Image by @Doug88888 via Flickr
Too many thoughts, too little time.
Seriously, do you have days when you’ve about a dozen writing ideas swirling in the grey matter, but none wish to land? Perhaps, it is the day. The push to be productive, my one day off in the next seven.
Let’s dispel the myth straight away, librarians (especially weekend warriors) do not get to sit around and smell the glue binding. Who are we fooling; glues gone, hello digital ink.
I digress. Writing block, back to that program.
One blocked idea concerned the much failed NaNoWriMo fiction project. If the muse speaks up again (often she doesn’t get loud until close to midnight), I’ll go jot it down.
Second thought jolted back into the grey sphere after reading my blog reader, seeing Brevity’s post regarding music and writing. The blog referred the reader to another blog, Lits Bits. Here is a tidbit:
Anyone who reads YHC on a regular basis, knows my penchant for music. I’ve no doubt that there are hundreds of unwritten poems embedded within my music memory. The thoughts generated, however, went elsewhere, focusing on how we can “set the mood” of a piece, or poem, by music we are playing.
What came up for exploration was the idea that a musician’s state-of-mind could transfer to an “in tune” listener’s ‘energy collective’. Studies show that music does alter moods, ergo, not a stretch that the original composer’s emotions are embedded and received cognitively.
Quickly Googling this topic offered many scholarly articles, mainly abstracts without the ability to link. What I did find curious were the articles regarding music, mood and marketing. “If you feel it now, you will think it later” was especially telling; music’s ability to cause an emotional recall.
Marketing and music, oh the number of tunes that have been made popular by a product. Did anyone from Gen X even know Nick Drake before Volkswagen used Pink Moon in its ads. Mark of a successful ad campaign indeed. The fact I can still recall the brand, how many years later, is proof.
Nick Drake allows me to bring us back full circle. I’ve composed several dark poems listening to his music. Not that finding the dark side of my muse is difficult, but if I’m especially contemplative, needing to work through words of emotive catharsis, Drake is a go-to.
Drake died of an overdose. Listen to his music, his lyrics and the mood of the melody. You don’t have to read a Wiki bio to conclude he was chasing demons, or they were chasing him. Dark chords of reason tell me that his melody can impact my own, if I open to it.
Lit Bits explores music’s impact by having the student write from the voice of the age the song recalls. What would be even more interesting, is to write from that age before traveling via song. Then, listen to the song and write another memory from that era. It would be curious which one resonated more with the reader.
That said, I guess I’ve yet another writing idea to swirl about the grey matter. ~
