This thesis discusses the role of music and musical sounds in Butterfly Burning by Yvonne Vera. It analyses the way that Vera has used music interlinked with the action of the novel.  This thesis analyses a few areas where music is represented and is important such as: music as an element of healing/forgiveness; music as an element of hope; music as an element of despair; music as an element of working life and the absence of music.  This thesis also briefly discusses who the narrator of the novel is and Vera’s writing technique that incorporates images with hypothetical sounds.   The conclusion shows that music and musical sounds are important to the novel.  It also shows that the music in Butterfly Burning can be compared to the music in a film.  Vera has managed to combine the story of the novel and the description of music so that it becomes one inseparable unit.