Your Novel: The Musical
by Elizabeth Solar
Oh, how times have changed. When I first published this piece a few years ago, music-powered activity was all the rage. Since then, there are arguments that listening to music ‘significantly impairs’ creativity. Credit Applied Cognitive Psychology for that one.
According to a November, 2021 article in Discover Magazine “Music may not be beneficial to creativity in all cases, however. Research published in 2019 revealed that people presented with verbal word tasks performed more poorly when listening to background music rather than silence.”
I prefer to stick with my original premise. Music does stoke creativity and according to one source, ‘happy music promotes divergent thinking, a key element in creativity.’ Ziggy Stardust would certainly agree.
When our group discusses optimal writing conditions, some of us enjoy a silent solitude to quiet the mind, ready the imagination. Writing as meditation, performed in a sacred space. Others treat their area as a playground, or construction zone: The din of conversation in a coffee shop, steady rumble of street traffic, the hum of human activity. I inhabit the latter category. My favorite sounds are musical.
Some children fall asleep hugging a plush toy, or treasured blanket. My comfort came from the staticky FM radio tucked beneath my pillow. Homework was powered by the sheer vocal ferocity of Chrissie Hynde, Marvin Gaye’s seductive growl, David Bowie’s chameleon-like stylings.
Music can calm, soothe and center. It can spark the imagination and may even inspire your writing life.
According to Amie Fries, author of Daydreams at Work: Wake Up Your Creative Powers, “Some people have auditory daydreams…instead of primarily visualizing a scene… they hear the ‘sounds of music.’”
Further, “Even for those of us who are more visual in our imaginings, music remains one of the most powerful daydream launchers. In fact, it's so powerful, I sometimes avoid listening to it at certain times because I know it has the power to send my thoughts in a very particular direction.”
Oliver Sacks wrote in the Oxford journal, Brain. “There are some singular attributes of musical imagery (and musical memory) that have no equivalents in the visual sphere, and these may cast light on the fundamentally different way in which the brain treats music.”
He continues. “… we have to construct a visual world for ourselves, and a selective and personal character therefore infuses our visual memories from the start—whereas we are given pieces of music already constructed, musical objects that will be retained, if they are retained, with an almost phonographic fidelity. A visual or social scene can be represented in a hundred different ways, but the recall of a musical piece has to be close to the original.”
So, much of our connection to music is specific to situations in life, and not so different in fiction. You wouldn’t blast the theme from ‘The Shining’ as you write a gentle scene between mother and child when a little Brahms, or Beatles lullaby would suffice. Is your protagonist hitting the town with the girls? Get your dance on with Prince, Beyoncé or Lady Gaga. Empowering your heroine? Summon a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T Aretha-style.
An actress friend created a playlist to help her embody Lady Constance, bereaved wife and mother in Shakespeare’s King John. A highlight: Gary Jules’ haunting version of Mad World, both befitting historical circumstances, and foretelling gargantuan heartbreak. Sanford Meisner, a famed acting teacher said acting ‘is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances,’ Writing ‘on music’ creates a soundtrack to shape and enhance emotional states in your fictional world.
Music sets a mood. We respond to words and melody – sometimes only melody -- with our emotions. How many times have you heard a song, and exclaimed, “Oh my God! Freshman year!” or “That’s the first song we dance to.” Or the ever popular, “Dude, we were so high at that concert.”
Try this: Find song titles to construct a theme, perhaps around the word ‘love.’ Google titles containing the world or test your memory to see what you’ve catalogued. It’s musical archeology, a nostalgic journey, or a brave new discovery, even if it’s just new to you.
Alternately vary music styles, rhythms, genres, and tempos. Segue from one emotional state to another, in the same way we navigate the ups and downs of real life.
Test out that theory. Throw on some Foo Fighters, and let the wild rumpus start. Vintage Ella Fitzgerald may make you, and your character, feel sentimental, romantic, and often wistful. Celebrate your girl power with some Janelle Monae and unleash the funk. With Spotify, Pandora, Alexa and your own curated library at your disposal, options are endless.
While you’re add it, provide your characters with their own personal soundtracks, in the same way we flesh out their habits, preferences and emotions. How cool would it be to pack more emotional power into your words, maybe even your story, as your protagonist strides into the sunset to their own heroic anthem.
