How many times in life have you faced a writer’s block while writing a creative piece? Writing is an art, and articulately weaving ideas into an artistic piece is quite difficult.
To be honest, several times in my life have I faced a creative block, owing to which I have fallen into the pit of depression. It was while attending a seminar that I found out the many benefits that music has on our lives. It was in a seminar when I had come across the term “Mozart effect” which suggests that listening to music helps boost your reasoning which in turn enhances the skill of creative writing.
Quite recently, a survey has proved the positive effect that music has on our writing skills.
To start with, music provides entertainment and therefore listening to music reduces mental fatigue, calms your mind and helps you to focus on your thinking more creatively.
1. Music helps you focus.
Complete silence can actually be quite distracting in real life. And to be honest, it is never completely silent around you. There is either the sound of a conversation from the next room, or the noise of a certain TV set or the chirping of the birds, and these can actually be quite disturbing. Even pin-drop silence can be very eerie.
Therefore, to eliminate these noises, listening to soft music in the background while working on a written assignment helps you to focus on it entirely. A recent research states that certain genres of music help to boost concentration while writing. However, there are exceptions to this as it has been proved that loud music that has too much of bass can affect your concentration adversely while songs that are easy on your ears tend to stimulate writing creativity.
Certain songs with complicated and depressing lyrics can be destructive to your concentration level, as it exhausts your brain. So, I suggest that you listen to a song that you already know so that you do not have to make an effort to understand the song, which may cause you to shift your focus from writing.
2. Music helps you to relax.
Any kind of written task demands creativity. But when you have to write projects that are repetitive in nature and style, it may get a little monotonous and can cause boredom.
Listen to music while working on your written project. It can keep you entertained, so that your brain is more receptive, and you can think of great ideas. You will be able to enjoy your otherwise repetitive writings with better focus. Research suggests that when you are in a good mood, you have a better creative capacity, which is quite obviously reflected in your writing. Moreover, it has been proved that a boost in your mood leads to higher productivity.
3. Music boosts your thinking mechanism.
Doctors say that music has a positive impact on the alpha and theta waves in your brain, which help us to remember things better and also improves our creativity. These days, certain schools are also using music during regular classroom activities to stimulate the thinking of the students and keep their attention towards activities related to writing.
Listening to music while writing makes you more expressive, thus aiding your creative writing ability. Music can actually help you to generate better ideas for your written tasks and thus complete them faster.
Says Kevin Smith, a middle-school teacher.
Before you set forth to the task of writing a creative piece, put on some good music and let the ideas flow.
4. Music enhances mood.
Music fosters self-identity and also works as emotional therapy by awakening spiritual consciousness. When it comes to learning in the classroom, the impact that music has stands undisputed.
Music aids in the intellectual growth of a student and works like a miracle on their self-esteem.
The benefits of music are not limited to these. You can also listen to songs that are relevant to the topic that you are writing. For example, if your topic is on relationships and love, you can listen to love ballads and take inspiration from the lyrics to enhance your creative piece. While, for a more dark tone in your writing, you can listen to symphonic undertones which can help you develop an intense scene of loss and grief.
5. Music promotes inspiration.
What is a song really about? It is just a harmonious blend of music and lyrics, isn’t it? There are songs that have affected me so much that they have altered my life altogether. Like any form of art, music has the power to greatly inspire you.
The melodies and lyrics can stir all the deeply buried emotions that rest within you. Did you come across lyrics having the power to change your life for the better? Well! I have. The song “I’m a believer” by the Monkees still makes me believe in all the good things in life. Even the ever-famous song “Hey Jude” by The Beatles inspired me to be a better person in life. Similarly, music can encourage you and help you channel your thoughts for writing.
You can get inspirational ideas for your story from the music you listen to. Everything, beginning from the melody to a chord, from lyrics to the phrase of a song, can inspire your story backdrop. Dig a little deeper, and I have also heard stories of how a writer was inspired by the life of a musician or a singer and has used the ideology in his/her writings.
Music is regarded to be a universal language that helps you to enhance your descriptive skills by helping you to build better stories with genuine feelings. That is precisely why several therapists suggest that a writer listens to music while working on a literary text.
From listening to music to drowning out the distracting noise in the background to using your choice of music to develop an idea or a theme for your piece, the benefits of music are not just limited to the above-mentioned facts.
Music styles:
Out of the several categories and genres of music.
Here are some styles that have been proved to tap the most creative potential in a writer.
Classical music.
Since classical music does not have any lyrics, it has been termed as the best kind of music that can help you hone your creative skills in the best manner. The symphonies have a positive impact on your concentration, thus increasing your level of productivity. Listening to Bach and Mozart while writing can help you write a verbose piece more eloquently.
Electronic music or EDM.
Although this genre has multiple types of tunes that intercept each other, there are some ambient tones too that will help you write better. The indie genre can be very soothing to your ears, and the trademark tranquil notes can help you concentrate better and elevate your consciousness. Even though the tunes are repetitive, the songs do not bother you or give you a headache (unlike, the genre of pop music) and therefore is an excellent choice of music for writing.
Music at 60 beats/minute.
60 Beats-per-minute music is a type of music that helps to activate the brain and enhances creativity and focus. Listening to such music helps the ideas and themes to flow faster as a result of which your writing turns out to be more creative and articulate.
Video game music.
The background music in a video game is quite ambient and engaging. You can, therefore, use it as background music while you write your tasks. Such music is known to relax the brain. Make sure that you choose the correct EDM. Try and avoid the obtrusive ones and go for ambient music to be able to produce great work consistently and reflect genuine and brilliant ideas through your writing.
Writing is a hell of a task which seems easy only to those who have not tried their hand at writing. Creativity too is an exhaustive resource that stops flowing after a point of time. But for several famous writers, music is their muse. The best way to evoke creativity and take inspiration is by listening to good music. Music, like any other form of art has a purpose. When it comes to the task of writing, there are several uses of music that aids in creative thinking.
Now that I have proved my point, I hope you will create your own playlist and allow nothing to act as a barrier between you and your passion of being a great writer.
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