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How do you describe music in writing?



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Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:30 am
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Rurouni says...



Hi! I'v been wondering, how do you describe music, through words? A character of mine has a band he's part of and its wild and crazy music. How would I describe the drums instead of "da da dum dra dum ect..." Help is greatly needed!
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Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:50 am
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Kit says...



I am a musician by trade (noun: meaning broke) and I can tell you everyone experiences music very differently. Some of my mates, especially those with perfect pitch have synesthesia, where the sound of things stimulate their other senses as well. I find I can taste music quite strongly some times. Write down everything you can feel and hear from the way it sounds in your head, any metaphors, any movement in the beat, you may get a lot of random in there, but you may also find a way to describe things that hadn't been used, and that would be the most evocative.

If you're just looking for some basic descriptors, 'syncopated' and 'mixed meter' are pretty good to describe rhythms that you don't quite anticipate. If it sounds like he has fast deep loud beats, he may have a double kick pedal. Basic drum parts are he snare, toms, side drum, bass drum, cymbals. He may have wooden or plastic tipped sticks, he might use a brush on the cymbals. How does he move? Is the movement from his wrists, his arms, does he put his shoulders into it, the whole force of his body. Does he sweat? How does he sit on the stool, is he almost falling off of it into the skins, or sitting back, effortlessly. Watch vids on youtube of your favourite bands, and you can find a way to describe the way he moves and sounds in a way that makes sense to you and your reader. I suppose the way to think of it is music isn't sound no more than a story is dots on a page.
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Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:02 am
Rurouni says...



That helps, the character, himself, doesn't play the drum, he's more of a singer/dancer. But I appreciate the help. I'll look into those vids on youtube. Thanks!
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Sat Apr 20, 2013 2:14 am
AlfredSymon says...



Hi Peg! Lemme help! See, music can be described just as you'd describe anything else. You can imply describe it with adjectives like smooth, beautiful, pretty and that kind of words. If you wanna use some more words, open this website and type in the search box:
Code: Select all
text:____ typeof:sound
In the underline, you can put a description of the sound, like soft, beautiful, slow.

Although, a MUCH better way to describe it is to use figurative language. For example, use a simile. "Her voice is as beautiful as the flower on her hair". Or maybe a metaphor. "Her song is the moon in my night." And my favorite, personification (which I recommend that you use). "Her voice leaped up from her seat, and danced around us, the audience, lulling us to sleep." See? The description becomes a bit colorful with figurative language. You can even experiment with them and mix and match descriptions!

Hope I helped! Good luck! :D
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Wed Apr 24, 2013 12:10 pm
Tenyo says...



Simileees! Oh how I love them. When you can't figure out how to describe something, just describe something else! Works every time.

The beat was a slow, sickly ba-thump, like the sound of an old mans heart choking on its years.

The music was like a poison. The initial burst of volume was almost painful, and yet once it spread the whole room; the people, the walls, the roof, even the rain outside, pulsed with its beat.

The seemingly random smash and shatter of the symbol amidst the steady beat was kind of like adding half a block of melted cheese to a low-fat sub; wrong, in everyway, and yet deliciously satisfying.
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