Music Changes Us by Helen Henderson

Fire and Amulet by Helen Henderson
Click the cover for purchase information

I’ve been recently reminded that life is not always conducive to writing. To get back into the swing of things I’ve resorted to an old tool, music. Music has been the topic of several of my blog posts, usually to present the playlist associated with a given work. This post takes things into a slightly different direction and shares some thoughts on the affects of music.

Music stimulates the part of the brain that produces the dopamine hormone, which affects emotional behavior and mood. Research has shown that music may help improve mental health, reduce depression, enhance mood, and give strength to cope with problems. Research has shown that music can help you sleep better and elevate your mood while driving. Some studies indicate that music can even help you eat less.

The ability of music to jump start creativity has proven an aid an author. It allows us to feel all the emotions that we experience in our lives. Even without lyrics, a tune can evoke emotions that we capture with our own words. I admit I don't always listen to music when writing. Jotting notes in a doctor's office while waiting for your appointment or typing on a tablet in the wee hours of the morning isn't conducive to playing tunes. But that doesn't mean that music is not part of my writing life. Although each book tends to have its own playlist, certain songs trigger a mood or emotion so that the tunes transfer from book to book.

Music is an important part of some character’s lives. Ellspeth of the Windmaster Novels favorite relaxing pastime is composing music on her wooden recorder or silver flute. The theme continued in Windmaster Legend where both Iol and Pelra were skilled musicians. 

Bagpipes playing the lilting tune of “Garryowen” creates the image of a cavalcade of horses in a prancing, synchronized parade step. Even the same instrument can pull forth different emotions. Instead of claps accompanying the horses, the echoes of “Amazing Grace” played by a lone piper in a cemetery brings forth tears.

 For Fire and Amulet, an old standby, Celtic music where the lilting voices, flute and harp send my mind to a fantasy world where magic rules and dragon fly. On the player now is "Celtic Twilight" by Gabrielle Angelique. Music for a quest, hopelessness, and loneliness is conveyed by the haunting piano solo played at the end of each episode of The Incredible Hulk. "Twelve O'Clock High" the theme from the television series of the same name brings with it a vision of flight. Not of the B-17 bombers of World War II, but of a rust-colored dragon soaring in the clouds.

Sometimes a scene requires more than one song. Surviving a tornado was just the beginning. Deneas survives unhurt, but Trelleir suffers several broken bones. He cannot travel and Deneas cannot stay. At first I thought only one song fit the bill, Roger Whitaker's "The Last Farewell." Then I heard a few chords of "Unchained Melody" and that also resonated.  In the end, the two songs alternated on the spindle.

Whether you use music to boost your creativity as an author or to evoke emotions in your readers, understanding the music is important to a writer.

To purchase Fire and Amulet: BWL

 ~Until next month, stay safe and read.  

Find out more about me and my novels at Journey to Worlds of Imagination.
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Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a husky who have adopted her as one the pack.