Music to my ears...

Of course, as an English teacher, I am automatically going to compare music and writing. The parallels are unending. While the "hook" in an essay is presented immediately to get your attention, this isn't always the case in music, but either way a feeling is immediately created. This hook can be threaded throughout the essay to create a feeling of flow and remembrance of the hook that got you interested in the first place. It's interesting to listen to a piece of music as though it is a piece of writing and see how similar notes would be like similar words, ideas. The flow of each, with intro, body, conclusion are symmetrical also.

Either way, the main objective is to get your reader involved, get your reader interested. Boring arrangements of notes are just like boring arrangements of words. While each word/note on it's own is just a word/note, when combined, there is the ability to created compelling thoughts. It's the arrangement of both that makes pieces compelling.

This comparision reverberated in my mind as I listened to the "What Makes Music Good?" shows. Every last thing that Composer Robert Kapilow said could have been translated into the critiquing of a writing teacher. The focus on how each note put together, even as simple as they may be, can create a compelling feeling, image in the reader.