Opening Movements: How Great Stories Begin, with Doug Jones (Six Week Online Course)

The opening of a novel or short story is a promise: it establishes tone, rhythm, atmosphere, voice, and narrative urgency. In Opening Movements, students will study the first pages of literature through the lens of classical music, examining how composers and authors alike create momentum, tension, anticipation, and emotional resonance from the very first note or sentence.

Through close reading, listening sessions, craft discussion, and workshop, participants will learn how to shape openings that compel readers forward. Students will read “Clarence and the Dead” from Randall Kenan’s short story collection, Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, and at least the first nine pages of Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. In anticipation of the first session, students should familiarize themselves with the following classical music selections: Pachelbel’s “Canon in D,” Beethoven’s “Symphony 5,” and Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance.” Students should be prepared to present and discuss their work.

Opening Movements invites writers to hear story differently—and to begin with force, elegance, and unforgettable sound.

Course Outline:

• Week 1 — The First Note / The First Sentence
  Focus: Narrative voice as instrument and why openings matter
  • Instructor-led discussion (45 minutes):
    • Listen to Canon in D and discuss the opening scene of Song of Solomon
    • Comparison of musical elements with literary elements: solo line vs. ensemble movement in music, compared to narration and character layering in literature.
  • Instructor-led discussion with student participation (75 minutes) – three students to volunteer work prior to class):
    • Student workshop: analysis of voice, cadence, and narrative invitation.
• Week 2 — Entrance, Ceremony, Presence
  Focus: Character arrival and narrative authority.
  • Instructor-led discussion (45 minutes):
    • Review Canon in D.
    • Revisit Song of Solomon opening scene.
    • Comparison of musical elements with literary elements: point of view, introduction of characters, story, and tonal shifts.
  • Mixed instructor-led discussion / student participation (75 minutes – three different students to volunteer work prior to class):
    • Student Workshop: analysis of character introduction, introduction of story, pacing.
• Week 3 — Momentum and Urgency
  Focus: Immediate tension and forward motion.
  • Instructor-led discussion (45 minutes):
    • Listen to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
    • Final review of Song of Solomon opening scenes.
    • Comparison of musical elements with literary elements: introduction of suspense, creation of dramatic stakes, story propulsion, urgency of event(s).
  • Mixed instructor-led discussion / student participation (75 minutes – three different students to volunteer work prior to class):
    • Student workshop: analysis of suspense, story, and drama.
• Week 4 — Orchestration
  Focus: How composers and writers direct attention.
  • Instructor-led discussion (45 minutes):
    • Listen to Pomp and Circumstance.
    • Review of “Clarence and the Dead.”
    • Comparison of musical elements with literary elements: atmosphere, grandeur, irony, and social context.
  • Mixed instructor-led discussion / student participation (75 minutes – three different students to volunteer work prior to class):
    • Student workshop: analysis of atmosphere, narrator credibility, and social environment / atmosphere.
• Week 5 — Setting, Weather, Atmosphere
  Focus: How environment shapes tone and supports plot.
  • Instructor-led discussion (45 minutes):
    • Review Pomp and Circumstance.
    • Revisit “Clarence and the Dead.”
    • Comparison of musical elements with literary elements: weather, landscape, and character mood / sonic textures.
  • Mixed instructor-led discussion / student participation (75 minutes – review of revised student work – two or three students to volunteer work prior to class):
    • Student workshop: analysis of weather, landscape, and character mood / sonic textures.
• Week 6 — The Memorable Beginning
  Focus: Refinement and performance of openings.
  • Mixed instructor-led discussion / student participation (entire class review of revised student work – instructor will request three to four students volunteer their work prior to class):
    • Review principles from all previous sessions
  • Students read aloud
  • Discuss students’ revisions

Teaching Style: For forty-five minutes the instructor will lead the class discussion, focusing on musical and literary elements, as detailed. That will be followed by seventy-five minutes of mixed instructor led / student participation class time during which student work will be presented and discussed.