Music is great but have you noticed how; a great day can be ruined by hearing a sad piece of music; or a moment of emotional clarity can be obscured by the catchiness of, say…Gangnam Style? Studies on the effects of music conclude that music generally has a good effect on the human body, which is great news (it reduces cortisol stress levels etc) but I believe that, depending on the “storyline” of the music, the emotional effects on the listener can be either positive or negative.
So, what is the storyline of a piece of music? It’s the story a listener assigns to a piece. Importantly, it’s not necessarily the story the musician intended, such as the actual narrative of the song. Because music is so emotive and can be linked to experiences, places, memories and people the same pieces often tell different stories for different people. Perhaps hearing Gangnam Style reminds you of a holiday, for your neighbour it may remind them of a bereavement and for your best friend it may remind them of the day they lost their tortoise, only to find it had somehow got into the crisper drawer of the refrigerator whilst hunting lettuce….a true story tragedy! (Disclaimer: Not even vaguely true).
I met some new colleagues in my DayJob recently. To get to know new people better as human beings, and not just swap bios and CVs, I usually ask people what they are passionate about. It turns out one of my new colleagues is secretly a successful musician (that creativity is all the more impressive given his corporate day job), and it led to a discussion of favourite pieces of music.
It prompted me to also share as I did with the group, with you, my blog friends, my favourite piece of music*, which is called Arrival of the Birds by the Cinematic Orchestra. This band is amazingly talented and this piece is INCREDIBLE. I’ll link it for you below, but PLEASE do not click and listen to it right away. Find yourself a quiet space, where you can allow your mind to experience the music without distraction. Close your eyes and let your brain produce images, colours and feelings in your body (your body which is hopefully in either a comfy chair or lying down). When I listen to this, synapses begin firing all over the place, and the less distractions during listening the better the experience, so resist the urge to click the link until you have a quiet space.
And once you have listened to it….here’s a made-up narration behind this music. This is definitely a love piece; two people meant to be but separated for decades, then finally reunited. (Yes, if you have followed me for a long time, you will recognise that storyline *SPOILER ALERT* but colour it with much, MUCH more poignancy than the ending in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin). There’s a point where the music swells and dang, my heart swells with it 😀 I try not to listen to this too often as, frankly, it’s emotionally crippling.
I’ve assigned a story to this piece and now I can’t listen to it without that story playing out in my mind. But, going back to the examples I gave above, rather than the environment in which I heard the song creating the narration, the music itself and my own stock memories, created the narration. (Stock memories don’t have to be personally lived, but concepts we come across can create the echo of a memory such as from Mandolin and probably many books, films, TV shows etc). Years later I now also associate the song with real-life people, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to listen to it without it triggering a narrative that is personal to me.
Strangely, this is a piece that is always unknown to people I meet. No-one I mention it to seems to have ever heard of the music or the band. A friend commented “oh, it’s classical”, when I played it for her. It isn’t; the band is a modern musical group. They write pieces that are often used on film soundtracks and this one was too (see image below). It’s a song from an album called The Crimson Wing, music featured in a Disney Nature documentary about flamingos, but I’ve never looked into the docu or the rest of the album because Arrival of the Birds tells me its own story and that’s enough.
Tips for Writers
If you’re stuck for inspiration try listening to a piece of music and see what narrations it creates in your mind.
Go and find a quiet room and let your soul soar on the swells** and take aeons to float down. Enjoy! Move me (click)
**Writer’s tip: avoid alliteration in prose writing, it is deemed childish. Second writer’s tip: ignore textbook advice and write whatever you darn well want to. I like alliteration.
If you’re looking for something on another plane, then consider this.
*My favourite “music” or sound is actually the Quran. Studies have also shown when monitoring the heart rates of humans listening to the Quran, the sound causes the heart to regulate. It actually brings peace to the body.
Music is great but it can also be a barrier between a soul and a higher level of spirituality because it’s a mood-changer, distraction, focus-shifter. If I happen to listen to music and thereafter want to be more conscious again I “sing” i.e. recite, the Quran and it is a means of self-regulation, perspective shift and return to the present. In a way, it’s like putting the “book” down.
So, here’s a link to something your soul may respond to. Don’t underestimate the significance of what you are about to see and hear. It’s one of my favourite recitations by an outstanding qari (reciter) called Hani Ar Rafai and it makes me cry even more than Arrival of the Birds. The storyline? Something that has so much depth I possess no words to justly describe it, and something that is much older than our time on Earth. Enlighten me (click)
The London Author