thomas bergersen | The Upstairs Archives

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doctor who, fanfiction, music, short stories, thomas bergersen

I just suppose I needed to excise my Doctor Who music headcanons.

(Basically, that Ten is the musician of all the reboot Doctors–and a whole separate sub-theory about how the pinstripes look like a musical staff. Which is COMPLETELY far-fetched. Anyway!)

Just listen to this and imagine that the Doctor is playing a totally piano version of it and it’ll be awesome. 😉

(Also, Gallifreyan music often sounds discordant to humans because it’s got so many more melodies incorporated and there’s so much going on. But the Doctor often just plays Earth music when there are companions around because, hey, even if it’s a bit simple for him he likes it too.)

Piano

Rose watched as the Doctor’s hands flew over the keyboard, playing a precise series of notes like a cascade of glass drops hanging in the still air. His look of concentration was mirrored in the perfect black finish. The music was deep and powerful, like a force of nature.

“You’re doing all that… by memory?” she whispered in awe. The Doctor shrugged, playing three passionate chords and carrying on with the piece. “That’s incredible.”

“One of the perks of having an eidetic memory,” the Doctor murmured, continuing to play.

“How are you doing that with just two hands?” Rose asked.

“It’s… hard to explain.”

“Could you teach me?” Rose asked eagerly. The Doctor glanced up at her.

“You won’t be able to play like this—not at first,” he warned. Rose shrugged.

“Practice, I know, but any amount of time to be able to play like that… Half that well,” she said. “That’s worth it.” The Doctor grinned and slid over on the piano bench, making space for her.

“Now, keep your wrists up, but relaxed, and your fingers curved,” he directed. Taking her flat hand, he pressed her fingers on the keys. The piano made an indignant, discordant donk! Rose giggled. Then the Doctor gently formed her fingers into a graceful arch and pressed them down again. The piano went plonk! again. “See how much more force you have to use when your fingers are flat? You’re stronger when you keep a natural curve to them. Don’t play with your hands flat—it’s a waste of time and energy, and it’ll tire your wrists out in no time flat.” Rose laid her hands on the keyboard, but her wrists seemed to have another idea—the moment she tried to press down on the keys, her wrists caved in. “Here.” The Doctor took Rose’s wrists gently, supporting them. “You’ll build up your wrist strength with time,” he said encouragingly. “Now, press the white keys, one after another. Don’t stop until you’ve played right back to the beginning.”

“What does that mean?” Rose asked, frowning. The Doctor grinned like a little kid.

“You’ll figure it out,” he said. Obediently, Rose started to press the keys he indicated, stopping eight notes later. The Doctor smiled. “Exactly right. That’s a scale, C major. Whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, whole step, and right back to C, an octave higher. Think of whole steps as a sort of measurement of a tone’s pitch.”

“And half steps are just half that size,” Rose said.

“Right. We’ll stick with C major at first. No need to bother with the black keys just yet—those’re the other half steps. This is a major chord—your basic chord.” He pressed three keys in unison. “This is a seven chord—it’s got a bit of discord but never mind that, whenever you use it it’ll be resolved into a major chord, nine times out of ten.” He guided her hands to the right keys, pressing down the chords.

Rose and the Doctor sat down at the piano, and she began to play a simple melody. The Doctor’s hands darted around hers, playing an intricate and powerful cascade of notes, and they wrote their own song, just as they always did.

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assassin's creed, blind guardian, debbie ridpath ohi, hans zimmer, heather alexander, heather dale, how to train your dragon, howard shore, j.r.r. tolkien, lindsey stirling, lord of the rings, mercedes lackey, music, o fortuna, owl city, pirates of the caribbean, prince of egypt, star wars, story dynamics, teens can write too blog chain, the lion king, thomas bergersen, will write for chocolate, writing, writing music, zack hemsey

Yes! It’s back!

I know I planned to stop back in January, but this blog chain is strangely addictive–no. Actually, I came back because this prompt was awesome. (Ha–the shortest month in the year gets the best prompt? 😛 )

Anyway, this month’s prompt is “How does music relate to your writing?”

YES.

Really, in a lot of ways. I actually have some awesome playlists, partly created by Iris, partly compiled by me, for certain things. But sometimes I just go online, pick a composer or artist (most often Heather Dale or Thomas Bergersen, sometimes with a little Zack Hemsey thrown in), and hit the Youtube mix version. (Why can’t you do that with Lindsey Stirling? Um, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because it includes the “Behind the Scenes” parts, which can get pretty distracting…) Sometimes I pick a soundtrack (for instance, the Lion King, How To Train Your Dragon, and Prince of Egypt soundtracks) that I know, or one that I don’t, like a Pirates of the Caribbean or Assassin’s Creed soundtrack. (Blame my friend Bowdrie1999 for that one. ;-P ) Why are video game soundtracks so compelling when the stories can be so… yuckish and stilted?! I don’t know…

Different pieces and composers are best for different genres and styles, I find. Thomas Bergersen is a great all-around starting place if you write fantasy. It’s a little easier on the ears than Blind Guardian, for instance. (I have this–well, I don’t think it’s a condition, per se–but anything with too much bass or an electric guitar that screams or wails a little too much–even a saxophone at times!–is physically painful to me. Like, rip out the earbuds and want-to-pour-ice-water-in-my-ears, take-two-ibuprofen painful. It’s not even a heavy percussion track that does it to me–I can just turn down the volume and I’m okay. WHEN WILL THEY MAKE A TOOL ON COMPUTERS FOR YOUTUBE AND WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER THAT LETS YOU TONE BACK THE BASS SO I CAN ENJOY HARD ROCK TOO!?) Thomas Bergersen is motivating, get-up-and-write stuff, much of the time.

Owl City is a great band if you’re working on a short story or need to fight your way out of depression and get your motivation back. Seriously. The upbeat tunes and idiosyncratic, mellow use of electronically-generated sound has been enough to snap me out of it plenty of times. (I have been known to sing “Fireflies” or “Strawberry Avalanche” or “Cave-in”–which, interesting fact, is about my current state of being–aka overwhelmed college student– or “When Can I See You Again” at the top of my lungs when I’m alone. Still working on learning the lyrics to “Beautiful Times” because really? Lindsey Stirling and Owl City? HOW IS THAT NOT AWESOME!?)

Soundtracks are perfect for the long haul. They tend to follow similar themes and styles, even more so than the individual works of a composer who focuses on multiple songs in an album, and tend to reinforce one train of thought rather than breaking in on it. The theme of a certain movie or video game can lend impressions of restoration, or of urgency; the former is perfect for a grand finale, while the latter is just right if you write suspense. I happen to like the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Its slow build is perfect if you’re not writing action, though it’s a bit more varied than the average soundtrack.

If you write high fantasy, then I highly recommend Heather Dale. Some of her work can be on the disturbing side–for instance, “Mordred’s Lullaby” deals with a child who has been raised to kill his father, pure and simple–but it isn’t nearly as disturbing as Heather Alexander or Mercedes Lackey can be. (On YouTube, it’s all too easy to wander into dangerous waters. If you must check those two artists out, go ahead, but remember–I warned you.)

Anyway, I may as well. Here’s my fight scene/all around awesome playlist (no, I don’t have a YouTube account, so I can’t realize it–if someone does make it, could they please give me a link?)

This is Iris’s playlist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBOJpIwF47Y (Fighter, Christina Aguilera)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuwfgXD8qV8 (Part of Me, Katy Perry)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn676-fLq7I (Stronger, Kelly Clarkson)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWbMz_aBlMU (People Like Us, Kelly Clarkson)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO_WxYC34eM (Radioactive, Imagine Dragons)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUIZvAe3RBg (Bridge of Khazad-Dum)

I don’t actually listen to all of those, all the time. Now for my additions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t8-_pI1-9Q (Come Little Children, Erutan–this is the lyric version, not the original. The original was a music video to a terrifying fantasy movie that mentally scarred me. Still, the music is good.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUn-eN8mkDw (Mal’s Song–not even sure why this is on here. I’m not a Browncoat, but the style–country music in a space opera-ish setting–sort of appealed to me.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsApvMoSZ0I (If Everyone Cared, Nickelback–Star Wars music video. Don’t get too caught up in the Obi-Wan angst! 😛 )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvuaX2V_P8A (Down is Up, PotC–Another Anakin and Obi-Wan Star Wars music video. These two are my brOTP, along with Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE5WoFwIVYM (O Fortuna, Carmina Burana–Yet ANOTHER Anakin and Obi-Wan video. Yes, I know, I probably have a problem. Cinematography and editing are great, though. This one’s only on the list because I can’t find the original of the cover the PianoGuys did for some reason. 😦 I think they may have taken it down :’-( )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0JiEglvJic (Sleepsong, Secret Garden–Finally, a music video that isn’t Star Wars! This one is Aragorn remembering his mother. Heartwrenching.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L1CDFvHTr4 (Fireflies, Owl City–I told you there would be Owl City!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b11-37Me_a4 (Preliator aka March of the Templars–Waros32 donated some epic tracks to this list. Shoutout to Waros and Bowdrie1999! You guys rock!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKLhFCl8cEA (No idea what this even is!–yes, I’m going heavy on this one user. There are a couple of users whose work really stands out. But Obi-Wan is always awesome. No, I do not ship Obidala, so don’t ask.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Kwf_nNmGI (Requiem for a Dream, Requiem for a Dream–gritty and intense.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBh4ko-5YG4 (A Hero Comes Home, Beowulf–um, this is probably in here because I was trying to find the soundtrack of the King Arthur movie which was done by Hans Zimmer–did I mention that Quest for Camelot also has great music, and done by the same composer who wrote the score for Brave?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hoyDQ3LeTU (We Will Go Home/Song of Exile, King Arthur–Ahh, there’s Hans Zimmer.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwJRltuApKI (The Minstrel Boy–a traditional Irish melody. The obligatory Boromir tribute because I haven’t been able to find any others *cries* I STILL LOVE BOROMIR I DON’T CARE WHAT THE HATERS SAY! He’s still awesome! It wasn’t his fault he was possessed by a ring!)

From the official “Will Write For Chocolate” website, inkygirl.com–Mimi needs to moderate what she’s listening to! Drawn by Debbie Ridpath Ohi. http://inkygirl.com/comic-use-policy/ I will not be considered responsible for the hours spent perusing older comics. 😛

6^th – http://jasperlindell.blogspot.com/ and http://vergeofexisting.wordpress.com/

7^th – http://novelexemplar.wordpress.com/

8^th – http://www.juliathewritergirl.com/

9^th – http://www.freeasagirlwithwings.wordpress.com/

10^th – https://ramblingsofaravis.wordpress.com/

11^th – http://butterfliesoftheimagination.wordpress.com/ andhttp://www.pamelanicolewrites.com/

12^th – http://randommorbidinsanity.blogspot.com/

13^th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/ andhttp://whileishouldbedoingprecal.weebly.com/

14^th – http://kirabudge.weebly.com/

15^th – http://lillianmwoodall.wordpress.com/ andhttps://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/

16^th – http://theedfiles.blogspot.com/ andhttp://fantasiesofapockethuman.blogspot.com/

17^th – http://irisbloomsblog.wordpress.com/ andhttp://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/