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
5 comments:
Oh, well done all round, Lynne!
Music for my books? I think I'd try to remember the music I was listening to as I wrote them. I often listen to music as I write, and I try to fit the music to the writing. So, one of those deep-voiced Russian choirs for the 'Ghost Drum' books, maybe: some early modern music by Byrd, Tallis or Dowland for 'Christopher Uptake.'
Enjoying seeing the opportunities grow for you, Lynne. Hooray for you and your new tech wizardry!
Being able to do "public readings" like this must be one of the benefits that comes from owning or regaining your own copyright, especially in the current situation.
Good luck with all the broadcasts.
Thanks, Sue and Penny. Sue, I love the idea of a Russian choir for your Ghost Drum books - what a wonderful signature tune/sound that would make! And Penny, yes, you're right owning my own copyright (they did check on that!)
That was really interesting. A friend of mine is involved in Vintage Radio - broadcast out of Liverpool I believe. There is a lot of work that goes into that!
I write in silence (perhaps one reason why I have never succeeded in publishing a book) but someone once asked me to imagine something I had written as a film and the music was there in the background. I had not realised I had actually thought about it.
Gosh, am in awe of all these technical skills you've been learning! Great to be reading your books on the radio - congratulations!
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