Music for Monday: Lost At Sea

May I apologize right off for not posting the other runners-up? Thank you. The critique part of my brain is all worn out. *wipes forehead*

Before I get to the music, let me also say that my Intelligence post has now been backlinked twice. o__O That is waaay more than I ever expected. Check it out today on Sarah Ellen's blog My Double Living!

Now, a few of you may know I have never seen the sea. The closest I've been to it is Lake Michigan. I vividly remember it, whether because of the sheer vastness of the water, the stretch of nothing but water that went on longer than my ten-year-old brain could imagine, or because of the half-ton of sand in my shorts. (Mom thought that because it was too cold to swim, we wouldn't get in the water. Silly mom.)

I've always been fascinated, not necessarily with the ocean, but with the draw of the ocean. Rereading The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater has brought it to the front of my mind once again. There's something about carnivorous water horses that does that to me. (I ought to review that when I'm done with it, because it's seriously one of my favorite books ever.)

And then yesterday, I was trying my hand at a fiddle trill in a Celtic song and I rediscovered this:

Now I'm bound for the heart of the ocean
I'm riding the sea in my soul
In the dark and the deep
She will rock me to sleep
Down below... where the black waters roll

When I heard this again, I realized I had unconsciously used it as a base for my elven lullabye. Not the words, but the chord changes and the longing tone. It almost made me wish I'd included the ocean in the lyrics.

The concept of the sea as a harsh mistress, as something alive and seductive, is enchanting to me. It's something I've teased around in my head, hoping to write about someday, but never really understood. There's also a wealth of theories and mythology to dig through for inspiration, anywhere from the more common mermaids and sea monsters to exotic selkies and sirens to barely-fictional worlds like Atlantis and Lemuria. Tolkien touched on it in his books, giving the elves a hunger for the sea that makes me ache to write something as good.

"The Sea! Alas! I have not yet beheld it. But deep in the hearts of all my kindred lies the sea-longing, which it is perilous to stir. Alas! for the gulls. No peace shall I have again under beech or under elm."

If I ever get brave enough to write about the ocean, this is the music I'll use.

Two Steps from Hell - Ocean

Bypassing TSFH's more popular Ocean Princess, I came upon this gem a few months ago and absolutely love it. The introductory water-like ripples of strings, the clear female vocal, and the build to the climax place you right in an otherworldly, underwater setting.

Gargantuan Music - Ocean Sky

The ambient beginning and ringing background noises in this new discovery morph into pounding drums and strings about halfway through, led by rhythmic, metallic chimes that invite thought of pirate treasure and rolling storm waves.

Hans Zimmer - Mermaids
I don't usually go in for the heavily trademark movie scores, because I have a hard time writing to them when the main character's theme or a variation thereof appears every ten seconds. This song, however, is an exception, and only reinforces my conviction that Hans Zimmer is a genius. I've used it writing multiple mysterious and/or magical scenes and it never gets old. The floating, mournful vocals have an amazing melody I can't help humming along to, and the chanting around 3:15 never fails to get my heart pounding. I rarely use the second half, as it's more action-oriented, but it's good for the occasional listen.

Thomas Bergersen - Aura

This is one song that always crops up when I've gone out beyond where I can touch when I'm swimming, especially in anything other than a swimming pool. I'm fine until I start imagining what might be under me. Can I just say I wished more epic songs had chimes in them?

Two Steps from Hell - Behold Atlantis

To deviate from my normal choices, this is more of a sound experiment than an actual song, reminding me of numerous wandering pieces by Moby (whose music I hear all the time, since dad is his biggest fan.) With the weird blubbing and popping noises and the rising and falling strings, it definitely sets an unusual scene.

James Newton Howard - Prologue

Lady in the Water is one of those films that stuck with me. It's so unusual with such ethereal music - it's a movie that really makes you think. James Newton Howard is incredible as usual. The piano-chimes duo is subtle, understated, but ever-present through the entire soundtrack.

Two Steps from Hell - Water Reflections

Just one more TSFH piece! This one is another new discovery and incorporates such unusual instruments and melodies that I had to share. Is that guitar or something electronic? And the choir! *sighs*

So that's my music load for the day. What about you? Have you written anything about the magic of the ocean? What songs would you recommend?

Nine Songs for the New World

Hey, folks! Sorry I missed my appointment with the latest short story finalist. I was, um, delayed (yeah, by your own laziness. Shut up.) I will most likely post the next one on schedule this week. Until then, let me amuse you by living up to my nickname of Jukebox Princess.

This is a post I've had in mind for a while, ever since I started working on the New World portion of my story. Even though my writing has grown vastly since I started using One Year Adventure Novel, I'm still roughly adhering to the OYAN story structure, the major points of which are as follows:

The Inciting Incident
Embracing Destiny
The New World
Failure
Black Moment
The Coming Storm
Climax
Denouement

From the curriculum: 

Chapter four is our introduction to a whole new world neither we nor the hero have experienced before. This new world can be one of magic, or of a far-off land. It can be a new world of knowledge or a new trade...whatever the world of your novel is, this is where we truly see it for the first time. Another common function of [this section] is the introduction of tests posed by the new world. This new world, be it one of knowledge or of magic or of China or of slavery, is and must be a wild, untamed place with rules and dangers all its own. Such a place demands talent, skill and practice if it is to be overcome. The hero must not climb the mountain too easily or overnight.

In the case of my novel, the New World actually comes before the Embracing Destiny, but mine is also a double-whammy, with Arionwyn thrown into the dangerous realm of magic and a foreign country not entirely friendly to her kind. It's only after she embraces her destiny that she returns to territory familiar to her.

But enough of that. If you follow a structure similar to OYAN's or even any structure at all, your character is likely to encounter an unfamiliar setting once in a while. Music for these scenes is likely to be wondering, bright and hopeful, and tinged with a little bit of mystery. And that's exactly what I've tried to compile. May I present to you: Nine Songs for the New World!

Jeremy Soule - The Streets of Whiterun

This song is excellent background music for "discovery" scenes or almost any upbeat low-key scenes. The gentle piano/harp pattern in the background complement a soaring violin melody with rising strings and subtle choir.

Anne Dudley - A Different Land

Anne Dudley picks up the pace a bit in this song reminiscent of an archaic marketplace from the movie Tristan and Isolde. Bustling drums and nimble strings lend a sense of busy-ness and an alien setting without being too obvious.

John Powell - Wounded

"Why don't you just...fly away?" This brief but well-loved piece begins with a bang and rapidly descends into soft vocals, chimes, and trilling strings. Even though I've seen the movie multiple times (which usually cripples my use of the soundtrack) I can still imagine so many things to this song...mermaids, jungles, hidden treasure.

Two Steps From Hell - Beneath the Ice

In this unreleased track from TSfH's Skyworld, soft electronic chimes and low strings lead into a soaring melody that has it all - beauty, mystery, majesty, grandeur. Really makes me wonder what they found beneath the ice...

James Newton Howard - Penthouse/Training

This odd piece by James Newton Howard, a favorite composer of mine, explores the poignant, wistful sense of leaving home behind, coupled with the possible dangers of the new setting. (Allow me to geek out for a moment: Every time I hear Katniss' home theme at 1:21, it makes me want to bawl.)

Ramin Djawadi - The Kingsroad

This piece stands out of the mostly low-key Game of Thrones soundtrack. A string melody in an extended variation on the main theme sweeps across the song, breaking now and then with huge drums like waves upon the shore.

Howard Shore - The Council of Elrond

The first half of this song is an old standby of mine. Not only does it feature the beautiful voice of Enya, but it conveys a sense of starlit wonder that was just perfect for the opening scenes with Arionwyn in Laecla. The soft, alien elven theme builds into a gorgeous, floating melody featuring a minimalistic duo between Enya and a few low, melancholy strings.

Epic Soul Factory - Grasping Some Beauty

This one was a wild card for me, neither from a movie I'd seen nor an artist I liked. I can't even remember where I found it on the wide, wide web. But as soon as I heard the echoing piano melody, accompanied by the odd background noises, I was hooked. I based a drabble of mine off this song and I love it to this day.

Jo Blankenburg - Arion

I wish I had more occasion to use this one. A beautiful piano undercurrent runs through lofty strings and a gripping key change before coming to rest in a clean, majestic ending suitable perhaps for a midnight flight on dragonback. I also suggest you investigate Leaving Lemuria by the same artist.

BONUS!

Harry Gregson-Williams - Journey to the How

I probably listened to the first minute and forty-eight seconds of this song about 200 times while writing in one of my favorite settings: The Boundary Forest. It made me very glad my mp3 player has a "repeat section" function, because that minute-and-forty-eight-seconds is about as perfect for my setting as a piece of music can get. Harp trills and fairy-like chimes pervade the background of this gentle but ominous track. I think I've listened to the rest of it about twice. Picky, I know.

Well, there you have it: nine songs for your new world. (Ten if you count the last third of one.) Have I missed any of your favorites? What music have you used for writing the New World in your novel?

(Image credit: http://morguefile.com/archive/display/21524)

Music for Monday: Character Theme 3

Sorry I'm late! We had a houseguest yesterday, and after that I was watching Sherlock. But I'm here today!

I've had this song set for this character almost as long as I've had the character himself. He's changed, but yet he's not. He's grown so much, on both sides of his character, but remarkably, this song still fits him. I can't help but think it always will, at least during this stage in his story.

Bring Me To Life ~ Evanescense

How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core
Where I've become so numb

Call my name and save me from the dark
Bid my blood to run
Before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I've become 

Iri as pianist Jarrod Radnich. Or is is Jarrod Radnich as Iri?

There's not much that can break my heart as thoroughly as this song when I'm thinking about Iri. This is what's behind his mask of wit and smiles, what feeds his hatred, makes him desperate. There are very few alive who have glimpsed this side of him, but it's the first key to understanding what he's become.

He's lived for fifteen years without love, surrounded by people who value him only for his powers. Since he chose to betray his loyalty to his land and the king's army, he has held everyone at a distance, including God. He believes himself irredeemable, and in his mind, it's made him invincible.

Without a thought

Without a voice

Without a soul
I've been living a lie

There's nothing inside

Please
Bring me to life

The first crack in his world is when he loses his powers - all of them. He was told he wasn't worthy to bear them, and it nearly destroyed him. After living like he has for so long, depending on his power to make him valuable, suddenly he is worthless in his own eyes.

The second crack come when Aaron follows him into the wilderness to kill him - and instead spares his life. Iri begins to watch Aaron closely, furious, puzzled, and wanting whatever Aaron has. His mask had slipped, his real self laid bare, and someone valued him still. Before the end, he has a choice to make...


This song is so perfect for Iri that it inspired some fan art. (I still can't get over that I have fans.) The wonderful R. S. Sharkey made this amazing wallpaper for me, based on this song. I love it to death.

Music for Monday: Character Theme 2

I had a hard time finding a theme for Aaron, but then I remembered that I had a song for him, 'long many years ago as my mom would say.

Sweet Revenge ~ BarlowGirl

You live on so unaware
While I thought somehow this hate would heal me
But this hate is never ending

And it's only killing me

I probably should have made his ear pointed. Oh well.

This was the struggle that motivated Aaron for so long. He and Iri, his friend since childhood, had a...disagreement. It was a teeny bit more serious than that, since Iri threatened to kill him. Pretty serious, actually.

Iri, driven by bad decisions and emotional insecurity, broke his loyalties to the human army and sided with their worst enemy. Horrified, Aaron threatened to tell his father. That was where the death threat came in.

I find I can't get free
Till I release this vengeance that I seek

Forgive you, the only thing
I want to live...I'm ready to be free

Maybe you've been wounded too

Maybe all this is your self protection

All the hurts you thought were hidden

Are the one now hurting me

So who will make the pattern end?

A few months later, Iri waited in a remote mountain cave where he knew Aaron was going. Before the two parted again, Iri shot and killed Aaron's dragon and life companion, Blazeheart. Aaron was supposed to die with him, but instead he lived. In his grief he retreated behind a shell, letting no one get close to him. Fifteen years later, Wyn begins to break through that shell...

This is most of his character arc. As a matter of fact, is was so intrinsic to his character I wondered whether he would even be interesting when it was resolved (NO SPOILERS.) He was.

Expect one for Iri next Monday. I love his and can't wait to share it with you.

Music for Monday: Character Theme 1

So in the middle of my three loads of laundry today, I was playing my mp3 player on shuffle all and I came across this gem by Elenowen.

Elenowen ~ Flying for the First Time

It came to me as I sang along that this song is perfect for Arionwyn, my main character number one, especially in the section of the story I'm working on at the moment.

(Yes, this is Emma Watson. No, Arionwyn's hair is not brown, nor are her eyes.)

Said a prayer with broken wings
Hoping to move toward greater things now
And face the fear

That I'm driftin'
Closer toward the skyline
Lookin' down on my life
Tryin' to get just one thing right

This is Wyn all over. In the part I'm working on, Wyn has just narrowly escaped being captured by the enemy, due to the intervention of a man who hardly knows her. This almost results in both of their deaths. In the following months she wrestles with guilt and inadequacy as she endures grueling training in archery, flight, and magic.

Fear has a way of playing games
Go a little, go your separate ways

Led to the open flame
Barely escaped
Now I'll never be the same

She knows the ordeal has changed her, stripped her insecurities bare. But there's a tentative joy that just won't go away - as one of only two free Riders she is valued, respected, and relied upon as she never was before. Not only that, but the flying itself is the only time she can forget, be really free.

What about you? Do you have themes for your characters - a song that's really just perfect for them?

Anyway, that's character theme number one. Now I suppose I have to go find one for Aaron.

Music for Monday

So it's actually Monday this time. I'm proud of myself. ;) I was going to post something else, but I figured I'd hint at it now and post it in a couple days. It has pictures and everything. Don't miss it!

So today there's no epic, because I'm feeling introspective instead of epic today. It may be because I got no writing done whatsoever and am trying to figure out what's wrong. But today's video is pretty far from my usual genre. (And I know it has a strange screenshot, but seriously, just listen to it.)





I'm actually not sure what genre it is. Pop? Alternative? The lyrics website says it's electro-indie. This is the sort of thing I listen to when I'm not getting ideas from Epic. I usually end up picking pieces out of songs like this, since the video is so cryptic any attempt at giving it a plot would probably end up in disaster.

I love her voice, though, and the dusky, pastel color scheme. The impressions I get are someone grieving, a tragic event of some sort, regret, a bittersweet new beginning. Anyone else got any ideas?

Music Oddities

I've had this impression for so long that it's taken hold of me and I can't let it go until I share it with somebody. Maybe not even then.

You know when you've found it
There's something I've learned
'Cause you feel it
When they take it away
hey, hey, hey
Something unusual, something strange
Come from nothing at all
But I'm not a miracle
And you're not a saint
Just another soldier
On the road to nowhere



My mom listens to some pretty weird music, it's true. She's discovering her true tastes now that she has children. *clears throat* I mean...yeah. Well, I've been present for most of it. She discovered Damien Rice a while ago and I hated it. And then strongly disliked it. And then...you know how it goes. It grew on me.



But this music...it's so sad, and it's so passionate. And somehow, it gives me an impression of old things. Weathered leather and creaking doors and tradition and sad, dusty, falling-in farmhouses.




And so it is
Just like you said it would be
Life goes easy on me
Most of the time
And so it is
The shorter story
No love, no glory
No hero in her sky

I'm not sure if any of my writing would fit into a setting like this, but I'm almost desperate enough to write to this music that I think I might try.




There's always time
On my mind
So pass me by, I'll be fine
Just give me time
Older gents sit on the fence
With their cap in hand
Looking grand
They watch their city change




So what do you think? Am I crazy, or am I?

Music for Monday (on Tuesday, again)

Yes, I know, I'm late. But by the time Youtube got this uploaded it was bedtime *bares teeth and shakes fist at procrastinator website*

Anyway, this is my first uploaded video. And, y'know, if y'all wanna subscribe ... *hint hint*




This is me playing Elfin Dance by Adolf Jensen on our 100+ year old piano.

From the music sheet:
A pleasing study in scherzo playing. The sixteenths even, well articulated, precise, yet light. The pedal, if used at all, must be held but little if any more than the time of an eighth note, and merely for the purpose of affording the fundamental a little more resonance. The tones before rests are always to be played with a finger staccato, the hand (and perhaps the arm) springing up a little but not enough to delay the movement. At a) the sustained tone is held out its full length.

To be played "Vivace con grazia", at quarter note = 80. Adolf Jensen, Op. 33 No. 5.

Epic Music for Monday

*zaps glaring snow and looming clouds into vibrant green grass and beaming sunshine*

*sigh* ... I wish.

So, I'm feeling the need for a little bit of cheering up, and this song does the trick almost every time.



Composer/Artist: Immediate Music
Album: Trailerhead
Impressions: Galloping across the plains; soaring aerial view over mountains; eagle's flight; a life progression; a planet whirling through space; elapsed time shot of a forest coming to life in the spring; dungeon locks breaking; candle piercing the darkness; ship sailing into sight around the edge of a bay; unsheathing of a magical sword; softly glowing crystals in a glittering cave; dragon hatching.

Share your own impressions. :D

Music for Monday -- Epic

So, I'm starting a new feature: Music for Monday! Today, as with many days, I felt like some Epic.

I'm beginning with the song that started it all.

Those of you who know me are very familiar with the fact that I listen to Epic music extensively. For those of you who haven't been introduced to the genre, it's the type of music you hear in movie trailers and the like.

This was the first really Epic song that caught my attention:



Composer/Artist: Two Steps From Hell
Album: Legend
Impressions: Rollicking, rolling waves; throbbing heartbeat; marching army; grim cadence of a requiem; menacing strokes of an enemy's blade; dances of elusive forest creatures, sneaking through the underbrush; wingstrokes of a dragon; swaying of trees in a hurricane; hectic chase through crowded city streets; rubble flying as a cave roof collapses.

Give me your images! :D