Setting the Tone: How Listening to Music Can Inspire Fiction Writers

When I was in the early days of my MFA program, I listened to instrumental music while I was writing. Explosions In the Sky, maybe something classical if I was feeling particularly sophisticated. But then around six or seven years ago, I began listening to music with lyrics while I wrote. I don’t really remember when it shifted, I just know that at some point I found myself writing while other words were pouring into my ears. If this sounds distracting, I assure you: it can be! But I began to think of it as if I were getting a two for one special. Listening and writing began to feel like pulling the ultimate artistic hack; it was as if I was reading while writing. Realizing I could do this was a small breakthrough. I find that music does the same thing in writing as it does in life: it sets the tone. It essentially puts me into a frame of mind to write. It establishes the mood, dictates the vibe. It’s why we use it to soundtrack so many experiences—everything from weddings to funerals to simply going out to eat. Music does quite a lot of things when we listen to it, but there is science behind its contribution to dopamine levels and its ability to pull out implicit memories. As a part of this dopamine-inducing, memory-creating magic, music creates a sense of expectation: the more we listen, the more we understand that the melody will repeat, that the chorus will come back around, that the bridge will shift from the last several verses and build tension. I find that music does the same thing in writing as it does in life: it sets the tone. The best songwriters use these expectations by changing the pattern on us, by holding off on that final tonic note until the end of the song, by making us wait for it. We begin to anticipate rhymes and the rhythm of the lyrics, we learn the melody as it repeats throughout the song. This listening experience leads to dopamine release. Research has […]

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