Replay: Will Hermes shares Five Things He's Learned about Writing about Music and Musicians
Check out the first five minutes of his recent class.
“So how do you write well about music? How do you put into words — on a page, or screen — the physical and emotional sensations of being deeply moved by a song? How do you find a writing voice? And how personal do you want it to be? How much of you do you want in that voice? Or indeed, what version of you? (That’s where things really get interesting.)”
– Will Hermes, Five Things I’ve Learned about Writing about Music and Musicians
On May 7th, Will Hermes joined us to share the five things he’s Learned about how to articulate and share the emotional impact of songs you love — how to illuminate their meaning, amplify their power, and deepen the listening experience for yourself and your readers.
Will is a culture journalist, author and teacher. His books include Lou Reed: The King of New York (2023) and Love Goes To Buildings On Fire (2011); with Sia Michel, he co-wrote/co-edited SPIN: 20 Years of Alternative Music (2005). He’s a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, and a longtime contributor to The New York Times, NPR and Pitchfork. He’s taught journalism and creative non-fiction at Sarah Lawrence College, SUNY-New Paltz, and the University of Minnesota, and is on the adjunct faculty of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at Tisch/NYU.
His class, Five Things I’ve Learned about Writing about Music and Musicians offers a great, two-hour deep dive into how to write meaningfully and personally about music, drawing on his decades of experience as a journalist, author, and teacher. You’ll learn five key strategies for capturing the emotional impact of songs, finding your unique writing voice, and making your music writing more powerful, expressive, and true to you.
You can also find Will on Substack, by clicking the link below:
Thanks for being part of Five Things I’ve Learned on Substack. Visit myfivethings.com to view personal video invitations from more than 100 more writers, thinkers, and artists we admire – and to get special discounted pricing with our Five Things I’ve Learned Multi Pass.