#i want electroswing that is so so fast and drums and sounds

[bellabooks]

Music and writing: A harmonious match

Do you listen to music when you write? It’s a pretty common question and most writers feel pretty strongly about it one way or another. I myself can’t listen to music when I’m writing for the blog, but I definitely have playlists for when I’m writing fiction. At the moment, I’m ears deep in turn of the 20th century and Appalachian folk music for a period piece I’m working on. I asked the Bella authors about their writing and music habits, and they filled my inbox with their thoughtful responses. Maybe you’ll even get some inspiration for your own writing.   Genevieve Fortin: When I lived alone I never listened to music when I wrote. I usually had the TV set on the Food Network in the background. Then I bought a house with a lovely woman who is also a talented musician and likes to play the guitar or the piano while I write. I have to admit it sets quite the creative mood. So much so that she recently played a piece that became the main inspiration for a new novel. I’m not telling you what piece, but I’m very excited because it’s the first time music is such a driving force to my writing. Sometimes my musician prefers listening to music while I write and that’s fine too as long as said music is instrumental or, if there are words, they have to be in English. Although our first language is French, I can’t listen to French songs when I write in English. If I try, both languages collide in my brain and I can’t function. Karin Kallmaker: I’m a long-time “slow music for fast times” Hearts of Space kind of listener, and I find ambient music works like nothing else when I’m really on a roll writing fresh text. It makes the room quieter and my mind freer. Vidia Wesenlund, Lisa Gerrard, Michael Stearns – they’re all perfect. A true favorite is Brian Eno’s Bell Studies for the Clock of the Long Now. Artists like David Bowie and Moby have produced ambient works that are on also on the 34-hour+ Writing Music playlist, and there’s a hand played instrument called a hang that produces a bell-like steel drum tone – total ear candy. On the other hand, when I’m self-editing I can go more up-tempo. I totally love ElectroSwing. But still no lyrics – other people’s words make it harder for me to find my own. Riley Scott: When writing more intense scenes, I choose to listen to silence (or at least as silent as it can be with my three dogs snoring nearby). However, during the stages of mapping out what I want to happen during a specific writing session or in the beginning stages of my writing session, music is a must for drawing inspiration and setting the tone. I listen to a variety of music, as I do in my everyday life, and my choice depends on what type of scene I’m writing. My all-time favorites to write to include Stevie Nicks, Melissa Etheridge, Tracy Chapman, Brandi Carlile and Halestorm, although for my latest novel, A Time to Speak, I spent a lot of time listening to country artists, as the story is set in Texas.     Tracey Richardson: Music most definitely can inspire my writing. While I don’t always write to music, I sometimes do for important scenes if I need a little emotional jolt. When I was writing a short story set in the Second World War, I set up a playlist of music from the 1930s and 1940s, which really helped me “feel” like I was back in time. For a romantic scene, I sometimes throw on a playlist that includes such songs as “Ain’t No Sunshine”, “Sara Smile”, “Falling Slowly”, anything by The Carpenters. Music played a huge role in my romance novel The Song in My Heart. My musician friend Elaine Dark wrote a song specifically for the book, and I even learned how to play guitar so I could feel what my characters feel when they play music. I like to think that music and fiction are close cousins (kissing cousins?)! E.J. Cochrane: I find the Thao and the Get Down Stay Down station on Pandora incredibly helpful for writing. I get a nice blend of quirky, indie, mostly female musicians that seem to inspire more quirkiness in the mostly female characters in my mysteries. D Jordan Redhawk: I always listen to music when I write. It’s my version of white noise that keeps the real world at bay while I’m concentrating on my novel. And every book has its own unique soundtrack! Tiopa Ki Lakota’s playlist held both Irish folk music as well as powwow tunes. Darkstone and Pixie (my next book!) used the same list—Linkin Park, Bullet For My Valentine, Kidney Thieves, Celldweller—to evoke the nu-metal mastery that was the focal point of that world’s magic. While writing Alaska Bride, I listened to Acoustic Labs, Alex Murdoch, KT Tunstall and a creepy disc by Jordan Reyne.     Heather Rose Jones: I used to play music a lot while writing—fiction, non-fiction, day-job stuff, anything. It always had to be something without lyrics (which interferes with the words in my head) so it helps that I have a vast library of classical favorites. I fell away from the habit due to the environments I write in. So if you count the ambient music at Starbucks or Peets’ Coffee, that’s my usual soundtrack! I can’t very well play music while I’m doing dictation, which is my current first-draft method. But when I was polishing up the climactic chapter of Mother of Souls—the one with the magical opera—I sat out in my garden playing Antonin Dvorak’s “Carnival Overture” on a continuous loop, because that piece perfectly encapsulated how the opera was supposed to make the characters feel. Marie Castle: What most people don’t know about me is that I studied piano and trumpet for most of my formidable years. I played with both marching and concert groups until my eyesight decreased to the point that it was difficult to read music. Making music and/or listening to it has been part of my life for so long that it’s hard to be creative without it. I find it helps me set the pace and mood when writing, drowns out random street and house noises, and generally keeps me focused, especially when writing late at night. I have very eclectic tastes, so what I listen to depends on the personality of my characters, the setting, and the purpose of any given scene. If the scene is at a piano bar, I’ll put on piano music. If my main character is a country girl who sings along with Shania and dances in her socks while cooking dinner then upbeat female country is on tap. If it’s a love scene, I pick a romantic, tantalizing playlist. Heavy rock or sharp fast electric for the fight scenes, swinging techno for dance scenes. Acoustic pop when writing humor…cause there’s enough clichés there to keep you laughing for hours. Listening to lyrics is fine when editing. But when writing new scenes, listening to unfamiliar lyrics can be a distraction. I find myself wondering what the singer is saying rather than what my characters need to say. So for new material, I often choose karaoke, instrumental, movie soundtracks, very familiar tunes, or something similar. MB Panichi: For me it depends on my mood, what I’m writing, and what part of the writing process I’m in, and if the words are flowing or not. The harder I need to think, the more the music or background noise needs to be things that I won’t sing along with or get too involved in. And sometimes, I just like it quiet. If I’m listening to music, I have a go-to playlist on my iPhone called  ‘Chick Metal All Heavy’  that has all my favorites.  Lots of guitars and drums, and all female lead singers with female backing bands where possible. I like it loud enough to make my ears bleed. (Okay, not literally. That would ruin my headphones.)  Some example bands in the list: the Agonist, Kittie, Evanescence, Halestorm, Straight Line Stitch, Level C, Epica,  L7, Otep, Mystica Girls.  For when I just need background noise, and I have some nature sounds files I use, with ocean surf, rain and thunderstorms. http://dlvr.it/Ntl7lg

[allinsgaywitchaesthetic-moved]

literally no one asked for this and i was bored so heres monsta x as a jazz combo under the cut

shownu

sax player, brass/winds leader

plays every single saxophone known to man + clarinet, flute, and p much every other wind instrument ?? like how?????

hes amazing thats how

so so so dedicated but like

where kihyun is like …. aggressively dedicated shownu is more relaxed abt it

like kihyun plays more but shownu listens more and analyzes more sort of??

thats why hes the leader

has a very good understanding of different styles and how to break them down

just perceptive musically

also really good at imitating specific styles

always has extra valve oil and grease and strings and sticks in his bag it’s ridiculous the thing probably weighs like 30 pounds

he doesn’t really have a specific music taste?? like hes just not picky

also too compliant for his own good …

minhyuk showed up at rehearsal once like “shownu, lets play death metal!!”  and shownu was just like “ok sounds good”

also doesn’t really like to be super assertive so he’ll usually suggest articulations and phrasings rather than saying “tongue this note and slur that”

everyone listens to him anyways tho because he’s right

not really tonally or rhythmically inclined tbh hes just good all around

hes really flexible stylistically and likes to play in lots of different styles

loves bob florence, john coltrane, ellington, but will listen to everything

likes to challenge himself w rhythms bc hes pretty good at them!!

he gets really anxious before performances tho and it definitely reflects in his playing :(

kihyun

trumpet!!! lead trumpet!!!!

his sound is really sharp (like cutting? almost) and strong and honestly??? the most beautiful thing uve ever heard

probably a prodigy tbh

he isnt leader tho like just bc he plays the ~visually most important~ instrument doesn’t mean hes in charge lol

always attentive, has like 3 pencils on him at all times, records rehearsals, Model Musician tbh

tonally inclined

eats, drinks, and breathes long tones

can’t sleep?? long tones

hungry?? long tones

bored?? long tones

i.m: hey kihyun whats the answer for question 11?

kihyun: long tones, changkyun. the answer is always long tones

i.m, in the background: im a guitarist????

his range is ridiculous bc of this

loves ballads!!! especially basie ballads like little darling bc he can just … drag out his beautiful sound like theres no tomorrow

probably doesn’t like a lot of contemporary jazz but plays it to challenge himself

also loves thad jones, miles davis, jalc (modern groups playing old jazz make him happy!!) and jazz vocalists - frank sinatra, cecile mclorin savant, etc.

biggest weakness is probably the fact that he doesn’t listen as much as he should so he doesn’t always grasp style well :(

shownu: kihyun listen to this recording!

kihyun: i can’t ,, im playing rn .. ., gotta go fast

minhyuk

hes a trombone player and no one can tell me other wise

this is bc trombones are the worst and so is minhyuk

shownu: alright everyone lets start at measure 39

minhyuk: *slides around on the trombone* how about i solo for 30 measures instead

never fuckingf listens

but hes not a bad player!! hes just .. an unstoppable force of nature .. .,

his sound is really warm and broad but occasionally sounds a little muffled

esp when hes lazy or doesn’t like the piece theyre working on

tbh don’t even expect him to try if he doesnt like the music ur playing

tonally inclined

hates long tones, has never done them in his life probably??

bc of that his range isn’t super big but his sound is really strong and powerful

kihyun works w him on long tones bc ‘minhyuk!!! ur range is holding us back,, please!!’

prefers up tempo funk or latin tunes but doesn’t like super complicated rhythms

loves gordon goodwin and the brecker brothers to bits …

will blast them while showering :)

really impatient as a musician

like he cant focus for super long periods of time and he cant sit through all of those long rehearsals so his playing suffers bc of that

he practices better in small groups than alone bc the other members help him focus better so he gets more done~

i.m

guitarist

hes the only guitarist u will ever meet who shows up on time to rehearsal… amazing

its rlly relaxing to watch him play hes just really confident n comfortable w his style of playing bc hes p flexible and he loves jazz a lot bc its so different and complicated as a genre!!!

has read every single jazz autobiography and watched every single jazz movie known to man

rhythmically inclined

he, hyungwon, and jooheon just .. have rhythm clapping competitions where they see who can clap the most complicated rhythms for the longest amount of time …. theyre a trip

plays clappingmusic on his phone when hes bored and has converted the entire band to it

fuckin loves free jazz and fusion!!!!  and contemporary jazz

he, hyungwon, and jooheon just hang out listening to ornette coleman, charles mingus, chick corea - its a great time

(hyungwon hates ornette coleman but he wont tell changkyun bc he doesn’t want to break his heart :( )

hes a sucker for like .. old romantic sounding jazz

he plays through his real book every couple of days- he really loves the classics too

loves wes montgomery

hes the bands treasure; you make fun of a lick he played?? u wont see the light of day . …

his biggest weakness is he has troubles communicating with the other group members like w eye contact and tempo changes and stuff

also gets lost in the middle of pieces sometimes bc hes a little spacey n he worries :(

wonho

pianist, rhythm section leader

naturally bouncy style, very swingy - he’s a natural, also possibly a prodigy?

won a bunch of classical music competitions when he was a kid but then he realized he liked jazz more so he switched over

the biggest jazz history nerd!! just knows a lot of random facts about all the composers

favorite facts include: billy strayhorn was gay and mingus punched his lead bone player in the mouth (hyungwons response ‘youre next minhyuk’ always makes him laugh)

buys food for everyone before rehearsal

always trying to help everyone become more confident and happy with their own musical abilities

helps everyone rehearse by doing 1-on-1 stuff if they need it

probably plays in elderly homes and in orphanages to help the kids

also not really rhythmically/tonally inclined hes just good

rlly likes jazz-inspired classical music and like … jazz movie soundtracks

watches jazz movies with changkyun

also likes ragtime, second line, dixieland … all those old exciting jazz movements bc theyre so fun to play!!!

he isn’t very confident in his playing like he knows hes good but he doubts himself a lot so he lets other people’s preferences control him??

like if someone doesn’t like something abt a solo of his he’ll change to appease them, even if he likes it a lot :(

hyungwon

bassist

plays both upright and electric

really smooth long sound on both instruments - his entire style feels very relaxed

honestly was dragged into this by minhyuk without knowing what jazz really was but he really grew to like it!!

loves his role as a bassist bc hes important but like … behind the scenes important >:)

most people don’t think abt the bassist at all in the band but hyungwon Knows that hes important so hes ok w that

definitely doesn’t know how to work his own equipment like

quarter inches?? amp head??? what r those he just doesn’t know

he and jooheon always argue about the best way to do a fill and tempo and anything else under the sun bc theyre both stubborn and think theyre right

wonho is the only one that can make it stop

hyungwon probably shows up late to rehearsal w like … cup ramen and a book someone help him

the book is a jazz autobiography and he discusses it w changkyun after rehearsal over coffee

hes rhythmically inclined and loves to challenge himself w odd meters and weird fingerings

he doesn’t necessarily like that kind of music though?? like hell play it to challenge himself but he won’t always like it and won’t really listen to it

loves every single bassist known to man

esp victor wooten, mingus, esperanza spalding, ron carter

he hates jaco tho bc jaco is an asshole

minhyuk: but mingus was also an asshole??

hyungwon: shhhhhhh mingus was a special kind of asshole so its ok

will honestly just listen to entire bass concerts

loves cool jazz and bebop

hes really … absorbed in his own playing because he throws himself into it and wants his walking to be good and he wants to be in time and all these other things so when hes playing he sometimes ignores the rest of the group bc hes trying so hard to sound good

hes a lil bit of a worrier internally and its gets in the way of the confidence of his playing

also procrastinates on his deadlines like theres no tomorrow lol

jooheon

drummer!!!!

carries at least 3 pairs of sticks, brushes, and a practice pad with him at all times

he??? drums in the bath room sometimes????? you’ll just walk by and hear vague slapping noises like ‘oh thats just jooheon! hes working on his rudiments’ :)

one of those 3 pairs of drumsticks is broken and taped together so that it doesn’t fall apart tbh

wants to bring back jazz rap

also rlly likes electroswing and jazz trap

just give him jazz thats influenced by new technologies in music !! he loves it

rhythmically inclined - especially likes playing in odd meters

his fills and hits are always so in-time it’s ridiculous

loves don ellis and buddy rich

his jazz playlist is 50% all of the standard jazz he needs and the other 50% is like thess tracks from single composers that have been dead 20 years w no meter or are in like 17/8 or something

jokes abt having 'perfect click’ all the time like

jooheon: you know perfect pitch??? ive got perfect tempo ;)))

hyungwon: jooheon shut up, you rush all of your fills

sets up pranks w minhyuk before rehearsal starts so that its 'more fun’ because jazz is 'all about rebellion against the status quo’ like ok

he worries a lot bc he feels like he needs to carry the entire band on his shoulders bc he’s a drummer and therefore The Most Important

but then everyone always says “but we’re all drummers!” and he feels a little better abt it

probably cries after every performance