Overtures are the best!
Especially when they’re loud enough to rattle the windows and wake up the neighbors. Not that I’ve done that. At least not THAT often. Only when the jerks on the hill have been up tweaking all night and I wake up in the mood to kill someone. At least I keep murder and mayhem between the pages, right?
This is the sort of music that gets the adrenalin pumping and the imagination roaring. These are the sounds that lift you up and transport you across great distances so you can be chucked off a cliff. Soft nuances that become great crashing surges of melody in order to echo and influence your mind as you puzzle through that elusive plot point. Lovely stuff.
Here are some of the more recognizable favorites, but we’ll start with my all time favorite by Sergei Prokofiev:
Dance of the Knights by Prokofiev
The William Tell Overture by Rossini
The 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky
The Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner
The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart
Another type of music that’s good for writing action and angst are requiems. Lots of darkness and intrigue wrapped up in those musical stories. What’s your favorite sound for framing your words? Do you listen to background or require utter silence when you write? What music gets your brain popping, feet moving, and fingers flying?
Lesann Berry 
#1 by patriciasands on August 22, 2013 - 7:03 am
Hey Lesann, now I can simply open your post when I want to hear these fabulous pieces! Thanks! I love to play all kinds of music when I write but sometimes I am so eager to get fingers on keyboard I will forget to turn it on for hours. Go figure.
#2 by Lesann Berry on August 22, 2013 - 11:28 am
Thanks,Patricia! I often forget to put on music. I can work in quiet or noise, for the most part. I have found that sometimes a really evocative piece of music will alter the pacing of a scene (not always a good thing) and then I have to go back and strip it out. Nothing like dreamy wafting music to kill the momentum of a deadly chase!