Novel Writing Soundtracks

I don't have a soundtrack I listen to, but I sure do play Ludovico Einaudi an awful lot. His music is certainly an inspiration, and is beautiful. Here's one of my favorites of his on his latest album.

I listened to a lot of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan playing the sarod while I was writing 'Cawnpore'.

Well, I'm not writing any sagas, but . . .

Mozart. That's all that's needed.

(Honestly, I have a fairly eclectic mix of music that I listen to on shuffle, so there's a little bit of everything. A lot of times, though, I'll listen to strictly Mozart. Never gets old.)

I'm writing about Pompeii so I'm with you on the Gladiator Soundtrack. But I have a lot of modern music on my playlist, too. Songs with lyrics that catch the mood, even though I don't pay attention to the words while it's playing. I just know what the song is about. I also like to listen to Brazilian music because I CAN'T understand the lyrics (I know, contrary). I'm currently obsessed with Paris Vila Mathilde by Curumin. And I do mean obsessed. *sigh*

Welcome to AW, jbb!

I have a number of Thomas Newman compositions on my playlist that help get the proverbial juices flowing when necessary. He's scored many films (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Road to Perdition among others) that put me in an appropriately bleak state of mind.

junebugaboo said:

Anyone got a playlist they listen to while they write their historical sagas? I'm looking to add to mine. I'm working on a novel set in ancient Rome, so of course I have most of the Gladiator soundtrack in the line up.

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Have you ever listened to the soundtrack to The Eagle? The composer worked with Edinburgh University, and it uses authentic ancient instruments (as well as being recorded in Medieval churches and uses Gaelic and Icelandic singers) rather than modern synthesizers.

junebug - it's always interesting to see what works for others. I can't put up with adagios-too somber. I like more upbeat movements. Haydn & Mozart concerti, and almost anything by Vivaldi (minus the adagios and largos)

junebugaboo said:

angeliz2k: I'm not sure if I can do Mozart, but you inspired me to sift through my classical stock. I tend to go for moody piano pieces, some discord, stuff that makes one sad--I've added a few Chopin nocturnes, some Satie, and decided even to throw in Ravel's Bolero and some Philip Glass.

quickWit: Thanks! Just downloaded a few songs from Road to Perdition! If you go for "bleak," I like Samuel Barber's Adagio. It's the song from David Lynch's Elephant Man, probably one of the most depressing movies of all-time.

gothicangel: Thanks for this! I'm off to check it out...I saw the movie when it came out and remember liking it, but I don't remember the score.

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Ah, then Mozart might not be for you, because it's the most charming music in the world--most of it is essentially happy (with notable exceptions). But nothing--nothing--makes me happier than Mozart.

I don't know if this will help with your era, per se, but I listen to a lot of goofy miscellaneous ye-olde (most of it is 18th century or later, including pseudo-folk written in the last 30 years, even though they're usually passed off as 16th century in performance and my piece is 12th century) stuff from around the British Isles, stuff I would / do perform at Renaissance Faires, and daydream about how I will work them into the show when HBO picks me up like the next Game of Thrones

I also have a very short list of theme songs for my protagonists. "Some Nights" (tacky, I know) for my Good King archetype, because a la Edward IV and Henry II he's thrown into this whole leadership abruptly as a teenager and has big shoes to fill, and I imagine him as rather lost in how to pull it off, even though he's bullshitting the best he can. "Nicest Thing" for my Generic Child Bride archetype, because she's largely Joanna of Wales and I picture her being heartbreakingly in love with an older man who doesn't know she exists. (She also gets The Rachels "First Family Portrait" which may be just about the most tragic contemporary instrumental ever written.) And "Bombs Away" for my Evil Younger Brother, as well as the whole series, because the opening voice-over by Morgan Freeman just about sums up everything I'm trying to say thematically about history as recorded being very different from how it actually happened.

As the war between Light and Darkness continues, Heroes and Villains become harder to identify.
Kindred spirits separated at birth, waiting for their place in time to be solidified.

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You could try digging up some epic orchestra songs... Most of the songs I've heard are great for battle scenes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIxHckSb9Xo

This is my favorite album of epic orchestra and it really boosts my writing.

Pretty much anything from Two Steps From Hell.