carmen

Studies have repeatedly proven that music has a profound influence on us as humans.  On our thoughts, our moods, our memories..our psyche in general.  No doubt you've been in a class at some point in your educational career where you've been asked to listen to some music and then either draw something or write something based on what the music says to you.  And something quite remarkable about this activity is that you can do it with any number of people of any age, and you will typically yield results that are all similar in nature (they were written to the same tune, after all) but each one is still distinct from the others.  Each person interprets a song differently.  There are songs that elicit very strong responses from one person that might be completely neutral for another person.

So how in the world do musicians feel, trying to convey something through their music that each and every person is going to interpret differently?  I'm pretty sure the only way I would convey anything musically is by emphasizing the important parts with deep, roaring bass notes throughout...but maybe that tendency just goes to show how musically illiterate I am in comparison to musical ninjas.  You know who you are.

Anyway.  Writing can be a lot like that, too.  I mean, you could spend a lifetime writing reports and research journals and everything that doesn't really leave a whole lot of room for interpretation or emotional involvement (unless you're Thomas Jefferson, and you wrote the Constitution) or you could write sonnets and plays and try to be like Shakespeare, who wrote very intricate things that are still quite popular (probably more popular, if you're going by sheer international numbers).

Either way, in writing there are no bass notes to rumble the soul.

But a lot of writers really like the connection between words and music, and the interpretations thereof.  In fact, I know of several writers who use music to affect their writing.  They'll either listen to music as they work on a book or poem or something, or they will begin their writing sessions with a particular song before going to work.  While this is probably a very nice tool for those writers, it's something that I have never really done as a writer, and I don't plan on ever doing.  My major motivation in avoiding this is because I want my writing, whatever it is at the time, to be led by me rather than influenced my my musical mood.  Perhaps this is a sort of purism.  Or silliness...and sometimes the two go hand in hand.

Perhaps at this point, I should define "writing".  As mentioned in an earlier post, I write a lot.  I also listen to music a lot, and inevitably these two events coexist from time to time.  In fact, I am listening to music right now, as I type these very words.  (Dustbowl Dance by Mumford and Sons, very good.)  I am listening to music right now because I don't really consider this to be highly-involved writing.  I'm just putting a few musings down on the internet and it's not really anything that personal or effortful for me.  What I do mean by writing is the occasional event in which I sit down with the intent to write something fantastic, perhaps poetry (I wrote poems from time to time, and rather enjoy it...), and in those instances, I don't intentionally try to alter my writing environment because I don't want my writing to be tainted by somebody else's stuff leading me.  Yeah, I'm affected by other people's songs and quotes and emotions, but I prefer to lead myself wherever possible.