Where words fail, music speaks. ~ Hans Christian Andersen
Our youngest son, Jason, is visiting for several weeks while he and his dad work on restoring a ’69 MGB-GT, a fun project for father and son.
When not working on the car, and at home in Los Angeles, Jason is 
a professional musician, composing his own music as well as writing and producing music for others. Jason (standing) and singer, lyricist Jarrett Sleeper, have produced several songs together. If you want to hear one, check out Secret Names on Soundcloud.The other night, he shared with us the music he’d written and submitted for a short horror movie.
I love how he juxtaposed light happy music with the more intense minor key that told the viewer the villain was present. Jason is great at creating mood and story with his music, employing techniques like changing keys, using sounds like the ocean or animals, or contrasting tone and tempo. He tells story with notes the way I tell stories with words.
In the movies and television, music alerts the viewer to change in mood, conflict and character, and can provide foreshadowing and tension. In advertising, music not only helps to set mood, but when accompanied with a catchy phrase is used as a memory hook and trigger for the prospective buyer.
For writers of all types, music has the potential to play one or all of several functions.
As a writing prompt. Since music very effectively triggers memory, pick a piece of music that triggers images or emotions that match what you are writing. Or use that music and its triggered memory to start you on a whole new story.
To create mood. As in the movies, music easily moves the listener—and you the writer—into an emotional state. So, use it to support the emotional action of your story. Soak the emotional energy of the music for all it is worth. You can always go back and edit the writing later, but better too much emotion than not enough because emotion is what hooks the reader. Many authors create playlists for the books they are working on, in essence, creating a score for their books.
As an element in the story. Some of my favorite stories by other others have heroes or heroines in them who love music, perform music, dance to music. Music in a story, as in the movies and TV often conveys a time period and the cultural and social environment of a story. And, it is often used as a metaphor for love and other emotional states.
To reduce stress and provide spiritual nourishment and inspiration. Studies have been done on infants, children and adults that confirm the power of music to heal, nourish, inspire and distress.
To help you focus. If your energy feels scattered or you have trouble making the transition from the daily routine to writing, music can be the bridge and help you settle and then keep you focused. Sometimes, when I want to write and I need to shut out the world around me, as in an airport or coffee shop, then a set of earplugs and the right music keeps me focused on the inner world rather than the outer.
So if your CD collection has been gathering dust, or even your records and tapes (yes, some of us still have them), then perhaps it’s time to convert them to MP3s and start creating playlists and scores for your writing. Check out internet radio stations such as Pandora or Spotify to create your own music channels depending on the types of music you like.
And remember how close the word music is to Muse.