Is Musical Style Involved in the Communication of Meaning?

Is Musical Style Involved in the Communication of Meaning?  

 Traditional thinking Christians who are conservative in their music philosophy are concerned about making sure that the musical styles that they use in musicing unto God are suitable vehicles.  Although it is not popular or politically correct to use the terms “good” and “bad” in conjunction with religious musicing, the terms are appropriate.  When I consider appropriate vehicles, I am talking about the music part of the music and not merely the texts of religious songs.   There is a continuum along which music genres move that places them somewhere between excellence in quality and appropriateness and ineffectiveness, to the point of being ineffective music vehicles for representing God’s perfect moral character and being communicators of spiritual values.

 Richard S. Taylor put it this way, “The difference in good and bad church music is the emotion generated.  On the one hand there is that which is selfward and manward; on the other that which is Godward, upward, and decisive.  This is why in all the various possible forms, sooner or later a line is reached beyond which the music ceases to be a good conductor of spiritual edification, and instead becomes a conductor of fleshly stimulation.”  A Return to Christian Culture by Richard S.Taylor, p. 89.  As I have often told  college students, I am not as concerned about exactly where a Christian musician draws the line that Dr. Taylor was referring to musically as I am about the fact that Christian musicians are, in many cases, no longer drawing any philosophical lines at all.  The fact that the musical “light bulb” of style is not suddenly on or off makes it much more difficult to discern when a musical style is too worldly or sensual to be a proper vehicle for sacred musicing.