5 Ways to Become a Great Composer of Your Own Music Essay: Full Guide on How to Write a Music Essay

Writing guide
Posted on February 14, 2019

Just one look around and it is possible to conclude that most people are big fans of music. More and more people tend to wear headphones – they listen to music everywhere on their iPods or phones. A lot of street musicians appear in the central squares – they just play music for pleasure. Besides, there are those who create all the sounds of music and songs that we hear every day.

No matter what you like doing with music, now you’ll be informed about the art of composing a music essay. Indeed, the music composing process is similar to the writing process – both are personal and creative. For example, Mozart composed the entire pieces of music in his head, then writing it down. Beethoven struggled with an idea for years to realize the full form of the music. In this article, you’ll know all specifics to become a great composer of your own music essay.

The Right Choice of Topics Is a Key Success Factor in Writing

No paper can be written without the main topic mentioned in the title. Yes, your subject is Music. Thus, it is a general topic. However, you may be assigned to a topic, or have to invent your own one.

When a Topic Is/Isn’t Assigned, You Should:

  • Think about the type of paper you are expected to produce. Different types of paper writing entail different objectives – either to describe, analyze or compare. Therefore, it should be reflected in your topic.
  • Evaluate a topic according to your own, and academic interest. Your personal interest lies in the concern with a topic as a researcher. As for the academic interest, a topic is meant to be original, valuable and productive.
  • Make sure your topic is fairly specific. According to the objectives you need to pursue while writing, you should choose a narrower topic to discuss.

When a Topic Is Too General, Apply the Following List of Specific Topics

  • Music Around Us: The Natural Instruments for Creating Music;
  • The Development of Music Within the Development of Civilizations;
  • Our Daily Involvement with Music: A Variety of Effects;
  • Does Music Without Words Convey the Message?
  • Is Music as a Cure for Health Problems Effective?
  • The Connection Between Music and Emotions: Obvious or Tenuous?;
  • What Types of Mood Can Be Created by Music?

Can’t decide whether a topic would be appropriate for your essay? Consider each topic separately:

  • How do you feel about a topic?
  • Are you particularly interested in a topic?
  • How many ideas do you have about a topic?

5 Pre-Writing Tips that Are Helpful in Getting Started on an Essay

Whenever you’re assigned with a written task, it doesn’t mean only the writing process itself. You need to do a lot of preliminary work. The amount of time needed for it varies according to your possibilities and deadlines. However, it would be much better if you could:

  1. Be focused on thinking about what and how you want to write your paper on. There are many ways of how you can come up with brilliant ideas for your essay. Hit upon the Berkeley Student Learning Center to know the effective prewriting techniques.
  2. Find out what sources are acceptable in your writing project. Find Wikipedia a good starting point for investigating a topic? Keep in mind that many educators don’t let cite the Wikipedia articles. It is better to search for more authoritative sources among which you’ll face primary and secondary ones. Go through the list of main source types at Santiago Canyon College.
  3. Do extensive research on a topic. Usually, the research process determines the quality of essays – if you don’t intend to conduct adequate research, be prepared that your essay will show the lack of quality.
  4. Analyze well-written essays on a topic. Luckily, you have direct access to sources where you can find useful papers after looking at which you can grasp the idea of writing your own one. Notice what makes them work – arguments, evidence, a clear and logic statement, etc.
  5. Organize your thoughts in a logical way. After many creative ideas enter your head, you should put them on paper. There are 2 ways of doing it – an outline or diagram.

Following all these steps will allow you to prepare fully for the writing process. But if you can’t find a source of inspiration for writing, listen to 44 perfect songs that can inspire you to create a real masterpiece.

It’s Time to Write a Music Essay: Follow 5 Steps to Do Perfectly

No matter what aims of writing you pursue, stick to the basic essay structure. According to the Writing Center at Harvard University, you should carry out several operations in an essay:

  • introduce an argument;
  • analyze the background data;
  • raise counterarguments;
  • conclude.

Let’s focus on each of these steps in details. If you skip on any crucial stage, you may rely on lower marks.

1. Give a Compelling Essay Title

Want to make people read your essay? According to the article “How to Write Magnetic Headlines”, on average, 8 out of 10 people read titles rather than read the content itself. Your instructor has to read both the title and text. But capture his/her attention straightaway. You’re given 2 titles. What will you choose to read?

  • The Effect of Rock Music on Human Beings;
  • Rock Music Seizes Young Minds: What Will It Bring?

Either way, we provide a brief analysis of both titles so that you will realize the essential details in creating a title for your essays. If you look at the first one, there is just a statement of the main topic. In this case, we understand that a writer will simply state the effects of rock music on people. As a result, nothing useful is mentioned in the title. From this perspective, the second title is more winning as it contains the main point of view concerning rock music that will be presented in an essay. Moreover, it has a question that will attract the readers as well – they will start casually answering it, then want to read to know what opinion a writer has.

2. Compose a Thesis Statement

It can seem that there is nothing simple than to write a sentence that will tell your readers about the topic you’ve chosen. However, be careful with it as you need to take into consideration two parts – a topic and the angle from which you’re going to cover it.

You see that the first part consists of keywords – rock music, young people and influence. In the second part, there is a list of three main ideas that will be discussed. Once a thesis statement is formulated, you are ready to continue.

3. Work on an Introduction

After a reader passes through the title, the next point to which he/she pays attention is the introductory part. It takes no more than 3-5 sentences for short essays, and no more than 1 page for long papers. Here, your task is to hook the reader as well. It isn’t an appropriate way to write ‘This essay will present the issue concerning … .’, or ‘I’m going to write about … .’ Consider what can be a good attention grabber. For example, you can use:

  • startling true statements that will explicitly demonstrate your point of view. It should be the pertinent information with the further explanation. For example, it can be the statistic about how often people listen to music or the most popular means of listening to music.
  • a quote that could illustrate a point. There are surely many thinkers who said something special about music. Look for the most interesting one that would be relevant to your essay topic. Mind all the peculiarities about the citation formatting (in APA, MLA or Harvard).
  • an amusing anecdote. It works effectively as a hook with less formal writing styles or personal essays.
  • an impressive example. If you write an essay about a famous musician, you can add one of his/her personal habits. Choose the strangest one or less known to impress your readers.
  • the summarized data. Find nothing eye-catching about a topic? There is no problem. Provide just the general terms becoming more specific closer to a thesis statement.

4. Write the Main Part of Your Essay

Finally, the topic you have chosen can be explained in detail, described vividly, or argued strongly. Remember the objectives are determined by the type of paper you’re going to write, on which you must have decided earlier before writing the body.

Look at the outline or diagram you’ve definitely created, only then start writing. If there are 3 or 4 main ideas, you will have to write 3 or 4 body paragraphs with a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.

5. Conclude Correctly

The concluding paragraph is a part where you need to provide the final perspective on your topic. Don’t invent anything new at the end of your essay. Just summarize within 3-4 sentences of what you’ve mentioned previously in the introduction and body. Draw your readers to a natural, logical conclusion.

The Writing Process Must Go on: Final 3 Steps as Explained by Our Expert Writers

Writing the final sentences, many students breathe out because they think the main goal to write an essay is achieved. Is it so actually? Many experienced essay writers will say you, ‘It is not correct to finish writing after a full point is put!’ Besides the coherent structure, in-depth analysis, there is one more point essential for writing a successful essay.

1. Revise Your Paper Accordingly

The revision involves several steps that are quite important if you want to meet the high standards of writing. What does it mean ‘high standards of writing’?

  • Check the consistency of language. Most academic subjects require writers to maintain the fixed standard of writing – a formal vocabulary, use of references, impersonal style, long and complex sentences. With academic writing, you have to learn special conventions. For example, the idiomatic language isn’t appropriate for an academic paper. It means that you need to use the verb ‘continue’ instead of ‘go on. So, revise your essay to make it polished.
  • Review the instructions for an assignment. Different schools and departments require students to follow different formats for a written work (APA, MLA, Harvard, etc.) Moreover, you can be required to use particular works or types of information. Have written 1925 words but need exactly 1650? It is better to reduce the size as required. Make sure that you follow all the guidelines given by your instructor on how to write a music essay.

2. Proofread Your Essay Carefully

  • Get rid of errors. Double-check your essay to correct some mistakes related to grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Different typographical errors can be observed in works written even by experienced writers. For example, the most frequently occurring mistakes concern pronouns – most write occasionally ‘its’ instead of ‘it is’ or ‘than’ instead of ‘then’, etc. Besides, the subject and verb of each sentence should agree. These are the tiniest mistakes. However, sometimes they can cost much. Look at the most expensive typo of all time. Don’t let them happen in your academic papers.

3. Rewrite a Draft into the Final Good Essay

  • Write the final improved paper. After you finish the editing process, you’re highly recommended to rewrite. Only the repetitive process of writing can lead you to great results.

Sometimes, it can happen to you when there is a lack of time to pass through all these stages as needed. So, if you are used to facing such problems with written tasks, don’t worry. Our qualified academic writers are at your service 24/7.

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