The very first writing prompt I have for you is:
Describe the process of learning how to play a song on an instrument.
You may be thinking, “I don’t know how to play music. How am I supposed to write about that?” I can understand your concern. I picked this as the first prompt because music has always been a captivating presence in my life. It completely enthralls me. I cannot put on music in the background while I work1 because I can’t help but follow the journey of each instrument as it interweaves with the others to make something greater than the sum of their parts. I get swept up in the story and meaning I perceive in the lyrics, and all too often I find myself thinking, “this song is about me” (for context, it usually is not).
That said, I do play guitar and I grew up playing the trumpet. Am I intentionally cheating here by giving myself an easier prompt? You’ll never prove it.
In any event, don’t panic.
Patrick Rothfuss, author of the Kingkiller Chronicle, quite famously writes incredible descriptions of musical performance. His description of Kvoth learning to play the sounds of the forest on his lute is the most beautiful description of a person learning to play music that I’ve ever read. In his own words,
I think that is wonderful. Don’t try to learn to play the lute or read music (unless you really want to for separate reasons, learning to play any instrument is quite fun).
Just write about the magic.
Except for EDM for some reason.