken advantage of by the music business 50 ways from Sunday,” he said. When he talks about getting to work recording, one word comes up a lot: harness.

“If I get back in harness, it’s not just about singing, it’s about promotion, it’s about playing, it’s about the radio, politics, business, blah, blah, blah,” he said, with a wave of his hand. “I didn’t want to be back in harness, but if you’re going to commit, you’ve got to commit a hundred percent. So I said [expletive] it.”

“Turn the Lights Back On,” which Joel premiered live at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night in Los Angeles and was released on his longtime label, Columbia, drew him in with its lyrics about a relationship teetering on the brink. “There’s always an insecurity about, you know, am I going to hurt this relationship? Am I going to do something to screw it up? ’Cause I’ve done it in the past.” (Joel is married for the fourth time, and has two young daughters; his eldest daughter, Alexa Ray, is 38.)

As the recording process went on, Joel had ideas — about percussion, strings, an acoustic guitar providing a pulse. The heart of the track is his crystalline vocal, which carries over his steady piano work, with a few splashes of filigree on the bridge. Part of the freedom he felt collaborating on the song was that “the focus of it was the music, not the music business.”

Some of the old concerns have faded with age, and time. “I remember stressing when I would release a recording. Is this going to be a hit?” he said. “What are the critics going to say? Are people going to like it? I don’t have any of that now. I just sang a song. That’s it. If they like it, great. If they don’t, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t good.”

Joel is ending his Garden run in July with his 150th performance at the arena, which will offer him more flexibility in booking shows inside and out of New York. He’s not counting out further writing with Wexler (“Anything’s possible”), and for the first time since the residency’s start, he has a new song to add to his set lists.

“It took somebody who believed in a new Billy Joel record to get Billy Joel to make a record,” Joel said with a touch of awe, “’cause I wasn’t like that. I wasn’t a fan of Billy Joel. He was. And I really didn’t recognize some of the things he wanted from me until I heard it back.” He returned to the understated reaction that made the whole thing possible: “And I went, I don’t hate that. It’s not bad.”

Can you please explain how voting for the Grammys works?

The Grammys are voted on by more than 11,000 music professionals — performers, songwriters, producers and others with credits on recordings — who are members of the Recording Academy. The process involves members first scanning through huge lists of submissions to vote for nominees, then, after the final ballot is set, for the winners. In the past, anonymous committees had the power to overrule members’ selections of nominees; after some controversy those were largely disbanded, though the academy still has the power to reassign submissions if necessary.

What is the difference between record, song and album of the year?

The top three Grammy prizes can be a bit confusing. Album of the year is for a complete body of work (a full LP of music); song of the year is a songwriter’s prize, awarded to the person (or people) who wrote the music and lyrics to a single song; record of the year is for the performance and recording of a song, and goes to the artist and producers who made it.

Why did some winners bring their handbags onstage to accept their Grammys?

Given the lack of pockets in Grammy outfits , it may be that a bag is the best place to secrete an acceptance speech, and since there isn’t a lot of time between when a winner’s name is called and when the music plays them off, perhaps — at least in the case of Miley Cyrus — it was simply a question of efficiency. A handbag is also often part of a total look, and since some of the artists are being dressed by brands, perhaps it is part of the deal.

The academy aired the best rap album award during the daytime ceremony. Isn’t this weird considering the commercial prominence of rap?

The Grammys have a complicated relationship with rap. Several nominees boycotted the first Grammy ceremony with a rap category in 1989 because the award wasn’t televised. Typically, the show gives out all but around nine of its 90-something trophies at a preshow. Last year, the show presented an extravaganza to celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. The lack of rap onstage this year was certainly noticed: Drake, who has stepped away from the Awards, posted a pointed Instagram story, and Jay-Z took the Grammys to task when he accepted a global impact award.

Did the Grammys get a new producer/director? I can’t remember them ever hosting it in a stadium — it feels like a real concert!

Crypto.com Arena opened in 1999 as the Staples Center, and it was designed with award shows, among other things, very much in mind. Since 2000, nearly all the Grammy ceremonies have taken place there. Hamish Hamilton, who directed this year, has worked on previous Grammys as well as other award shows and Super Bowl halftime shows. There was a major change in 2017, when the longtime Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich was replaced by Ben Winston, who is now one of the executive producers.

What did Joni Mitchell get a Grammy for?

Joni Mitchell won her 10th Grammy on Sunday: best folk album for “Joni Mitchell at Newport,” a live album recorded in 2022. Mitchell’s Grammy history goes back to 1970, when she won best folk performance for “Clouds.” She also made her first-ever Grammy performance this year, singing her classic “Both Sides Now.” It was an especially emotional moment because nine years ago Mitchell had an aneurysm that initially left her unable to speak; she has gradually recovered and returned to performing.

Caryn Ganz is The Times’s pop music editor. More about Caryn Ganz

Highlights From the 66th Grammy Awards

This year’s awards ceremony notched 16.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched edition since 2020..

Taylor Swift’s Big Night: The artist   won her fourth Grammy for album of the year , more than any other artist in the 66-year history of the prize. During her win for best pop vocal album, Swift announced that she would release a new album , “The Tortured Poets Department,” on April 19.

Tracy Chapman Returns: In a major coup for the Grammys , the influential artist who walked away from the spotlight made a grand return , duetting with the country star Luke Combs. Where has she been all this time ?

Joni Mitchell’s First Time: At her first Grammys performance , Mitchell, who largely vanished from the public eye after having an aneurysm nine years ago, performed “Both Sides Now.”

Billy Joel Is Back:  The singer-songwriter debuted “Turn the Lights Back On,”  his first new song in nearly 20 years, at the Grammys.

Sinead O’Connor’s Spirit: In an emotional ode, Annie Lennox performed “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the Irish singer-songwriter’s cover of Prince’s original. At the end of the tribute to the outspoken artist , Lennox proclaimed: “Artists for cease-fire.”

Jay-Z’s Speech:  While accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, Jay-Z criticized the Grammys  for what he described as its snubs and inconsistencies in giving out honors to Black artists.

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Black History Month 2024: African Americans and the Arts 

A woman reads a book

The national theme for Black History Month 2024 is “ African Americans and the Arts .”  

Black History Month 2024 is a time to recognize and highlight the achievements of Black artists and creators, and the role they played in U.S. history and in shaping our country today.  

To commemorate this year’s theme, we’ve gathered powerful quotes about learning, culture and equality from five historic Black American authors, teachers and artists who made a significant impact in the Arts, education ― and the nation.  

  Making history  

“Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better.” – Carter G. Woodson, Author, Journalist, Historian and Educator, 1875-1950  

Known as the “Father of Black History,” Carter G. Woodson was primarily self-taught in most subjects. In 1912, he became the second Black person to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard.   

He is the author of more than 30 books, including “T he Mis-Education of the Negro. ”  

Carter G. Woodson dedicated his life to teaching Black History and incorporating the subject of Black History in schools. He co-founded what is now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. (ASALH) . In February 1926, Woodson launched the first Negro History Week , which has since been expanded into Black History Month.  

Carter G. Woodson

Providing a platform  

“I have created nothing really beautiful, really lasting, but if I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent.” – Augusta Savage, Sculptor, 1892-1962  

An acclaimed and influential sculptor of the Harlem Renaissance, Augusta Savage was a teacher and an activist who fought for African American rights in the Arts. She was one out of only four women, and the only Black woman, commissioned for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. She exhibited one of her most famous works, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which she named after the hymn by James Weldon Johnson, sometimes referred to as the Black National Anthem. Her sculpture is also known as “ The Harp, ” renamed by the fair’s organizers.  

Photograph of Augusta Savage

Raising a voice  

“My mother said to me ‘My child listen, whatever you do in this world no matter how good it is you will never be able to please everybody. But what one should strive for is to do the very best humanly possible.’” – Marian Anderson, American Contralto, 1897-1993  

Marian Anderson broke barriers in the opera world. In 1939, she performed at the Lincoln Memorial in front of a crowd of 75,000 after the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) denied her access to the DAR Constitution Hall because of her race. And in 1955, Marian Anderson became the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. She sang the leading role as Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera.  

how to write an article on music

Influencing the world  

“The artist’s role is to challenge convention, to push boundaries, and to open new doors of perception.” – Henry Ossawa Tanner, Painter, 1859-1937  

Henry Ossawa Tanner is known to be the first Black artist to gain world-wide fame and acclaim. In 1877, he enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts , where he was the only Black student. In 1891, Tanner moved to Paris to escape the racism he was confronted with in America. Here, he painted two of his most recognized works, “ The Banjo Lesson” and “ The Thankful Poor of 1894. ”    

In 1923, Henry O. Tanner was awarded the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by the French government, France’s highest honor.  

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Rising up  

“Wisdom is higher than a fool can reach.” – Phillis Wheatley, Poet, 1753-1784  

At about seven years old, Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped from her home in West Africa and sold into slavery in Boston. She started writing poetry around the age of 12 and published her first poem, “ Messrs. Hussey and Coffin ,” in Rhode Island’s Newport Mercury newspaper in 1767.   

While her poetry spread in popularity ― so did the skepticism. Some did not believe an enslaved woman could have authored the poems. She defended her work to a panel of town leaders and became the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry. The panel’s attestation was included in the preface of her book.  

Phillis Wheatley corresponded with many artists, writers and activists, including a well-known 1 774 letter to Reverand Samson Occom about freedom and equality.  

Phillis Wheatley with pen and paper

Honoring Black History Month 2024  

Art plays a powerful role in helping us learn and evolve. Not only does it introduce us to a world of diverse experiences, but it helps us form stronger connections. These are just a few of the many Black creators who shaped U.S. history ― whose expressions opened many doors and minds.  

Black History Month is observed each year in February. To continue your learning, go on a journey with Dr. Jewrell Rivers, as he guides you through Black History in higher education. Read his article, “A Brief History: Black Americans in Higher Education.”  

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  • 05 February 2024

First passages of rolled-up Herculaneum scroll revealed

  • Jo Marchant 0

Jo Marchant is a science journalist based in London.

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Three rows of yellow papyrus with black writing in columns, on a black background.

Text from the Herculaneum scroll, which has been unseen for 2,000 years. Credit: Vesuvius Challenge

A team of student researchers has made a giant contribution to solving one of the biggest mysteries in archaeology by revealing the content of Greek writing inside a charred scroll buried 2,000 years ago by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The winners of a contest called the Vesuvius Challenge trained their machine-learning algorithms on scans of the rolled-up papyrus, unveiling a previously unknown philosophical work that discusses the senses and pleasure. The feat paves the way for artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to decipher the rest of the scrolls in their entirety, something that researchers say could have revolutionary implications for our understanding of the ancient world.

how to write an article on music

AI reads text from ancient Herculaneum scroll for the first time

The achievement has ignited the usually slow-moving world of ancient studies. It’s “what I always thought was a pipe dream coming true”, says Kenneth Lapatin, curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California. The revealed text discusses sources of pleasure including music, the taste of capers and the colour purple. “It’s an historic moment,” says classicist Bob Fowler at the University of Bristol, UK, one of the prize judges. The three students, from Egypt, Switzerland and the United States, who revealed the text share a US$700,000 grand prize.

The scroll is one of hundreds of intact papyri excavated in the eighteenth century from a luxury Roman villa in Herculaneum, Italy. These lumps of carbonized ash — known as the Herculaneum scrolls — constitute the only library that survives from the ancient world, but are too fragile to open.

The winning entry, announced on 5 February, reveals hundreds of words across 15 columns of text, corresponding to around 5% of a scroll. “The contest has cleared the air on all the people saying will this even work,” says Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, and co-founder of the prize. “Nobody doubts that anymore.”

Twenty-year mission

In the centuries after the scrolls were discovered, many people have attempted to open them, destroying some and leaving others in pieces. Papyrologists are still working to decipher and stitch together the resulting, horribly fragmented, texts. But the chunks with the worst charring — the most hopeless cases, adding up to perhaps 280 entire scrolls — were left intact. Most are held in the National Library in Naples, Italy, with a few in Paris, London and Oxford, UK.

A carbonized scroll rests on weighing scales.

This Herculaneum scroll was burnt and buried by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Credit: Vesuvius Challenge

Seales has been trying to read these concealed texts for nearly 20 years. His team developed software to “virtually unwrap” the surfaces of rolled-up papyri using 3D computed tomography (CT) images. In 2019, he took two of the scrolls from the Institut de France in Paris to the Diamond Light Source particle accelerator near Oxford to make high-resolution scans.

Mapping the surfaces was time consuming, however, and the carbon-based ink used to write the scrolls has the same density as papyrus, so it was impossible to differentiate in CT scans. Seales and his colleagues wondered whether machine-learning models might be trained to ‘unwrap’ the scrolls and distinguish the ink. But making sense of all the data was a gigantic task for his small team.

Seales was approached by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Nat Friedman, who had become intrigued by the Herculaneum scrolls after watching a talk by Seales online. Friedman suggested opening the challenge to contestants. He donated $125,000 to launch the effort and raised hundreds of thousands more on Twitter, and Seales released his software along with the high-resolution scans. The team launched the Vesuvius Challenge in March 2023, setting a grand prize for reading 4 passages, of at least 140 characters each, before the end of the year.

Key to the contest’s success was its “blend of competition and cooperation”, says Friedman. Smaller prizes were awarded along the way to incentivize progress, with the winning machine-learning code released at each stage to “level up” the community so contestants could build on each other’s advances.

The colour purple

A key innovation came in the middle of last year, when US entrepreneur and former physicist Casey Handmer noticed a faint texture in the scans, similar to cracked mud — he called it “crackle” — that seemed to form the shapes of Greek letters. Luke Farritor, an undergraduate studying computer science at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, used the crackle to train a machine-learning algorithm, revealing the word porphyras , ‘purple’, which won him the prize for unveiling the first letters in October . An Egyptian computer-science PhD student at the Free University of Berlin, Youssef Nader, followed with even clearer images of the text and came second.

A team of researchers used machine learning to image the shapes of ink on the rolled-up scroll. Credit: Vesuvius Challenge

Their code was released with less than three months for contestants to scale up their reads before the 31 December deadline for the final prize. “We were biting our nails,” says Friedman. But in the final week, the competition received 18 submissions. A technical jury checked entrants’ code, then passed 12 submissions to a committee of papyrologists who transcribed the text and assessed each entry for legibility. Only one fully met the prize criteria: a team formed by Farritor and Nader, along with Julian Schilliger, a robotics student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

The results are “incredible”, says judge Federica Nicolardi, a papyrologist at the University of Naples Federico II. “We were all completely amazed by the images they were showing.” She and her colleagues are now racing to analyse the text that has been revealed.

Music, pleasure and capers

The content of most of the previously opened Herculaneum scrolls relates to the Epicurean school of philosophy, founded by the Athenian philosopher Epicurus, who lived from 341 to 270 bc . The scrolls seem to have formed the working library of a follower of Epicurus named Philodemus. The new text doesn’t name the author but from a rough first read, say Fowler and Nicolardi, it is probably also by Philodemus. As well as pleasurable tastes and sights, it refers to a figure called Xenophantus, possibly a flute-player of that name mentioned by the ancient authors Seneca and Plutarch, whose evocative playing apparently caused Alexander the Great to reach for his weapons.

Lapatin says the topics discussed by Philodemus and Epicurus are still relevant: “The basic questions Epicurus was asking are the ones that face us all as humans. How do we live a good life? How do we avoid pain?” But “the real gains are still ahead of us”, he says. “What’s so exciting to me is less what this scroll says, but that the decipherment of this scroll bodes well for the decipherment of the hundreds of scrolls that we had previously given up on.”

There is likely to be more Greek philosophy in the scrolls: “I’d love it if he had some works by Aristotle,” says papyrologist and prize judge Richard Janko at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Meanwhile, some of the opened scrolls, written in Latin, cover a broader subject area, raising the possibility of lost poetry and literature by writers from Homer to Sappho. The scrolls “will yield who knows what kinds of new secrets”, says Fowler. “We’re all very excited.”

The achievement is also likely to fuel debate over whether further investigations should be conducted at the Herculaneum villa, entire levels of which have never been excavated. Janko and Fowler are convinced that the villa’s main library was never found, and that thousands more scrolls could still be underground. More broadly, the machine-learning techniques pioneered by Seales and the Vesuvius Challenge contestants could now be used to study other types of hidden text, such as cartonnage, recycled papyri often used to wrap Egyptian mummies.

The next step is to decipher an entire work. Friedman has announced a new set of Vesuvius Challenge prizes for 2024, with the aim of reading 90% of a scroll by the end of the year. But in the meantime, just getting this far “feels like a miracle”, he says. “I can’t believe it worked.”

Nature 626 , 461-462 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00346-8

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    Do what works best for the tune. #4. Write Down the Stanzas. The third step after writing the title, the hook, and the refrain is to write down the stanzas. You can choose to let your song narrate a story, or it can be equally unplanned. Whichever route you choose to take, be keen on the audio and the lyrics.

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    Music activates just about all of the brain. Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the brain. Of course, music activates the auditory cortex in the temporal lobes close to your ears, but that's just the beginning. The parts of the brain involved in emotion are not only activated during emotional ...

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    Write a review of an album that you know absolutely nothing about by an artist you have never even heard of, music that has never crossed your path before. Try looking to genres you are unfamiliar with. Write an album review of approximately 1000 words that describes your impressions of an album by an artist you are completely unfamiliar with.

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    Step 2: Select a Topic and an Attractive Heading. Having understood your audience, select a relevant topic based on their interests and questions. Be sure it's one you can competently discuss. When deciding how to start writing an article, ensure it begins with a captivating title.

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    Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas Magical Powers of Music: It has the power to cure diseases such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc. The power of Music can be testified by the legends about Tansen of his bringing the rains by singing Raag Megh Malhar and lighting lamps by Raga Deepak.

  24. Simple Songwriting Guide: How to Write a Song in 5 Steps

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  25. AI can now master your music—and it does shockingly well

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    Album of the year is for a complete body of work (a full LP of music); song of the year is a songwriter's prize, awarded to the person (or people) who wrote the music and lyrics to a single song ...

  27. Black History Month 2024: African Americans and the Arts

    Black History Month is observed each year in February. To continue your learning, go on a journey with Dr. Jewrell Rivers, as he guides you through Black History in higher education. Read his article, "A Brief History: Black Americans in Higher Education." Read the Article

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    The revealed text discusses sources of pleasure including music, the taste of capers and the colour purple. "It's an historic moment," says classicist Bob Fowler at the University of Bristol ...