ANDREW GOODWIN 
MUSIC THEORY 
“”Music videos ignore common narrative as they are essentially 
advertisement. As consumers we make up our own meaning of a 
song in our minds: a music video can anchor meaning and gives 
the record company/artist a method of anchoring meaning” 
Reagan Harding
KEY ASPECTS 
Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of a music video that we as the 
audience should look out for. 
These are… 
- Thought beats- seeing the sound 
- narrative and performance 
- the star image 
- relation of visuals to the song 
- Technical aspects of music videos
THOUGHT BEATS 
First step- is to actually look at the music itself, this means we must take into 
account the structure for the song. This will include the verses and choruses 
of the song. 
Second step- is about the voice of the song. This means the artist, as they 
have unique voices this means they are able to form identification or 
trademarks that fit well with their appearance and character. The singing voice 
is seen as an expressive instrument and therefore it is able to make 
associations of its own. 
Third step- Goodwin also points out that songs can be seen as stories and the 
artist is the story teller. This makes the music video a two communication 
device, as its is them telling us a story and us listening at the same time.
NARRATIVE AND PERFORMANCE 
“Songs fail to give us the complete narrative” 
Andrew Goodwin believed that it was important for the artist to appear in 
their music video, either this be acting out a role as the main character or the 
singer. 
By doing this it helps to make the song more realistic and it also gives the 
audience a sense of a special connection and a much better understanding of 
the song. A good example of this would be Kings of Leon- radioactive. In the 
music video we see the whole band running around with the other characters 
in the video. This really shows to us that what the song is about really did 
happen, and we know the video isn't fake because they are in it.
THE STAR IMAGE 
Andrew Goodwin referred to the star image as a vital aspect of music videos. 
This means it makes the music video look more appealing to the audience, 
whilst also brining a unique style to the video in the way he/she is portrayed 
to the audience. 
The star image is also very unique in the way the artist is presented e.g. 
costume, moves and appearance. 
This also helps to promote the artist/stars image in public, and it also helps to 
promote the video while creating a public reputation for the artist.
RELATIONS OF VISUAL TO THE SONG 
There are three ways that visuals are used to promote the song these are: 
Illustrate; 
Music videos can use different images and clips to relate to the meaning of 
the lyrics and the genres. This is the most common form as it allows the 
viewers to easily relate to the music video. 
Disjuncture; 
This is when the meaning of the song is completely ignore in the music video. 
Amplify; 
This is when images and camera shots are manipulated and shown repeatedly 
through the music video and are ploughed into our vision.
TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF MUSIC VIDEOS 
Andre Goodwin says that the technical aspects of music videos help hold them 
together through the use of mise-en-scene, editing, special effects and sound. 
Lightening and colour really helps to set the mood for the video and created 
emphasis of specific parts of the song to create a dramatic effect and make it 
more enjoyable for the viewer. 
Mise-en-scene allows the artist to gain authentication and also make his work 
appear more professional. 
The beats of the song are also very useful, this is because they can help create 
effective cuts that go with the rhythm of the song and make the video more 
appealing and entertaining.
EXAMPLES 
Robin Thicke- blurred lines 
This video is promoting the beats by Dre pill. 
This is done by incorporating the speaker into many different shots in the 
video. This will then make people want to buy the speaker as it is being used 
in an extremely popular music video. This then means that Dr Dre will get 
more sales because of the well used promotion.
EXAMPLES 
Lady gaga- telephone 
In this music video lady gaga uses many different camera shots to promote 
different products. The left picture we can see she has diet coke cans in her 
hair, and the picture on the right we can see a police officer uses a beats by dre 
laptop. 
This is a very clear example of how many music videos are primarily for 
advertisement purposes.

Andrew goodwin

  • 1.
    ANDREW GOODWIN MUSICTHEORY “”Music videos ignore common narrative as they are essentially advertisement. As consumers we make up our own meaning of a song in our minds: a music video can anchor meaning and gives the record company/artist a method of anchoring meaning” Reagan Harding
  • 2.
    KEY ASPECTS AndrewGoodwin identifies 5 key aspects of a music video that we as the audience should look out for. These are… - Thought beats- seeing the sound - narrative and performance - the star image - relation of visuals to the song - Technical aspects of music videos
  • 3.
    THOUGHT BEATS Firststep- is to actually look at the music itself, this means we must take into account the structure for the song. This will include the verses and choruses of the song. Second step- is about the voice of the song. This means the artist, as they have unique voices this means they are able to form identification or trademarks that fit well with their appearance and character. The singing voice is seen as an expressive instrument and therefore it is able to make associations of its own. Third step- Goodwin also points out that songs can be seen as stories and the artist is the story teller. This makes the music video a two communication device, as its is them telling us a story and us listening at the same time.
  • 4.
    NARRATIVE AND PERFORMANCE “Songs fail to give us the complete narrative” Andrew Goodwin believed that it was important for the artist to appear in their music video, either this be acting out a role as the main character or the singer. By doing this it helps to make the song more realistic and it also gives the audience a sense of a special connection and a much better understanding of the song. A good example of this would be Kings of Leon- radioactive. In the music video we see the whole band running around with the other characters in the video. This really shows to us that what the song is about really did happen, and we know the video isn't fake because they are in it.
  • 5.
    THE STAR IMAGE Andrew Goodwin referred to the star image as a vital aspect of music videos. This means it makes the music video look more appealing to the audience, whilst also brining a unique style to the video in the way he/she is portrayed to the audience. The star image is also very unique in the way the artist is presented e.g. costume, moves and appearance. This also helps to promote the artist/stars image in public, and it also helps to promote the video while creating a public reputation for the artist.
  • 6.
    RELATIONS OF VISUALTO THE SONG There are three ways that visuals are used to promote the song these are: Illustrate; Music videos can use different images and clips to relate to the meaning of the lyrics and the genres. This is the most common form as it allows the viewers to easily relate to the music video. Disjuncture; This is when the meaning of the song is completely ignore in the music video. Amplify; This is when images and camera shots are manipulated and shown repeatedly through the music video and are ploughed into our vision.
  • 7.
    TECHNICAL ASPECTS OFMUSIC VIDEOS Andre Goodwin says that the technical aspects of music videos help hold them together through the use of mise-en-scene, editing, special effects and sound. Lightening and colour really helps to set the mood for the video and created emphasis of specific parts of the song to create a dramatic effect and make it more enjoyable for the viewer. Mise-en-scene allows the artist to gain authentication and also make his work appear more professional. The beats of the song are also very useful, this is because they can help create effective cuts that go with the rhythm of the song and make the video more appealing and entertaining.
  • 8.
    EXAMPLES Robin Thicke-blurred lines This video is promoting the beats by Dre pill. This is done by incorporating the speaker into many different shots in the video. This will then make people want to buy the speaker as it is being used in an extremely popular music video. This then means that Dr Dre will get more sales because of the well used promotion.
  • 9.
    EXAMPLES Lady gaga-telephone In this music video lady gaga uses many different camera shots to promote different products. The left picture we can see she has diet coke cans in her hair, and the picture on the right we can see a police officer uses a beats by dre laptop. This is a very clear example of how many music videos are primarily for advertisement purposes.