The Sound Of Music In Our Writer's Notebooks

I have recently been working with two groups of young writers in my capacity as Writer in Residence at a local primary school. Among these writers I have discovered writers who are experimenting with the writing of song lyrics. One writers has brought himself a new notebook solely for the purpose of capturing his emerging lyrics. He has another notebook dedicated to the collecting of stories and observations. I love how he recognized this need for specialization in his writing.

Two others writers have been collaborating on the writing of song lyrics and have also put some of their words to music at home. These writers are making decisions regarding their personal writing projects and their sense of agency and volition is being revealed to theeir fellow writers. 

Their focus upon writing lyrics and using dedicated notebooks has reminded me of a special notebook I was given as a gift. A notebook clearly designed to celebrate music in all its forms. The deliberate and intentional focus of this small notebook, challenged me to think about how I would respond as a writer. I began to think about my personal history with music. It was immediately apparent that music has been a constant in my life. Music has left its mark on me for as long as I can recall. Since receiving this special notebook I have been attempting to chart my personal music history. It remains a work in progress.  

Prompted by the efforts of these young writers, I shared my own musical manuscript with them in our most recent session. I hope by sharing I am validating their own musical pursuits.

Throughout this notebook, pages are periodically marked with musical quotations. One in particular set me to thinking. The quotation, attributed to German writer and poet, Heinrich Heine simply states, ‘When words leave off, music begins.’


From personal experience this maxim has always been borne out. Words and music locked in an embrace. At times they have co-existed, working in splendid synchronicity and feeding off each other’s special energy. During my writing history I have written three musicals along with the lyrics for more than twenty songs. Words and music have been the oxygen that sustains me. A day without either leaves me feeling depleted, incomplete.


So, I have embraced the challenge of this notebook most willingly. My journey with words and music is a refrain I wish to record. This notebook is providing the perfect impetus for undertaking this personal writing project. It is for me a celebration of a sweet melody –a musical memoir of sorts.




Extract:

‘My love of music has been further fuelled by listening to the radio as a small boy. I thrived on the songs bursting forth from the Bakelite box sitting on the mantel piece. Even the meagre offering of the hit parade once a week was bliss to my keen ears. I hung out for the weekly countdown of the eight most popular songs of the week. This soon expanded into the Top 40 and I found myself in musical heaven. Such was the extended countdown that Sunday afternoons (as it was back then) could be easily devoted to listening to the entire countdown of songs.’

‘Our house was filled with numerous musical offerings. My father sang to us regularly and his catchy songs became ingrained in my musical lexicon. I later passed them onto my children and then my grandchildren. These songs have endured. Dad also played the harmonica. In time I got one too, but I couldn’t control it in the same assured way he could. When he played I could easily recognize the tune. My particular sounds were more closely aligned to laboured breathing. To have a dad who both sang and played music was a joy. He was a somewhat private man, shy in fact. His music was only ever shared with his family. No public performances were ever part of the deal. Upon reflection, this makes the memories just a bit more precious. Providing a small glimpse behind the public face of a quiet and private man, who nonetheless found a way to share his love of music.’

So, my little musical notebook is reviving the music so intrinsically connected to my journey -some of it quite ancient. There are still many verses to add. I am looking forward to singing their praises. Ah, words and music, enabling me to create a little harmonic history. Feel free to join me in the chorus?

And if music has not been an essential part of your journey, maybe there's something else that been there all this time that deserves some recognition...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not every thing has a
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers to gain i
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intention of drawing t
Read more

Answering Questions Posed by Young POETS

Image
UPDATED, May 2020 As a frequent visitor to schools I have the great pleasure of working with groups of young, enthusiastic poets and their teachers. When I arrive in a classroom, young poets are often pre-loaded with questions, and most keen to have them answered.  I try to answer as many as I can, but we frequently run out of time, and the poetry caravan moves on to the next classroom. So I am here to answer some of those questions -right here, right now. So here goes: When you were little did you love writing? The short answer is yes. I have always enjoyed words and language. I can't recall a time when I wasn't doing some kind of writing. When did you write your first poetry book? I have had poems published over the years, but it wasn't until 2014 that I had an entire book of poems (an anthology) published. When I looked back through all my notebooks I realized I had hundreds of poems from which to choose. So, 'Searching For Hen's Teeth-Poetry From The
Read more

Some Reflections On The Teaching of Writing

Image
I launched this blog way back in 2008, not knowing where it would actually go. Naturally, I wanted it to provide support for teachers of writing, but it has also served to provide additional meaning and reflection around my own writing life.  I am most pleased that it has continued to fulfill its original aim.  As I write I am aware that close to one thousand posts have been published since I began back in 2008. In this particular post I am humbly sharing some thoughts and understandings gathered along this writing and learning journey I am on. These things I now know to be true about teaching children to become engaged writers… •Writers need to know their stories. They might have to tell them many times or engage in a lot of thinking before they arrive at the writing. Pre-writing, and rehearsal are therefore critical to success. •The teaching of writing needs to be seen through a child’s eyes. Are students writing about their view of the world? Can we help them
Read more