Music is powerful. It speaks to our very soul. It inspires us to be better people. It moves us to tears. It distracts us from pain. It soothes our rumpled spirits. It makes us smarter. It prompts us to go farther than we ever have before.
Because of the effect music can have on us, it seems almost magical at times. On more than one occasion, I have been carried to different worlds thanks to the soaring vocals of a lead singer or the building strain of an orchestra. Music has helped me write more stirring scenes in my novel and get through a particularly unsavory school assignment. Even as I type, I have one of my favorite Pandora stations running in the background. Music has the capability to inspire creativity.
But sometimes music is distracting. Like most students, I love to listen to my favorite tunes while I finish those questions or write that lab report. But sometimes that same music keeps you from accomplishing your goal. It can drag you down obscure pathways and steal your focus. And sometimes you have to silence that outside stimulus and just think.
I experienced this recently while writing a particularly difficult scene in my novel. With music blaring through my phone's tiny speaker, I kept writing and erasing as I struggled with pacing the development. I re-read my work and realized that the song clashed with what I was writing - the music was soaring while the scene was tense - so I flipped it off. With a little focus, words came to me more easily and the scene was quickly finished. I have also experienced this complicating effect of music while blogging and drawing.
Music can inspire creativity and have positive effects. But it can be a distraction as well. Know when to crank up the volume with your favorite tunes and when to leave the sound off. Who knows, it might make all the difference in your work.
