A Musical Solution to Battle Writer’s Block
By Jorge Pina
I developed a website called MusiClear that can benefit many UTPA students when it comes to writing essays. I developed this website after noticing that many of my fellow classmates and other college-goers face writer's block. Writer’s block is the inability to create any new work and it’s something that is very common when it comes to writing.
I conducted an experiment with several UTPA freshmen. I also selected 5 general music genres: Blues, Country, Rock, Hip-Hop, and Classical. I then had 5 UTPA students write for 5 minutes to one of those specific music genres. I examined them closely and reviewed their writing. I checked for the use of slang, if the writing made sense, and how many words were written. I found that music does affect the way students write. If the music uses too much slang, students sometimes find themselves incorporating that slang into their writing, or if the music is too catchy students get distracted and write irrelevant information in their writing. Classical music ended up being the best genre to listen to while writing. It helps clear your mind and relaxes you, and there are no lyrics! This makes it impossible to catch on to any slang words.
I spent countless hours thinking about a possible solution, but nothing came to mind. Finally, after seeking help from my professor, I decided on developing a web page that allows students to focus solely on their essays with the accompaniment of music. If there’s anything students love, its music and the internet. MusiClear, the website I developed, plays lyric-less music. Everything on the playlist is instrumental. This allows students to think clearly. It incorporates google drive, allowing students to write and express their thoughts and ideas in any way, shape, or form before building their final essay.
I chose a background color that is easy on the eyes rather than the bright white. Bright white backgrounds end up being a nuisance during long nights of writing and staring at a computer screen. The web page also comes with a pre-made playlist of light classical music. I chose only classical music because studies have shown that it is one of the only genres that can help students relax and clear their thoughts. MusiClear is available for anybody to use and can be found at http://thedeadline44.wix.com/musiclear .
Although some prefer writing in complete solace and silence, most college students choose to listen to music while completing their writing assignments. Of course, this depends on the individual. While some people already know what kind of music helps them through their writers block, MusiClear offers those who with inexperience a little musical guidance to help them overcome their writer’s block.
Jorge Pina is a first generation freshman at the University of Texas Pan-American. He is Criminal Justice major whose research interests include music, fitness and criminal investigations.
