AIMS:
– To foster creative writing
– To help student brainstorm and write elements of plot, character profiles, settings, mood, etc.
– To brainstorm adjectives or other word forms

LEVEL: Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced

TIME: At least 20 minutes (depending on the amount of music played)

MATERIALS: Recorded pieces of music in a variety of musical genres

Using music to support language learning has many advantages, least of all that it supports those students who are more musical in terms of their learning style, and most of all because it makes learning fun and breaks up the monotony of regular day to day tasks.

There are many ways to use instrumental music to help students write creatively or to brainstorm vocabulary, especially adjectives and adverbs, and to help establish context. One of the easiest ways is to use pieces of instrumental music of different genres.

To help students brainstorm plot, you can play contrasting styles of music for them to write by. A great idea is to help them begin writing by leading them off with an opening line such as “He saw her in the distance and …”. Tell them to continue the story as they listen to the music.

Play about two and half to three minutes of a piece of music with a romantic mood. Give the students another 2 minutes or so after the music stops to finish off their thoughts. Alternatively, you can tell them to just stop writing, as you did in when in testing mode, but I think that is not very humanistic.

Afterward ask a few students to share their compositions with the class. Then, tell students they are going to write something different to the tune a different piece of music. When you are ready, repeat the same opening phrase as before using a different style of music, preferably something with a quick pace. Try not to let on that you will repeat the phrase. Ask students to read their new creations. Comparing their two compositions, you will probably be able to note differences in plot and/or character attributes.

Using opening lines to lead students off certainly makes the task more achievable than just telling them to write while they listen to the music. This is important because you want productive students, and not students who are just listening to the music while they stare off into space!

For advanced students, you can also a twist on the above task, by telling students to write their 2nd story using the same characters as in their first story. If time permits, do this with at least 3 to 4 different styles of music. As they say, variety is the spice of life. For homework have the students combine the stories by re-editing them into a single coherent story.

Another related task that is useful for establishing location, context or even character profile, is to play about a minute of different styles of music. While the music is playing ask the students to describe what they imagine. Ask them to describe the scene, people, objects, the season, etc. They should describe whatever it is their imagination speaks to them through the song. Make a note of, for example, adjectives on the board for reference.

Important note: For all the suggestions above, it is very important that you accept and praise whatever the students come up with. Do not judge creative output. These are tasks that are highly personalized so steps should be taken no to discourage or demotivate students.

Working with Adjectives
For lower levels, brainstorm and pre-teach adjectives, especially those of emotion and mood. Then, play bits of different pieces of music. Students match the adjectives to the music.

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS

Here’s an eclectic list of instrumental music I’ve compiled for use in creative writing workshops to help students with – and teachers, too! Many of these songs can be found for free on YouTube or purchased through I-Tunes and other sources.

(Song Name – Artist)

• Sacred Spirits – Yeha-Noha
• Claire de Lune – Debussy
• Arabesque No. 1 – Isao Yomita (Debussy)
• A Summer Place (Theme) – Percy Faith Orchestra
• Route 101 – Herb Albert
• Green Onions – Booker T & the MGs
• Take 5 – Dave Brubeck
• Buried Alive in the Blues – Janis Joplin
• Lulu’s Back in Town – Thelonnius Monk
• The Peanuts (Theme) – Vince Guaraldi Trio
• Let’s Go Away for Awhile – The Beach Boys
• Foggy Mountain Breakdown – Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
• Dill Pickle Rag – Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
• Pickin’ in the Wildwood – Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
• Orangle Blossom Special – Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs
• Nut Popper – Paul Butterfield Blues Band

The following songs are all available on the album “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” released by Herb Albert & The Tijuana Brass. I like to use some of these songs a lot.

• Tangerine
• El Garbanzo
• A Taste of Honey
• Love Potion Number Nine
• Whipped Cream

For establishing a holiday atmosphere:

• Let it Snow (any instrumental)
• Sleigh Ride (any instrumental)

Music Album Suggestions:
Rather than collecting different songs, here are some suggestions for complete instrumental albums you can use which contain different song styles. I’ve used these albums myself in class.

Forrest Lee Jr. – Telethon: This is a great album of instrumental music, although it is for the most part a ‘country rock’ oriented. It’s a fun album and has a good variety of different music genres, and to be honest is one of my favorite albums!

Phil Woods and Carl Saunders Play Henry Mancini: This is a jazz oriented album featuring the music of Henry Mancini, who wrote many famous move soundtracks, I’m sure you’ll recognize.

George Kahn – Out Of Time: Another jazz group that plays an eclectic mix of pop songs. This is another jazz album I enjoy.

Note: I first saw a variation of using contrasting styles of music with dictated opening story lines demonstrated in a workshop by Jeremy Harmer, author of “The Practice of English Language Teaching with DVD (4th Edition) (Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers)”.