writing and music

aeschylus

We've all read that people have different learning styles/stimuli; for example, aural or visual.

I've always responded strongly to music, rather than pictures. I learned the piano as a child. I never studied art.

I still find that such creativity- and understanding of being human- as I can lay claim to comes from what I've heard (and lived), rather than what I've seen and lived, or read and lived.

I have a deep attachment to the music of Bach. Somehow, it seems to say more eloquently than I could ever do how the world seems to work.

Do you have an anchoring musical reference or inspiration? If you do, what difference does it make to your writing?

Phots Moll

I've mentioned songs in my stories and on a couple of occasions the title or lyrics have inspired a story - but that's not what you mean, is it? As far as I know, music has never inspired my writing.

Carol

No, I'm a visual inspiration type.

Tiny Nell

I used to use music a lot when I taught creative writing. The children would close their eyes to all visual distraction and just listen until pictures and words invaded their imaginations. It was a great stimulus and enabled them to create some stunning pieces.

Bill

Tried Plainsong which is very soothing, but after a while one keeps listening for a pattern, structure, resolution...and there isn't one...!
Mozart piano music is lovely but familiar passages distract.
I have a ticking clock and a view of a concrete estate. There is a wall opposite and at a certain time of year the sun casts a huge shadow of a street light which traverses the wall as the Earth rotates...

Liz

No. Loathe listening to music unless I'm really in the mood, and it certainly never conjures any images.

In fact I hate music thing my own brain thoughts away from my control, it just irritates me.

I drew constantly as a child, when i wasn't reading, and we didn't have any music in the house not even a radio until I was a teenager.

Nena

Despite the fact that my talents lie along the artistic line, I've always thought that I'd hate to be deaf, simply because I can imagine inspirational scenes, but I can't imagine music to that degree and I'd really hate not to get that inspiration. A lot of my writing includes musical themes.

When I was writing my first book, set in a forest, I played the Celtic music of flautist, Ron Korb, over and over. It just fit the way I was writing. When my sister had read my book, she sent me a CD of the music of Patrick Hawes : Fair Albion. All very English and evocative of forests and dappled light. She said it reminded her of the book. My second book was entirely imagined while I listened to the music of Les Miserables. Music definitely stimulates my imagination.

snailmale

I've tried writing to music, but without success. If I'm listening to the music, I can't write, but if I do get absorbed in the writing I forget the music is playing, eventually realising that it's finished, probably ages ago.

Mrs Bear

If I listen to music, I want to sing. I can often see what the music portrays for me (different for all); and I remember once saying that I wanted to write so that people reacted to the words the way they do to music. I thought that if I could get that instant emotional response, I'd have touched something great. Fleeting, but great! Ah well - keep writing...

Claudia

I've never deliberately put music on when I sit down to write. I think it would distract me too much. But I'm talking about being distracted by lyrics... I don't currently possess any classical music - I suppose that would be less of a distraction, but I've never felt the urge to replace my old classical albums.
However, you never know what might inspire until you try it, so thank you, Aeschylus for this thread, and I might give it a go sometime.