Christian Music: It's About Lyrics, Not Notes!
Submitted by Katrina on Wed, 2007-07-11 14:50.
Bible | Church | Doctrine | Holiness
In light of the recent discussions regarding music and more
specifically Christian music
(http://tuscanycircle.net/drupa...), I feel compelled
to offer my opinion.
First of all, let me start by saying that music (tunes, melodies, etc.) are
nothing more than notes on paper. It has no meaning in and of itself. It
can evoke thoughts and feelings in the listener, but each listener will have
different thoughts and feelings from the same music. I would assert here
that each listener is responsible for his own thoughts and feelings
associated with the music and it is NOT the music itself. In fact,
according to ethnomusicologists, music in other cultures around the world is
specific to the culture and the associations made to specific tunes,
melodies, instrumentations, and rhythms are quite different from ours. I
have actually been part of a class that listened to different melodies from
other cultures and tried to figure out what mood and/or feeling would be
ascribed to same. Based on my American upbringing, it was totally different
than the cultures in which the melodies originated.
As for Christian music, the point of it is NOT the tunes, melodies, etc. but
the lyrics. Words mean things; musical notes do not. It is our words,
deeds, and hearts by which we are judged and by which our praise and worship
is deemed worthy. Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation
of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. As a
matter of fact, our worship and praise is only worthy because God inhabits
the praise of His people Psalm 22:3. Christian music is Christian because of the words. God sends forth His Word to do its work and His Word will not return unto Him void Isaiah 55:11.
As for the singing of "Amazing Grace" http://www.inlovingmemoryonlin... to the tune of "The House of the Rising Sun" http://www.songmeanings.net/ly..., I think that is absolutely appropriate. When I think of the lyrics to "The House of the Rising Sun", I see a desperate need for the amazing grace of God. I think that many who have experienced God's amazing grace can relate to having been in such a state of sinfulness, lost, and completely
reprobate until God's grace saved them. God's grace is for everyone,
everywhere. God is not afraid or ashamed to rescue us from our sinfulness.
Once again, it is the lyrics of "Amazing Grace" that make the song and give
it its impact, NOT the notes to which it is sung.
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By whose authority?
Submitted by Wayne on Tue, 2007-07-17 09:35.
The music must match the message and not detract or distract from it.
Says who? Who will be the judge? What kind of "objective" measure could possibly be used to judge the appropriateness of the music? Katrina's point is that music is very subjective. Whether a tune is expected to be in a bar, sports event, or whatever, is completely subjective even within a single culture. Even individuals may change their tastes in music over time. What sounds "unchristian" one year may be exclusively Christian to him the next. It's patently absurd to suggest any kind of objective judgment of music for the church.
But does the music, per se, really matter?
Of course the music matters, but only subjectively. It matters to you that church music not sound as if it belongs in a bar or sports event. It might matter to another believer that it not sound like a stuffy, old hymn, else his worship is disturbed. There can be no authority to render objective judgment upon musical notes.
But within a culture, the connotative meaning of the music is well understood.
In a word, bull! If you limit that "culture" to a tiny subculture, this statement becomes less bull. The music my children listen to is very different than the music I prefer. When they hear a riff from their preferred style, it may mean one thing to them and a totally different thing to me--yet we live in the same culture. The same goes for music within a worship setting. Hymns common to one denomination are often not appreciated in another, even though the tunes are strictly limited to Christian settings. There is no common, connotative meaning to music unless the subculture is very narrowly limited; to be truly consistent, such that a judgment may be reasonably rendered, this subculture must be limited to a single person--thus the subjective qualification.
Music is completely subjective, even accounting for some common, cultural overlap in tastes, especially when judged as worshipful or not. If churches used music limited to that which was agreed by the lowest common denominator, congregations would be very small indeed and highly fractured (more so than even our numerous denominations today).
As for the musical instructions in Scripture, you may be under-informed. ALL of the Hebrew Tenakh (and Aramaic) was written to be sung. The original manuscripts (and faithful copies) contained musical notation right there in the Word. It was originally written this way. Many unfamiliar with Hebrew mistake this notation for vowels, but Hebrew has no vowel markings in the original Word (yod and vahv notwithstanding). (Vowel markings weren't even invented until hundreds of years after Yeshua's days on Earth.) Each human author of the Word had a different musical style, too, that can be seen in the musical notation. Apart from the text, we can identify which Psalms are David's because his musical style was so unique. This musical notation even shows us the tetragrammaton, YHVH, is three syllables, not two. (This means, while "Yehovah" might be a correct pronunciation, "Yahweh" cannot be.) If the Scriptures are to be used to limit musical worship, then we should be singing the Scriptures themselves according to their own notation and nothing more. Even the old hymns, then, would be musically heretical. And trust me, it would sound very different than the "old" hymns.
Response to "It's the Lyrics, Not the Notes"
Undoubtedly, the lyrics are the most important factor in Christian music. If the words are not Scriptural or edifying, they have little place in worship. But does the music, per se, really matter?
Businesses think so. Read what Muzak (http://music.muzak.com) says about its product. Ask a movie producer or advertising agency if they care what music they are associated with.
God think so, too. Many of the Psalms contain directions as to which tune is to be used, who the performers are, where the interludes go, and what the accompanying instruments are to be.
Music does exist in the context of culture; what sounds pleasing to one culture may not be appreciated by another. But within a culture, the connotative meaning of the music is well understood.
To be effective, the words and the music must complement each other. Poorly written or arranged music can detract from the message. The overall performance should leave people thinking of meaning of the message, not the music, or even the messenger--who can distract by either inept or showy performance.
So play the music without the lyrics and ask yourself, and others, whether the emotions evoked are sensual, comforting, inspiring, depressing, joyful, uplifting, or whatever. Then ask where that music would most likely be found: in a bar, at a sports event, in a particular kind of movie, at a school event, in a church, at a barbecue, at a pool party, or what. Now see if the lyrics and the music fit together, and whether the combination glorifies or typifies God, man, nature, technology, etc.
The lyrics are of prime importance and must stand on their own doctrinally. The music must match the message and not detract or distract from it.