What kind of music is playing while you write? When I’m working on my medieval mystery, I listen to Gregorian chants. For most everything else, it’s classical music or soundtracks. Other people’s words get in the way of mine—or I have the attention span of a gnat—so I can’t even listen to instrumental versions of songs that I know, because I sing along in my head.
Last year, my son gave me the 25th anniversary soundtrack to the Legend of Zelda video game; I just loved it. I’m also a fan of the music in the Studio Ghibli films (Ponyo, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbour Totoro) and would love to find soundtracks, but haven’t had any luck so far. So it’s the classics for me—lots of Mozart, Chopin, and for romance, Rachmaninoff.
When the house is empty, I often put on some (very loud) music and sing along (also loudly.) It’s a guaranteed mood booster for me. I sing in the car, too, especially when I’m heading in to teach at 8 AM. It does wonders for my spirit and warms up my voice for the teacher talk ahead.
Does music affect your mood or do you use music to change how you’re feeling? What music do you listen to when you write or is silence golden?