Reviews are about expressing your opinion on something; it can be a book, a movie, a bar, or a concert. The thing is, you review things in your mind unconsciously every day. Reviews are about judging a musical performance or the writing of a book, but it comes with more than that. When you express your opinions, you need to back them up with facts and arguments, so that the audience is convinced by them.
Students often find themselves having to write reviews as school assignments. And even though a review does not have a specific structure, it has some rules you need to abide by to make it powerful and convincing. When writing a concert review, it is important to look at some things that could influence the music experience people could have when attending a concert. Here you have a guide to writing concert reviews for students, that we hope will shed some light on what you need to point out.
Research
A review is not convincing and effective enough if the background experience of the reviewer is not rich on the topic. For example, when writing a concert review, you need to have good knowledge of music and live performances, and to have at least attended a few ones. If you want your review to be convincing and people to trust your opinion, you need to prove, from how you express your opinion, that you have some knowledge on the subject.
At the same time, as a concert reviewer, you need to adapt it to your target audience. It is a common student task to write a review, and many teachers are looking forward to reading them. They might be interested in concepts related to music theory, while music fans would be more interested in reading about the concert experience you had. However, many students are already looking for a good source of concert review examples, to understand the points they need to discuss in their review. We have shortly briefed some of them below.
Take Notes During the Concert
Music has a powerful influence on student character development, having the power to inspire, comfort, or motivate them. Concerts and any live performance can boost the mood of students who are attending it. But when you know you need to write a compelling concert review; you need to pay attention to many details and factors that influence your experience.
It is therefore important, when attending the concert, to take a notebook and note everything you notice and feel. Or you can directly note your thoughts on your phone. As the experience will be very stimulating and enriching, you might forget some details. So, take notes about the lightning that is on the stage, the venue, the performance of musicians, and their interaction with the public.
Your Overall Impression
Review writing is a subjective process students are involved in. It is your impression of the musical performance and the overall experience that matters. Of course, it has to be backed up by facts, but it is your personal opinion and impression that are shared through a review. This is why many reviews are in disagreement, although they have been written on the same topic. Each human has his reality and sees things through the filter of his personal experiences.
When writing your concert review, it is important to give your overall impression of the concert. How was it? Were there any things you liked? Or others that you disliked?
Concert Details
Many students that write concert reviews focus too much on the musicians and too little on their performance. The latter one is more important, as it is their interaction with the public that matters. Their performance encompasses all their gestures, how they use the stage space, or back-up each other.
Another detail that needs to be pointed out is the songs they have played and their composers if the latter one is relevant (remember about the audience of your review and what they want to know). Briefly mention all these to help the reader imagine the concert atmosphere you will be describing. Why did you find some compositions more beautiful and extraordinary than others? Were they somber? Shortly discuss these.
The Audience
We know that live performances are so dependent on how the public reacts, and this is especially the case of live bands. But the audience reacts to what the band does, so it is like an endless cycle. Even though the focus of your concert review should be the performance of musicians, the audience should not be overlooked. You would want readers to imagine the atmosphere how you felt it, and for this, you need to observe the audience. Were they happy and joyful or bored by the musical performance? Were there any songs they liked more than others? How was the public interacting with the musicians?
Conclusion
Students often need to write concert reviews as school assignments. A concert review should present your personal experience when attending a concert. It should briefly present the compositions, the performance of musicians, and how the audience related to their performance. On top of this, you should express your personal opinion on the concert and back it up with facts, so that your review will be convincing and powerful. Do not forget to take notes during the concert and observe the lightning, the venue, and the gestures of the musicians.
