Dear Huntley’s next music connoisseur,
As a three-year reviewer for The Voice, and since my time is coming to an end, I figured I would leave this behind for you, as you’ll be educating future viewers on how the beauty of music. As a publication that has been apart of my life for a few years, I wanted to preface this with how much being the voice of music for our staff has meant to me. While some girls obsess over Ulta products, I indulge in nice earbuds and records, and I hope to keep this passion flowing past the 2017-2018 school year.
Before I start to cry, here is a list of skills you should attain. Whether I utilized them my sophomore year or now, these are what got me through the years. As for anything, not everything will work for every person, but it is better to have them as resources than just discard them completely.
Get a premium account from some streaming app. I use Spotify, and although it is $10 a month, if you use it as often as I do, for hours at a time, it is worth the investment. Surrounding yourself with every genre possible, even if you despise it as much as I hate country, is imperative because they are fantastic for comparisons, a vital aspect of reviewing anything.
- Find what inspires you. It took me about a year and a half to get this down fully. For instance, my first review was of House group, Disclosure. Sure, I still love EDM, but as I have grown, my top tracks have too. Make sure to not only pay attention to the changes in the music industry but stick with that keeps you going. If you’re lost, I find political punk pioneers a train of thoughts. The Clash, Rancid, Anti-Flag, and Green Day are among the numerous artists who I credit for the way I write and think. Ultimately, find what works for you and makes you happy; when you’re bored writing a review, it reflects.
- DO MORE THAN REVIEWS! For many months I couldn’t find something I was passionate enough about to review, so I thought outside the box and covered other things. If you take a look at the last few years, I did a lot of lists to compensate for lack of albums that were worth reviewing. Attend the journalism conference in November of 2018 to hear from columnists in sessions, because their advice was incorporated every month.
Take good care of this large chunk of A&E; oh, and don’t use jargon… then you just sound like a snob. Remember the audience is primarily your peers, and they don’t care about the mechanics as much as how the music sounds. The one thing Mr. Brown told me before sectionals is background and production is solid to have, but your focus is the actual record; don’t get sidetracked. You’ll kick butt, and this section is a blast!
Your friend,
Sarah Biernat