Writing+Project+-+Song+Review

Important Aspects of Your Music Review
It's possible that this project can take many forms. It might be a pure written review of the song, a podcast in interview format, or even a movie maker video. Writing of the report or script should be the main priority! The most important outcome of this project is that you display a command of descriptive music vocabulary, the words used to describe what is happening in the song

[|Go To The Tag Cloud]

Sections of the Review
Your song review should include information pertaining to these four major sections. You may also include other information which is relevant to your study of the music and background information of the performers.

Biographical Background
Your report should begin with a few biographical paragraphs about the band or the performers. You might ask yourself a few of these questions as prompts to get started:

1. Who are the band members and what instruments do they play? 2. How did they meet? How old are they? What is their educational background? 3. How long have they worked together? Where is their "home base"? 4. Did the band receive any awards or honors? Did they do anything special to achieve the recognition they get? 5. How many albums did they record? What is their most famous song?

Musical Style
1. How is their style categorized? (rock, alternative, blues, new age, etc.) 2. Who were the musical influences on this group? 3. Is the music of this artist similar to that of any other? Do other bands emulate or copy //their// style? 4. Do you hear anything unique?

Analysis of the Song
//**Important!**// The best way to start writing about the structure and musical elements of the song is to use a time line. You timeline will look something like this:

0 sec ...............................15 sec..........................................60 sec Introduction.............................. Verse 1................................... Chorus [ ---[---[---] Elec guitar plays softly as ...........Singer enters with a raspy, .........Drum set & bass guitar bass and drums accompany.........sad tone. Piano and guitar..........enter and volume increases. ..................................................play softly in background ...........Guitar fills gaps between voice ...................................................................................................phrases

[ -]

This can be written on a scratch page. A time line will help you to readily reference musical events that happen during the song.

1. List the parts, or sections of the song in order (Introduction, Verse 1, chorus (or refrain, verse 2, chorus, guitar solo, chorus...); this exercise will give you major clues abut the form, or structure of the song. 2. The poetic form of the lyrics will also provide clues about how the song is organized.

Your Critique and Impressions
1. Why does this song appeal to you or your friends? Do others enjoy listening to it? 2. Do you think the song is controversial? What seems to bother people when they listen to it? 3. What is the general "feel" of the song? Would you describe it as "danceable, technical sounding, mellow..."? 4. Do you feel that all of the musicians play on an equal professional level, or does one stand out as the star? Why?