Girls Write Out
Friday, November 19, 2010
Sometimes I think there is nothing that distinguishes us more than our choices in music. We can all have similar interests--for instance we can all love to read, love to eat ice cream, love animals--but we have widely variable tastes in music.

My favorite music is classical. Not just any classical, but anything slow and soft, that doesn't disturb my thoughts while I'm listening.

For a year or so, when I first started writing, I listened to music that would get me in the mood of the scene I was working on. Then I became addicted to the music I heard played at the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, Arizona. I loved it so much that I purchased a tape--yes, it was a long time ago--and then played that tape over and over onto a longer one so I wouldn't have to interrupt my writing every thirty minutes, when the tape ended. Now I can't listen to music when I write, because any kind of music disrupts my thoughts. Actually, it doesn't take more than a flicker of light or sound to disrupt my thoughts these days.

Some of my favorite pieces of music are very short, and they come straight from God. I love the sound of the ocean, the whisper of the breeze through pine trees, the purr of a cat, the song of a bird, and even the sound of my own hiking boots in the grass when I'm hiking. It wasn't until I went to the Grand Canyon for the first time that I realized how much I loved the sound of silence--so pure that I could hear the brush of a bird's wings in the air as it flew below me in the canyon. I can still recall those moments, and it gives me peace.

What about you? What makes you feel peaceful? What brings you joy? What makes you want to dance? What's your favorite song, or brand of music, or sound? I think that can tell me a lot about you.

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Hannah Alexander  
posted at 8:31 PM  
  Comments (20)
 
 
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20 Comments:
At 12:17 AM, Blogger jel said...

I love music,
but as you , I to love the sound of silence, have ya ever heard the sound of fallen leaves as ya drive though them, to me they sound like wave hitting shore,

One snowy winter,I went for a walk, to the what we call the bottom back of mom& dads house.
when ya get there, there's this cave on a small ciff, well that snowy day I climbed up there.
When I got to the top and just stood there, it was so peaceful,
listening to snow falling.
that was a long time ago, but i can still hear it!

 
At 12:59 AM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

I know what you mean, jel. There's such peace when the snow is falling. Another good sound.

 
At 2:34 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

My favorite music of all time is Pachelbel's Canon in D. This piece has moved me in so many different ways and every time I hear it I am convinced it came directly from God above. Since I suffer from chronic insomnia, I often listen to music during the night but nothing seems to relax me more or prepare me more for sleep than the Canon. I don't think I will ever get tired of it.

 
At 10:29 AM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
At 11:48 AM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

Ruthie, that's one of my favorites, too! Mel and I both love that, and listened to it often when we were dating. Now, we listen to audio books when we drive. LOL But I still love Pachelbel's Canon in D.

 
At 11:52 AM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

Diann, why am I NOT surprised? I know I'm a scrooge, but there just happen to be some Christmas songs I love, such as Mary Did You Know? and the Hallelujah Chorus, Little Drummer Boy. This is just the first time in probably 30 years that I'm not going to be singing them with the choir.

 
At 1:17 PM, Blogger jel said...

what a bout
Trans~Siberian Orchestra,
now there is some good christmas music. ;)

 
At 2:47 PM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

That would probably work. I love Russian and Belarusian music. I like anything in a minor chord. I'm teased that I love organ funeral music.

 
At 3:17 PM, Blogger jel said...

don't tell anyone but I like it too!

 
At 3:39 PM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

That probably makes two people in the world.

 
At 6:56 PM, Blogger Pam Sanderlin said...

I like all types of music--classical, pop, oldies, rap, r&b, bluegrass, country, etc., etc. However, I don't like scream-o (not really music, in my book) and I don't like heavy metal.

 
At 7:11 PM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

I'm not into heavy metal, either. Not even sure what scream-o is, which dates me, I'm sure. It sound hideous, though. I find it interesting that, more and more, as I walk into stores, I hear very old familiar songs that were popular when I was a teen--and now they're considered classic. Sigh.

 
At 8:18 PM, Blogger jel said...

it's better to be thought of as a Classic, then as a Relic! :)

 
At 10:24 PM, Blogger Sandie said...

I enjoy many different types of music, but when I want music as a background, that will not disturb my thoughts, or if I want something calming, I turn to Irish Dreams (Alisa Jones) which my daughter introduced me to. I also will put on the Doctor Who soundtracks but these usually bring to mind scenes which are distracting. :-)

 
At 11:05 PM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

Okay, classic it is, jel.

Sandie, there are some types of music that really move me, but that catch me up into such delight in the music that I can't focus on anything else. And then, there are some that get stuck in my head--Mel calls them ear worms--and they drive me nuts! The cure for that is humming the theme tune for Gilligan's Island.

 
At 8:32 AM, Blogger Colleen Coble said...

I bet Di has the California Grapes on as we speak. LOL I like Christian pop mostly. Also oldies from the 60s. LOL

 
At 8:44 AM, Blogger jel said...

Thanks alot ! now i'm going to have that tune stuck in my head!


I alway like the "frito~banbito" corn chips, jingle does any one remeber it ?

 
At 2:02 PM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

Yeah, I can do oldies from early 70s, of course. Bee Gees were playing last week when I was doing email at Starbucks in San Francisco, and so I stayed awhile. They were my all-time favorite group.

California grape song? My stepson developed a special dance for that and danced it at his wedding.

Frito Bandito..California grape...anything is better than the Star Trek Voyager theme that's been going through my head the past couple of days. ACK! Anything can get old.

 
At 9:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm such a freak. I can't stand listening to music! I know, I'm so strange. The only thing I've found that I really like is KLOVE in the background while I'm working. I just "discovered" christian soft rock about two years ago and I find I really like that. Nothing else. I'm soooo boring. My husband lives for music. I'd rather have no radio on, ever in the car.It scrambles my brain, I swear. I like it in small doses for about 15 minutes, then I wear ear plugs on long road trip while he cranks his music up! (OK, I do love that "Four Seasons" classical piece and Tchaikovsky.)

 
At 10:54 PM, Blogger Hannah Alexander said...

Wow, Katie, me too! I mean, there are times when I like to listen to music, but it's rare. Usually I need silence or natural sounds. The train three blocks away has driven me crazy for nearly fifteen years. Poor Mel always turns off his music when I'm in the car.

 

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The Authors
Kristin Billerbeck
Kristin Billerbeck is a proud Californian, wife, mother of four, and connoisseur of the irrelevant. She writes Christian Chick Lit; where she finds need for most of the useless facts lulling about in her head.

www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.

www.ColleenCoble.com

Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.

www.DeniseHunterBooks.com

Diann Hunt

Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.

www.DiannHunt.com

Hannah Alexander

Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.

www.HannahAlexander.com

 
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