Music in Writing
Music is a powerful storytelling tool on the big screen, but what about on the page? Can reading about music evoke the same emotions that hearing it does? What are different ways to use music in fiction? Panelists discuss their experiences and share their techniques for hitting the right notes in your writing.
Adrienne Dellwo (M), Joseph Malik, Patrick Swenson
The answer to the first question, it was quickly decided by all panelists, is no. But there’s definitely still a place for it.
Works of the panelists:
- Adrienne Dellwo wrote Visible Magic, an Urban Fantasy that “will be in print again soon.”
- Joseph Malik wrote Dragon’s Trail and The New Magic
- Patrick Swenson wrote Rain Magic
Patrick Swenson (I think) has written a 20-minute orchestral composition based on Canticle for Liebowicz. Sadly, it was performed only once, and not recorded, so it’s not available anywhere currently.
Some good examples of using music in writing:
- The Callahan series, especially a good description of Fast Eddy’s playing. “Locked in hand to hand combat with a Scott Joplin piece.
- The opening cosmology of The Silmarrillion
- Louise Marley — The Singers of Nevya
- Patrick Rothfuss, “of course.”
- I brought up Lions Blood, by Steven Barnes, with its accompanying CD by Heather Alexander, which I was actually surprised none of the panelists had heard of, considering both of their connections to Norwescon.
About Music
Someone mentioned a stringed instrument that was “like a violin, but sometimes plucked.” I didn’t get chance to ask if they were talking about a crwth, or something else. The crwth, of course, is an old Welsh instrument, and the instrument that Oghni plays in Yagmar.
One panelists fantasy stories includes a species with a 5-chamber heart. Their music is in 5/4 instead of 4/4 because of that, and it’s also reflected in their poetry and speech.
There’s a trailer for The New Magic that has a song in 5/4.
Which I found on YouTube
Apparently, 4/4 time in music mimics a human heartbeat. As does iambic pentameter. (I did not fact check these statements.)
What about Lyrics?
After a brief discussion of quoting popular lyrics in a book (short answer, and also my advice: Don’t. Seriously, it can cause all sorts of trouble, and probably isn’t worth it. If you feel you absolutely must, though, first google “Quoting lyrics in your novel” and be prepared.
Joseph Malik doesn’t quote lyrics at all, as he feels it interrupts the flow of the story.
Patrick Swenson agrees. Also doesn’t quote music.
Adrienne Dellwo says she did once, but never again.
They all agree that most readers will skip the lyrics. Even Tolkien’s readers.
All the panelists are musicians, so I was surprised at their attitudes about it. I wonder if a panel of non-musicians would think differently.
There was no mention of nerds like me who obsessed over Tolkien’s lyrics throughout junior high and high school, memorized a bunch of them, and were absolutely delighted seven years after high school to discover SF cons and filk rooms where people not only accepted singing them, but actually encouraged it. (Thanks, everyone, I needed that.)
In the book Dragon’s Trail, the chapters are all parts of a music symphony. The other panelists spent a few minutes geeking out over that, and were delighted that specific obscure parts were included, none of which I recognized beyond overture and aria, but it was fun to watch.
Describing Music
Metaphor is good. (See again Spider Robinson’s Callahan series.)
Remove the technical language, which is difficult because there isn’t as much vocabulary as other sensations, or people don’t know it.
My own personal opinion, and what I did, which is the same thing I do in sex scenes: Don’t worry about the technical details, but convey how it makes people feel. How they react, what it makes them think about.