{"id":932,"date":"2017-10-17T20:43:04","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T03:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/?p=932"},"modified":"2017-10-17T20:43:04","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T03:43:04","slug":"writers-life-and-the-role-of-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/?p=932","title":{"rendered":"Writer’s Life and the Role of Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of the writers I know talk about listening to music while they write.\u00a0 In\u00a0On Writing,<\/em> Steven King talked about listening to hard rock while doing a lot of his work.\u00a0 George Lucas listened to symphonies while writing Star Wars.\u00a0 My new friend Mark Gelineua listens to music while writing, and at Con-Volution 2017, he spoke about the idea of writers posting their writing playlists.<\/p>\n

Maybe I’m strange, but I cannot listen to music and write at the same time.\u00a0 It just doesn’t work for me.<\/p>\n

I think it’s because when I’m reading, I hear the words in my head.\u00a0 As a teenager, I remember trying to listen to a radio presentation of\u00a0The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy<\/em> and I couldn’t get into it.\u00a0 Marvin’s voice was wrong.\u00a0 After reading the book, I’d made up my mind how the character was supposed to sound, and the actor’s voice didn’t match up.<\/p>\n

I’ve tried writing to different genres of music.\u00a0 Music without lyrics, like classical and electronica.\u00a0 Nothing works for me.\u00a0 If I turn it down low enough, I can find the words.\u00a0 But at that point I’m not really listening to music.\u00a0 I’ve just turned on some noise to fill the background.<\/p>\n

I can listen to music while programming without a problem.\u00a0 In fact, one of the ways I’m able to focus at work is to put on something catchy.\u00a0 Rock, pop, metal… even some rap works.\u00a0 I put on my headphones, turn up the music, and I write code.\u00a0 I dance in my chair.\u00a0 If I’m alone or so deep in my work that I don’t notice that there are others around me, I’ll sing.<\/p>\n

While writing, the best sound I can hear is the clackety-clack of my keyboard.\u00a0 I have a gaming keyboard with mechanical keys, and I find writing with it to be very soothing, especially when I’m on a roll.\u00a0 But that’s not really music.\u00a0 The rhythm isn’t steady enough to be a cadence.<\/p>\n

I’ve been playing music a little bit longer than I’ve been writing stories.\u00a0 In spite of that, I consume the respective medias differently.<\/p>\n

For example, when I read other people’s stories, I’m unable to fully disengage my writer’s brain.\u00a0 I see the beats of the story.\u00a0 I build a scaffolding of the plot and character arcs and make educated predictions as to where everything is going.\u00a0 I’m rarely surprised by a story anymore, which frustrates me.\u00a0 I read for escapism, but there is rarely any escape.\u00a0 I read, hearing the words in my head, noticing the adverbs when overdone.\u00a0 I trip over the places where the prose falls flat, and I cringe where the writer engages in silly gimmicks or deep, self-indulgences.<\/p>\n

When I listen to music, I do not listen so deeply.\u00a0 I’m able to float off on the waves of harmony and melody.\u00a0 Sometimes the lyrics inspire stories.\u00a0 Sometimes I get hooked on a tune so completely that I replay it over and over, feeling a weird sort of guilt every time I hit the back button.\u00a0 It doesn’t matter the music genre, either.\u00a0 I have very eclectic tastes.<\/p>\n

I don’t listen and analyze music the way I read and critique writing.\u00a0 I can appreciate good music analysis, though.\u00a0 Take for example, Andrew Huang’s break down of Find Me by Sigma (featuring Birdy):<\/p>\n