How to Use Music as Poetic Motive
Writing is, at times, a very difficult thing to do. Writing poetry—especially when you’re trying to emulate a specific mood, idea, or experience—can be exceptionally difficult. It is hard to find the right words, get into the right headspace, or even just begin. Well, fear not, aspiring poets; if “study vibez” playlists on Youtube and Spotify have proven anything, it’s that music can be a powerful source of both motivation and inspiration. After all, what is music if not the poetry of sound! Skeptical of my claims? Unsure where to begin? Feeling intimidated by it all? Look no further as we take the next few minutes to discuss the merits of listening to music while writing and how it might affect your poetry.
In order to understand how and why you might use music to further your writing, let’s discuss the neurological effects of listening to music and the historical connection between music and poetry! Studies have shown that music affects your brain in three key ways: mood, memory, and pain relief. If we look at Jennifer Fink’s Pfizer article “Why — and How — Music Moves Us,” we find that music affects mood by stimulating blood flow to the frontal lobe, which in turn enhances any memories made listening to that music and allows for the increased production of dopamine which helps to distract the body from perceiving pain stimuli.
If we look at the Poetry Foundation’s article “Poetry and Music: Composed, produced, and remixed: the greatest hits of poems about music,” we’ll not only find a plethora of poems inspired by music and musicians but learn more about the historical precedent for music as an essential part of poetry. To directly quote the article, “In antiquity, poems were often sung: the first lyric poets in ancient Greece performed their work to the accompaniment of the lyre, and the oldest anthology of Chinese poetry, the Shijing, was a collection of songs. In southern Europe in the Middle Ages, the popularity of troubadour poets granted them unprecedented freedom of speech and social influence in their time, and their lyrical work would influence European poetry for centuries.” You see an example of this every time you tune into the radio and a lyrical song is playing; singing is a form of poetic recitation in a way you might not have considered before. (To those lovely readers who attended Liederabend, you might see the connection I’m making here.) Think about the ways music and storytelling fit together in our collective consciousness. From movie soundtracks to lofi study streams, we as a culture love to tie music to situations and emotional mindsets in a way that can be very fun artistically if you only know where to start. Let’s find that starting point together as we move into the practical application of music in poetry.
Speaking of finding that starting point, here are a few different ways you can use music to write your next poem! One way you might use music to write is by using it to help you set the mood. Find or make a playlist that works with the emotions you’re trying to portray. From Beethoven to breakup songs, heck, put on the Benny Hill theme if that’s the vibe you’re going for! (side note: If you DO write a poem after listening to the Benny Hill theme or similar music, please share! That sounds delightful.) If timed writing is your cup of tea, you might consider writing a stanza per song, revising once you finish the album or playlist. In the same way that there are different genres of music, there are many different ways to write a poem. It could be fun to put your favorite song on repeat and print the lyrics for some good old-fashioned blackout poetry, blocking out chunks or specific words in order to create a wholly new piece. Find a lyric that sticks with you and use it as a title in order to kickstart your work. We know that music affects mood, so take advantage of that effect on memory. Try writing a reflective piece on either a person or time in your life when you listened to a specific song or genre of music. As a fun experiment, you and a friend could make each other a playlist. Then, pull up a chair, pull out your headphones, and write a poem about that person or your relationship based on that playlist. With Spotify Wrapped coming out soon, try writing a self-reflective piece after listening to your top hits of 2023. Consider the mindset in which you first listened to a song versus the emotions it brings you, however long after discovering it. Think about those songs you had on repeat this year, find the common thread between each listen, and explore that. Your options are only limited to your own time and taste in music, so press play and put pen to paper.
There are as many options for poetic expression here as there are genres of music, but if we went through each and every one, there would be no actual time to write those lovely poems. Poetry is, in part, about experimentation, so I encourage you to go beyond your usual musical horizons and have fun. Ultimately, you are the composer of your life’s soundtrack; you are the poet telling your own tale. There’s no step-by-step guide that will aid you any more than your own artistic intuition, so take what advice and ideas we’ve given here and start experimenting.
Once you’ve written your piece (or pieces, who are we at The Conglomerate to limit your artistic expression), I hope you’ll share it. Go to Engage, find out when and where the next Red River Poetry Society meeting will be, and plan to share your work and process with fellow students. With all this being said, it’s time to switch tracks. Go forth, poet, and start composing your next creative work.
Further Reading/Works Cited
Poetry and Music. “Poetry and Music | Poetry Foundation.” Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/148663/poetry-and-music.
J. Why — and How — Music Moves Us | Pfizer. www.pfizer.com/news/articles/why_and_how_music_moves_us.
