The Story in a Song: Building Character

Workshop 2: Exploring memorable musical characters

Welcome to this week’s Story in a Song workshop — the second lesson in a four-part love-letter to music and writing!

If you’re new here or haven’t had time to take part yet, feel free to dive right in, or catch up on all the Story in a Song posts so far:

• Introductory Exercise (FREE): I Bet You Think This Song is About You

• Week 1 (FREE): The Story in a Song — Melodic Narratives

This is an entirely self-paced course, so go at your own speed, enjoy the music, and tune in whenever you’re ready.

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Memorable (Musical) Characters

Last week we took a broad, structural view of songs that contained a clear narrative or storyline, and looked at some of the techniques they used to build tension, evoke emotion, and create layers of meaning.

This week we’re going to focus on the characters in songs — whether they’re an embodiment of the songwriter/singer, telling a story about their own life; a narrative about an entirely fictionalised character; or a reference to a real life person.

These kinds of songs may not be as overtly narrative as the ones from Week 1, but they offer an excellent opportunity to explore the nuances of characterisation and different methods of crafting an authentic fictional person.

They also invite us to wonder about the wider stories surrounding these people: Who are they? What do they want? What do they learn? What’s their backstory? What might happen next? What emotions are at play and how does the song get these feelings across?

Tapping into the psyche of a vivid character can be a really effective way to develop an idea, letting the protagonist drive it forward with their actions and emotions — whether they’re having an epiphany or making a terrible mistake…

In fact, you may already have some favourite song-characters in mind from Week 1’s playlist — perhaps the elusive narrator in Ode to Billie Joe, or Kate Bush’s Babooshka-in-disguise, or the easy-going thief in Don’t Bother None. Each of these could inspire a myriad of new characters, stories and scenarios if we let our writer-brains explore the ‘what ifs’. And since we’re starting with a ready-made template for a character, it’s a whole lot easier to cut right to the emotional core of what’s going on in their imaginary little heads.

So whether you’re looking for a heartbroken character, a happy-go-lucky character, a murderous character, a heroic character, a regretful character, a repentant character, a sickeningly-in-love character or a doesn’t-give-a-fuck character, chances are you’ll find an example to inspire you in a song.

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A Characterful Playlist

This week’s playlist contains a collection of songs that feature striking, memorable, or intriguing characters — tunes that introduce us to a specific personality or perspective.

Take some time to listen and immerse yourself in the music; close your eyes and imagine the characters you meet; follow their journeys and feel their emotions. And, if inspiration strikes, see if their stories spark any ideas that you’d like to explore in your own writing…