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The Journal of Music is an online music magazine based in Ireland and read
worldwide. Founded by musician Toner Quinn in 2000, it began as a bimonthly
print publication and subsequently won the Utne Independent Press Award for Arts
Coverage in Washington DC. In 2010, the Journal moved fully online and now has
over two hundred thousand readers worldwide. The magazine covers a wide range
of genres, particularly classical, contemporary, traditional, folk, indie, opera, jazz,
improvised and alternative popular music. The Journal has been supported by the
Arts Council since its inception.
Over the past three years, the Journal has run a number of Music Writer Mentoring
Schemes – in Clare, Galway and Northern Ireland – with the purpose of
developing new writing talent. An added benefit of this process has been that we
have had to formulate some of the editorial practices that have been part of the
culture of the publication since the beginning but which we had previously been
doing instinctively. This document includes a number of those ideas. Our aim is
that it will assist contributors to the Journal in the future.
When it comes to writing the review, we have found that similar issues tend to
crop up in the editorial process so we have tried to formulate some of our thoughts
below. These points are an approximate formula for approaching the writing of a
review.
Beginning with a concise but tightly packed introduction is therefore a useful start.
Please introduce the reader to the artist, drawing on your own independent
listening to their music to date. Tell the reader about the artist’s previous work and
what you believe is significant or interesting about it. Please make sure to include
the particular context for the performance, recording or publication under review in
your introduction. Keep this section detailed but brief in order to allow enough
space to focus on the work under review later on.
When describing the music in the actual review, the key, as the great book editor
Sol Stein once wrote with regard to fiction, is to show, don’t tell. For example,
when you mention a characteristic of a piece of music – or make a statement about
it – provide the reader with an example. Describe the sounds. Play it over in your
head and find the right words. Fresh music deserves fresh language. Ask yourself
what moments or passages stood out for you, and, in your own voice, try to explain
why in as much detail as possible.
The descriptions of the music will likely be a substantial part of your review and it
is an essential aspect. Your words may be the only in-depth record of an event that
we have for posterity. In the words of the late music writer Bob Gilmore (a
contributor to the Journal of Music between 2005 and 2012), ‘Music criticism
should be, in part, a record of how music felt in its own time.’
Descriptions should be detailed, and yet, while digital publishing does allow longer
word-counts, it is unlikely that you will be able to include everything about the
music in your review. Every word has to earn its keep and contribute to making an
engaging piece.
A little note: In order to avoid generic writing (i.e. writing that isn’t specific
enough), try this trick: In every passage where you describe an artist’s music or a
particular work, insert the name of another artist or work from the same genre. If
the passage still makes sense, then it may not be detailed enough. Please try and
describe the music in such a way that you could not say the same thing about
another artist or work.
Work your way through the performance, recording or publication chronologically,
unless there are certain ideas or parts that suggest they should be grouped
differently.
And, finally, a word on accessibility. We are located in Ireland, but fifty per cent of
our readers are outside the country – thirty per cent are in the UK and the USA and
the remaining twenty per cent come from every corner of the globe. A reader may
land on your review having never come across the Journal before. It is therefore
important that every review reaches out to the reader, using language that is
engaging and accessible.
Should you have any comments or questions about this document we would be
delighted to hear from you at editor@journalofmusic.com. If you are interested in
contributing to the Journal, please send us a sample review.
Toner Quinn
Editor, The Journal of Music
28 August 2019