Writing and Music

Art, in its simplest terms, is a form of communication. Music is art at its most expressive. Sound and the manipulation of it through music affect our bodies and our minds. A listener not only hears sound but also "feels" it, physically and emotionally. Instrumentals and lyrics combine to tap into the most powerful of our emotions—joy, sorrow, anticipation, nostalgia.

Music is a universal language. It communicates, just as written English communicates, but it is a different medium. By thinking about how music communicates, you will increase your sensitivity to the possible ways that your own text can communicate. Each medium, music and written text, has its own set of tools, but here are some of the shared tools used in music and written text:

• Sound (words, as well as music, use sound, especially by repeating initial sounds, or of vowel or consonant sounds)
• Rhythm (the way movement is organized in a piece of music, using beat, no beat, long and short sounds, meter, accents and no accents. In written text rhythm is also a metrical flow of sound, but developed from an arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables or long and short syllables.)
• Beat (a repeating pulse)
• Tempo (the speed with which a composition is played or the rate at which a sentence is "spoken.")
• Imagery
• Structure or form (the way an entire musical composition or a written paper is organized or the structure of musical phrases or of sentences)
  • Repetition (this word is often used in the context of form and may involve repetition with a variation. It is the process of playing or saying something again.)
  • Contrast (this word is often used in the context of form. It is the use of an opposing element, such as a sound, phrase, passage, or a sentence structure.)

Each of the following Music Activities includes a link to music on the Web. Each asks you to listen to, to think about, and finally to write about certain songs. You will experience a wide variety of music—from pop to jazz, folk to rock. Enjoy the sites and the music they have to offer; then get down to work expressing what music says to you.

Music Activity #1: The Story of the Hurricane
Music Activity #2: Feeling the Vibe
Music Activity #3: Figuring it Out
Music Activity #4: You Wanted to Do What?
Music Activity #5: Saying It With Music
Music Activity #6: Twice Upon a Summertime
Music Activity #7: You Thought You Knew What Music Is, Right?
Music Activity #8: Moving Moments
Music Activity #9: Making Us Wake Up to Our Dreams
Music Activity #10: Urban Cowboy Punk: Where Do We Belong?
Music Activity #11: Play It Again, Sam
Music Activity #12: Get the Big Picture!