Hi i decide to start to write about this subject because i recently have time to do some reviews of albums that i like it, and when i decide an album of a group.  First i read most of the existing reviews of this page and a lot of other pages and recollect information of other sources  and finally i start to write the review.

Alberto

I just started writing reviews as well. One thing I seem to like to do is wait for inspiration to come to me. For example, when I wrote my reviews of Foxtrot or Snow, it was because they popped up in my head and I couldn't stop thinking about them. Snow was particularly weird because I haven't listened to that album in at least a couple months, so I'm not sure why I was thinking about it.

I'd also say it's important to find your own style and play to your strengths. I know "find your own style" is a vague and cliche statement, but no one wants to hear the same thing over and over again, especially if it's an album with tons of reviews already. The same goes to the "play to your strengths" statement. Are you an avid player of an instrument? If so, maybe focus on that instrument in your reviews since you'll have a better understanding of it than most. 

A problem I face is that I have little knowledge of music: how the instruments are played, the theories behind it, etc. So what I did for my Foxtrot review is talked about how it affected me emotionally instead of giving a track-by-track analysis of what the music is. Apparently this was original enough for me to get a compliment from a collaborater here! For Snow, I focued on the Christian themes of it (although I am not sure if that had been covered yet). For Labyrinth soundtrack, I also explained how I relate to it (though not as much), and my RC2 review is an example of me trying to give a track-by-track analysis... and I'm not too proud of it, haha. (I hate that I keep talking about my reviews but I feel they give a good example of what I am talking about).

Given this, I would recommend you keep reading others' reviews before you write your own. Yes, as Zappa said, it may influence your reviews, but it can also give you an idea of what HASN'T been said about an album yet. This will give your reviews their own strength and will catch people's eye (sort of since they still have to read it to find out, but I think you can catch my drift). 

I hope this helps.

Writing a Music Review

Name ______________________________________           Date ____________________

Read	two critics' reviews. Put checkmarks in the first two columns to show whether the reviews contain those parts.
View	a video clip of a traditional music performance from http://www.louisianafolklife.org/Resources/main_prog_streaming_video.html - Streaming Video Clips on Louisiana Traditional Culture or listen to a sound recording.
Read	your notes on the http://www.louisianavoices.org/Unit6/edu_unit6w_notetaking.html - Careers in Music - Notetaking Worksheet to find the parts listed below then write them in the "Parts to Include" column.
Provide	information on each item below. Put a checkmark in the last column when you do.
Write	a Music Review. Write three paragraphs using the information you entered below.

1st Review	2nd Review	Parts to include	My Review
		First Paragraph                  Give the facts
		Who?
		What
		When?
		Where?
		Why?
		Second Paragraph                Describe the performance
		First
		Second
		Third Paragraph                 Give your opinion and supporting arguments
		Your Opinion
		Supporting arguments
		Your Opinion
		Supporting argument(s)
		Your Opinion
		Supporting argument(s)

For a pdf of this page http://www.louisianavoices.org/pdfs/Unit6/Lesson5/WritingaMusicReview.pdf - click here .

Kestrel i note two things thay you write, one is the emotional part of it and the second is the musical knowledge i think that a very good combination of both results a great review

zafreth wrote: Kestrel i note two things thay you write, one is the emotional part of it and the second is the musical knowledge i think that a very good combination of both results a great review Cheers Alberto

Thank you! I'm known among some of my friends for my cold and distant style of writing which kind of lends itself to prog, but I think there is much more emotion in prog rock that people don't give credit.

About your diagram thing: To me, I think it can give some solid reviews but I can see it perhaps getting a bit stale over time. If you like it, I would try it out for a couple of reviews and see how it works out. A problem with things like this though is that they can make you start writing things a bit robotically. *shrug*

Youre Welcome Kestrel!

Also check this opinion:

Writing an Effective Music Review

 When it comes to review writing of any sort it can be hard knowing where exactly to start. There's more to writing a music review than a simple statement of "I love this" or "I hate this" and with this article I seek to explain a little more about writing an effective music review.

For many years now I have been writing music reviews for my personal website Alt-UK. For Alt-UK I've written over 500 music reviews but in total I would say that I've written roughly 1000 over the years now. I love to write, to get my personal opinions across and like to think that I'm improving all the time.

When writing a music review it's important that you get plenty of personal opinion across. If you're writing about an album for example then describe in the best way you can the music that is on offer. Some people like to write about every track on an album, others however choose to focus more heavily on a smaller number of tracks; perhaps a few personal favourites and a few weaker tracks also. I personally like to concentrate generally on a couple of tracks in particular that I have really liked or disliked, to convey the mood of the album as a whole in my writing and to write quite generally about the album and the way that the musical piece works as a whole. I like to put across in my writing how strongly I feel the album has been constructed, and for the most part tend to talk about the album as a whole rather than singling out tracks individually. An album is a collection of tracks and the way I see it as that an album review should therefore give a strong overview of the album, a personal opinion of how well the music works and how strongly the music has been presented by the band in all areas (quality of the vocals, guitars, drum beats etc.)

When writing album reviews I always try and pick out at least three or four tracks for closer analysis; tracks that give an accurate overview of the album as a whole. Sometimes albums provide an eclectic variety of tracks and I therefore talk about more tracks in order to put across the mood of the album. With most artists mentioning three or four tracks is generally enough I feel, it gives people a good idea of what tracks to listen to and potentially which ones to avoid. For those that wish to talk about every track that's perfectly fair enough; music reviewing is entirely down to the individual doing the writing; this is just my way of doing things but really when it comes to reviewing there is no definitive right or wrong way of doing things.

It's important always to remain fairly objective and to research the artist you are reviewing beforehand. This may not be the first album released by the artist, it could then be appropriate to refer back to earlier work in order to draw comparisons. Don't draw too heavily on earlier work and always make sure the album you are reviewing is kept to be the main focus, do not be afraid of saying you prefer an earlier album for whatever reason however or in fact of stating how much an artist has improved compared with earlier recordings. Lyrics can often be extremely important in music, personal life events can impact hugely upon the lyrics that are written and sometimes it can be worth mentioning things you feel may have moulded the lyrics of particular tracks. Don't make the review too much of a life story about the artist, definitely do not be afraid of suggesting where lyrical content inspiration may have come though.

When writing it's important to have fun and enjoy yourself, writing about your favourite artists and albums is therefore a strong starting point and a great place to begin as in talking about your favourites you'll surely have plenty to say. I started off by writing reviews purely for Amazon, before long however I wanted to post my writing at a place I could truly call my own and that's when I began my website. Since then I've never looked back; I write daily and do in fact now write for a living. I love writing and album reviews have always been my main area of interest. Get plenty of personal opinion in your reviews, include some facts but don't overdo it; most of your writing should be opinion and facts should always be kept to a bare minimum. Basic writing rules apply here; don't use sentence structures that are overly long and use spelling and grammar checkers to make your writing as accurate as possible.

I write a lot of music reviews and hope that some of the things I have said here have been useful. Read around, get an idea of how others write their music reviews, and ultimately just write in a way that feels right to you and in a manner in which you feel most comfortable. If you're writing for yourself then there are really no restrictions, have fun with it and let your words flow. When writing for magazines there are always certain rules to follow, write in the style expected but always retain your personality. Writing can sometimes be quite lifeless, inject energy into your style and really bring your words to life on the page. There's nothing worse than reading a technically well written but completely flat piece of writing, make your words interesting to read and the reader will always crave more. If the reader has interest in what you've written then the likelihood is that they will seek out further writing of yours in future, there's nothing more satisfying than building up a readership and it's always warming to feel that others are enjoying your work. Although it's nice when others like what you write, never write merely to impress others and just write with a goal of pleasing yourself.

Enjoy your writing and always have fun with the words that you write. Writing music reviews can be incredibly fun and when it ceases to be enjoyable then you know that it's time to take a break from writing them. I write about a large variety of different things, throughout the year's music has always remained my favourite thing to write about however and music has always been something I have been hugely passionate about. Music review writing can be greatly pleasurable, if you've got a passion for music then my best advice is to get writing as soon as possible and show the world of music journalism exactly what its been missing.

I think that's a good way of putting what we all have been pretty much saying here. Find your own style which can give your reviews some uniqueness and personality. 

Another thing I wanted to mention that is not necessarily about how you review, but what you review: If possible, I would try to review more lesser-known albums that well-known. What's the point of being the 435th review of an album when you can be the 3rd or 4th or even 1st? Apparently, the admins like it when you strike an album off this list: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20825

What inspired me to start reviewing was the thought that my review could potentially influence a purchase. All of the other reviews will get people to buy Foxtrot so my opinion isn't as needed (it's just one of my favorites so I felt the need to), but it would be awesome if I was able to help a smaller, new band out by giving them a positive review. Don't need to follow this advice, of course, but it's just a thought.

Is there a place in PA for a Special Collabarator with a key portfolio as a Review Mentor-Coach-Critic? I am thinking along the lines of a respected reviewer who has a mission to select a number reviews by a member and (via PM exchange) comment on strengths and weaknesses in the reviews, ways to better understand the music, tips on writing, simple encouragement, etc. ...or is this just a pie-in-the-sky thought? (I imagine it would be a tough gig.)