Musical Motivation.

Every one's life has a soundtrack.
My son for example lives his humming his own theme song.
It changes through out the day based on his mood and what he is doing.

This got me thinking.
What is my theme song?
So, I took an online quiz and the results were Livin' on a Prayer by Bon Jovi.


No!
Don't get me wrong, it isn't a bad song.
I remember rocking out to it with my sister as we listen to Casey Kasem Top 40 on the radio.
A spinning contest was a favorite way to listen to the top songs of the nineties in Minnesota or by making up roller skating routines in the carport when we lived in Louisiana.

Music has always been a part of who I am.
In the second grade, I tortured my parents by picking up a clarinet for the first time. I moved onto the bass clarinet before I decided that wasn't enough musical inspiration. So, I joined choir in the ninth grade and then I got hooked on piano.

To this day, I still sing; limited soprano, mostly alto with some tenor.
I still have my Bb clarinet and play it for my son when he asks politely.
I even have a piano in my house.

That was all before Multiple Sclerosis (MS) broke my brain.
Now, I cannot play with the proficiency that I used to posses.
This inability to play piano, the one instrument that caused my soul to sing, was devastating.
While I felt like I had lost my voice to MS, I was also robbed of my ability to draw and write.

These were dark years for me.
I began to listen to music more as I practiced all the skills that I took for granted.

Being able to tell my right from your left.
I quit driving for a few years.
Enjoying the privilege and privacy of inner monologue.
I couldn't think something without it coming out my mouth.
Putting my pants on one leg at a time while standing.
I had to sit down on the floor to put my jeans of for years.

The Woodmere Trilogy was written after music started to help healed my brain.
The novels started as pictures in my head to classical pieces I used to be able to play. This helped to pass the hours I spent in MRI and CAT Scans as the doctors for years tried to diagnose me. The pictures slowly became silent movies.

Thanks to modern medicine, I am getting better!
I can draw, write and even drive again!
Life is not just good, it is great.

I can now answer the question readers have been asking.
What is my musical motivation?
My answer is broken down into the three things I do:

1. Writing
I do not write to music with lyrics, because I do not want another person's words sneaking into my novels!
My writing is inspired by the creative classical adaptations by Jennifer Thomas and The Piano Guys.

2. Drawing
My illustrations are heavily influenced by the music I am listening to as I draw. So I have to select my music to match the mood and emotion I want to infuse my illustrations with. This is where my eclectic tastes really shine from Iron & Wine to Breaking Benjamin.

3. Designing
Ever since college there has been one artist who I listen to the most when I design anything, like the book covers for my novels, James Blunt.

What music inspires and motivates your life?