Steps to writing an Excellent Concert Report/Review

author By Mary Boies
concert-report-guide

A concert report or review paper is a common college assignment. However, many students find it complex a task to accomplish. It entails giving your personal opinion on a performance.

It could be a theater performance, music concert, or any concert. You are required to state what you feel, hear, or perceive the concert as in your concert report. But how do you begin or end this concert review or concert report?

If you have been asked to write a concert review as part of your schoolwork or for any other reason and you are stuck, you should read this post.

In it, you will discover everything important there is to know about writing concert reviews/reports. Let’s look at how to write a concert report or review paper that will attract the best grades.

What is a concert review?

A concert review is simply a review of a concert. Imagine you went to a concert, returned home, and wrote about it on Facebook or Twitter. That is a concert review. However, it is not complete. When you post a concert review on your social media page, it will probably be just a few sentences long.

A proper concert review, also known as a concert review essay or a concert report, is a comprehensive account of a live performance. You are supposed to document everything when you write a proper or real concert review.

Many music students love writing concert reports. This is because one needs to attend a concert to write a proper or full report about it. And students love concerts, especially students pursuing music courses.

Read on to find out everything you need to know about writing a concert review essay in the sections below.

Types of concert review essays

There are five major types of concert review essays or reports – piano concert reports, symphony concert reports, jazz concert reports, live concert reports, and classical concert reports.

Knowing the differences between the major types of concert reports will make it easy for you to write one.

1. Piano concert reports

Pianos are ubiquitous in the music scene. They are used to produce different types of music. They are also used to produce live music. Some of the most famous musicians in the world are also pianists, e.g., Lionel Richie and Bruno Mars.

A piano concert report is one that involves attending a concert in which a piano is played and then writing a comprehensive review about it. To write a good piano concert review, you must be able to identify crucial elements of piano music, including the mechanical moments, the harmonies, and the dissonance.

2. Jazz concert reports

Jazz music is free music. It is soulful music. It is a type of music that focuses on rhythm and improvisation. To write a good jazz concert report, you must include elements such as the effects of the performance, the moods of the audience, the improvisation (if any), and the way the artists interact.

3. Symphony concert reports

A symphony concert report is a concert report that involves attending and reporting information about a symphony performance. A symphony will always have a conductor. To write a good concert report, you must include information about the conductor and their performance. You should also include details about the rest of the symphony, details about the instruments, details about the overall performance, and so on.

4. Classical concert reports

Classical concert reports are concert reports on classical music events or performances. If you have ever attended a classical concert, you will know that it is a complex event with many different aspects of elements. To write a good concert report, you need to present information about everything noteworthy you observed, heard, or did at the concert. Focus on information about the performance and the audience.

5. Live concert reports

Live concert reports are reviews of live concerts with no specific music genre. They are the most common type of concert report because most music concerts are general music concerts that don’t focus on a specific genre. To write a good live concert report, you simply need to attend one and then review your experience comprehensively. Make sure you include information about the venue, the event, the performances, and the audience.

Important elements of a concert report essay

Five elements must be present in a concert report for it to be considered a proper or complete concert report.

1. Performance

The first element is performance. About 99 percent of people who attend concerts attend them for the performance. So, make sure you include details about the performance and the performers in your essay.

2. Opinion on the performance

The second element is your opinion on what was performed. A concert report is also known as a concert review. It is basically your review of the music performance. So, you must include your opinion on the performance.

3. Opinion on quality of the performance

You must mention whether the music met your expectations. You must also talk about how the performance was put together and whether the audience was impressed throughout.

4. Information about the music relates to your classwork

The fourth element you must include in your essay for it to be complete is how the information you got from class relates to what you heard. Did you notice anything that matches your classwork (class materials, discussions, assignments, or modules)? If you did, you must mention and explain. If you did not notice anything related to your classwork, you must also mention this in your report.

5. Venue and its effect on the performance

Lastly, your concert review needs information about the venue and how it affected the performance. Was the venue perfect for the concert? Did it make the concert better? Did the audience improve your experience? You must provide answers to all these questions in your concert report essay. 

How to write a concert report in 8 steps

Follow the steps below to write an excellent concert report that will get you that grade you want.  

1. Find out more information about the concert

The moment you know the concert you will be writing a report on, you should find out more information about it. You can do this easily by going online to Google the concert. Find out who exactly the musicians will be, what they will be performing, what instruments they will be using, etc.

This information will help you to prepare yourself mentally for the concert. It will also help you to know what to look out for.

2. Attend the concert

If you need to reserve a seat or buy a ticket to attend the concert, do so the moment you know the concert you will be writing a report on. You cannot write a comprehensive report on a concert you have not personally attended.

So, reserve a seat or get a ticket and attend the concert. Make sure you carry a notebook with you and record your observation. Record or take notes about the songs performed, the venue, the audience, and anything else that stands out to you.

3. Organize your notes

When making notes at the concert, you will most likely not have time to organize every bit of information you record. So after the concert, when everything is still fresh in your mind, you should organize your notes.

Ensure you have all the important pieces of information you need for your review, including details about the venue, the musicians, the performance, the songs, the interactions between the musicians and the audience, the number of people in the audience, and so on. All these information pieces will help make your concert report very detailed and comprehensive.

4. Think about your first opinion

After organizing your notes, you should think about the concert and whether it met your expectations. Was the performance good enough? Write down your opinion about what impressed you and what could have been done better. You can always change your opinion when you are writing your report.

5. Create a concert report essay outline

After step four above, you will have everything you need to create a detailed outline that you can use to produce an excellent concert report. You already know the key elements that must be present for a concert report to be considered to be complete. After this section, you will also learn how to create an outline. Use the information you have gathered so far to create an outline.

6. Write your first concert report draft

After creating your outline, you should write your first draft of the report using your outline. Just write every word or sentence that comes to your mind. When writing your first draft, your goal is to get to the last sentence of your report. So follow your outline and write about everything in it following its structure.

Write as quickly as possible and if anything seems a bit difficult to phrase or understand, just ignore it and get to the end of your essay. Write your first draft without stopping.

7. Proofread your work

After you are done writing your first draft, you should proofread your work. You should proofread and eliminate all minor and major errors you can see. To catch the errors you may have missed, you should give your friend or parent your essay and ask them to read and highlight all the errors they see. You should then check if the errors are real. If yes, you should eliminate them.

After proofreading your work, read it out loud one last time to ensure it flows. If it does not, edit it to make sure it does.

8. Final touches

After you are done proofreading and editing your concert report, you should make sure it follows all the formatting requirements requested by your instructor. Make sure the margins are aligned as requested, the pages are numbered, the font size is correct, and the spacing is correct. Look throughout your report to make sure everything is on point. If everything is on point, then your concert report is ready for submission. You should proceed to submit it.

Concert report structure  

To write a good concert report, simply create an outline that follows the structure below. Make your outline as detailed as possible, and you will be on your way to writing an excellent concert report.

1. Introduction paragraph

In your introduction paragraph, you should introduce everything important about the performance. You should introduce the concert, its name, venue, title, and the performers. You should also include the time when the concert took place in your introduction. In other words, after reading your introduction, you want your readers to know everything they would love to know about the concert.

2. Body paragraph 1 (review description)

The main purpose of a concert report or review is to review. It is to describe what happened comprehensively and then to give your opinion. So in the first body paragraph, you should describe all the performances and compositions. Elaborate on what happened, and do not forget to mention the performers, their performances, and the audience's response.

3. Body paragraph 2 (evaluation)

This is the most important part of a concert review report. Anybody wanting to read about the details of the concert will simply go online and read about it. When reading your concert report, readers want to see your individual opinion (your evaluation).

So tell your readers your thoughts about the concert. Tell them your thoughts about the performance. Was it worth it? Were the musical compositions good enough? Did the performance meet your expectations? Do not forget to talk about the musical instruments used, their quality, and how they contributed to the performance.

Make sure your evaluation is balanced. Do not be too positive, and at the same time, do not be too negative. Any review that is too positive or negative isn’t a good review. It puts off the reader, and this could result in the deduction of points.

4. Body paragraph 3 (evaluation)

Start your third body paragraph by presenting information about how the audience responded to the performance. When was the audience most engaged or impressed by the performance? Write about how they reacted. When you are done writing about the audience and your opinion on them, write a bit about the venue, the venue space, the seat arrangement, and how the venue was managed.

The above information will enrich your evaluation and better understand the concert. By the time a reader is done reading your body paragraph 2 and body paragraph 3, they should be 100 percent confident that they have all the important information about the concert.

5. Conclusion paragraph

After you are done writing your body paragraphs, you just need to conclude your report, and it will be ready. Simply summarize your entire experience at the concert and your overall impression. You can suggest an improvement that could be made to make the concert much better next time it is held.

Dos and Don’ts when writing a concert report paper

Do’s when writing a concert report

  1. Do pre-research the concert to learn more about it and its performers.
  2. Do attend the concert to gather first-hand information about all its aspects.
  3. Note down everything about the concert, from its venue to the audience and the musicians.
  4. Do use the recommended writing style and format.
  5. Do evaluate everything about the concert, including its venue, time, and location.
  6. Do maintain objectivity and balance

Don’ts when writing a concert report

  1. Don’t use clichés (be very specific with your wording)
  2. Don’t exaggerate things positively or negatively
  3. Don’t use personal pronouns and quotes
  4. Don’t overuse slang or casual language

Concert report writing style

When writing a concert report as an assignment, you should make sure your writing style is simple and clear to understand. This will make it easier for your professor to understand it and grade it. It is okay to use casual language when writing a concert report. However, you should not overdo it. You mostly stick to formal language and only use casual language where necessary.

As is the case with writing other academic assignments, it is important to avoid oversharing your personal opinions in your report. Make sure your report is mostly facts-based and not based on your takes or opinions. Write about the facts at hand rather than your opinion. Your opinion is needed in your concert report, but it should not be the biggest part of your report or essay.

Whenever you can, you should try to be as specific as possible. Avoid using clichés. Use very specific wording, especially when describing the performance and the music. This will demonstrate your knowledge in the area and make your work more interesting.

Concluding Remarks

This guide has the resources you need to write an excellent concert report, a concert report that will have all the key elements and impress your instructor. However, if you need more personalized help, you should work with us. We’ve got paper writers ready to write a 100 percent original concert report that you can use as a sample or in whichever way you please.

We also have tutors ready to proofread, edit or review your concert report for you. Contact us to get all the help you need with your concert report essay assignment. All our services are completely confidential. So you’ve got nothing to worry about.

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