How to write an indie music review essay

Writing a review of a music genre you are not familiar with is not easy, especially when it comes to a style like indie. Together with WritingCheap essay writing service, we’ve prepared a guide for you on how to work on an indie music review essay. We will explore what indie music is, how it differs from other genres, and how it affects the essay writing process.

What is indie music?

Indie music is not a genre, it’s a phenomenon. The name came from independent music. Since at the time when this term was introduced, most of the amateur bands played either derivatives of post-punk — gothic rock, neo-psychedelia, dark folk, etc. — or varieties of alternative rock — noise-rock, shoegaze, and the like, a certain image of indie music was formed.

Indie musicians do not sign contracts with labels. They do not use the services of producers (those who promote musicians). They do everything themselves.

Thus, indie music is a variety of genres, and it can be rock and electronics, and folk. Anything. Today, indie means a certain sound, which has its roots in post-punk, but it is much lighter and more positive.

How to write an indie music review essay?

The main purpose of a music review essay is to share your impressions of a piece of music or album. This includes not only your personal feelings and emotions about the song but also the creation history, genre, information about the artist, and a variety of facts about the creation of the piece. It is common to refer to indie as experimental, non-commercial, and non-pop music, most often not intended for the mass ear and MTV. Therein lies the small complexity of the analysis. But with the help of our step-by-step guide, you can easily write an essay.

A step-by-step guide on writing an indie music review

Listen to the piece

The first thing you need to do is listen to the song you have decided to analyze. You should do this at least twice and at different times. While listening for the first time, try to write down your emotions and general impressions of the music. What kind of atmosphere does it create? How does it affect your mood?

As you listen a second time, try to do a more in-depth analysis. Describe the tempo, rhythm, melody, and how harmonious the sound is. Try to guess which musical instruments were involved in composing the music. It is also worth paying attention to the lyrics of the song. What does it tell you? Is there any hidden meaning in it? Write down all your observations in a draft, and we’ll come back to them later.

Research

This assignment is not without research, either. Look for information about the artist and the song. Interviews in which the artist may share the writing process or the idea they put into a piece of music may also be helpful. The creation story is very important for overall understanding. You will agree that you will listen to the Bohemian Rapsody by Queen in a completely different way if you know how it was created. The same goes for the lyrics of the song. It often seems like a set of words if you don’t know the background and the imagery that the author puts into it.

This stage is especially relevant for working on indie music reviews because they do not cooperate with labels and often write the music and lyrics themselves.

Make an outline and a draft

The outline will help you structure your thoughts. Like any essay, a music review consists of an introduction, main body, and conclusion. Clearly, it also can’t go without a thesis.

In the first paragraph (introduction), you have to introduce your reader to the singer or group and their song or album that you analyze. You also have to state the genre (indie music, in our case) and type of music. In the last sentence, you have to present the thesis statement. It can be the relation of the song to the time period or history, etc.

The main body is devoted to the analysis of the song or album. First, you give a brief history of the group or singer and the background of the song creation. The next step is to give the analysis of the song and explain its meaning with quotes. It’s time to get back to your notes and write about the musical instruments, tempo, rhythm, and the whole harmony of a song. Here you can mention the parts and sounds that you liked or disliked. However, you should not be biased. You can also compare the song with other creations of a singer or group. And finally, you have to answer your thesis statement.

In the last paragraph, you write your general opinion and impressions. You can mention if the song or singer has influenced the music industry or people’s lives. Make sure that you justify your statements.