Words and Music by Lynne Benton

Earlier in the year my husband and I were asked to present a series of programmes of Classical Music for a new local Community Radio station. It was fun going through our mountain of CDs to find pieces we wanted to play, making sure our scripts were as good as we could make them and fitting each programme into the hour slot we had available.  The only problem was that we had to travel 9 miles to the venue and get someone else to record us reading our scripts, and leave it to him to add the music we’d brought with us on a memory stick in the right places and just hope it all worked out.  (There were a few initial blips, but on the whole it worked.)  Then the Lockdown happened, and it was no longer possible to travel to the radio station to make the programmes, so we assumed that was that, at least for the time being. 

However, a few weeks ago the boss of the radio station emailed to ask us if we could record our programmes from home, as some of their other contributors had done.  So we, or more accurately I (since I appear to be the technical expert in our house!) set about learning how to do so.  It has proved to be something of a steep learning curve – but then, we’re all supposed to be learning a new skill in Lockdown, aren’t we?  So now, with the aid of an inexpensive microphone (bought online) which plugs into my computer, I can record both our scripts and the music excerpts myself at home and send them all to the radio station, where their technical wizard puts everything together in the right order and broadcasts it.  We’re both still enjoying making the programmes – though given the time and hard work involved, perhaps I should say we’re enjoying HAVING MADE the programmes, so when we’ve done all the work we can just sit back and listen to them!

And the payoff to all this is that the radio boss also wants to broadcast my books!  To date I have recorded the first instalment of my first Roman book (the first three chapters together take about half an hour to read), leaving it on a cliffhanger, of course, ready for the next instalment.  The boss listened to it and was very enthusiastic, and said he will definitely find a slot for it, though he's not sure yet when it will be.  As soon as I know the date and time I can put it on facebook, just in case anyone is interested in listening to it online, wherever you happen to live.  (Although we live quite near to the radio station, we can’t get it on local radio – I gather the hills are in the way!  So we also have to listen to it online.)

Anyway, before I started recording it, I thought it would be even better if there was some sort of signature tune to introduce the story – as most serials and series on radio and television have one (think The Archers, Desert Island Discs, Downton Abbey etc.)  Usually the signature tune bears some relation to the theme of the story, and certainly if it’s a good one it can fill you with anticipation of the next episode.  But glancing again at our aforementioned mountain of CDs, I didn’t know where to start.  How hard was it going to be to find a suitable piece of music to use for “The Centurion’s Son?

Then, by a lucky chance, while looking for a piece for my music talk, I came across a piece that was ideal!  Given that “The Centurion’s Son” is the story of a children’s mystery set in Roman Britain involving the Legionary Army, I was delighted to find a piece called “The Phantom Regiment” by Leroy Anderson.  It's a light martial tune backed by a steady beat that sounds just like ghostly marching feet.  I sent it over to the radio station, and the technical wizard added it to the beginning and the end of the episode, fading it in and out beautifully, so I’m really pleased with the result.

Of course I’m now thinking: Suppose the book goes down so well that they ask me to record another of my books, what signature tunes might I come up with for them?  I’ve had an idea for one, and I’ve already come up with the perfect one for the book I’m currently writing, though that’s a little previous, I know!  But as for the others… well, there’s plenty of time to think before they might be needed!

So I wondered, if you could choose a signature tune for any of your books, how would you go about choosing it?  By thinking of the tune first, because of the theme, or the period it evokes, or the feeling it gives you when you hear it?  By scrolling through your personal playlist?  Or by painstakingly going through a stack of CDs, like me?  Of course, if the BBC, or Hollywood (or Netflix) came calling I assume they would want to choose the music themselves, but for the moment, for me, I’m very happy to be able to choose my own music for my own book. 

What would you choose for yours?

Website: lynnebenton.com

The Centurion's Son