Music’s Functionality

Music’s Functionality

               “Value may be assigned to music on the basis of its functionality, that is, on the basis of how well it fits a particular situation .  Certain musical styles function best in certain situations.  Thus, a Bartok string quartet does not function well in a dance club and a Chopin waltz  is not useful for helping a band march down the street.” A Concise Survey of Music Philosophy, Donald Hodges. NY, Routledge, 2017, p. 70.    Many Christian music leaders have made the duck run the hundred-yard dash and have entered the chicken in the swimming contest.  Some music ministers have  incongruently juxtaposed styles of music that are drastically different—to the end that the music styles fight each other.   Hodges was correct in saying that music is able to function in a more valuable way if it is used in the right situation. 

               Great composers have used various styles of music in their compositions advisedly.  When a Christian musician uses a style of music inadvisably, the result is an incongruent musical whole.  The question often at hand is not whether a style of music is an art form, a quality art form but rather will the way I use it and where I use it cause it to be efficacious.  The Bible teaches that everything that has breath should praise the Lord, but it never states that we should use everything to praise the Lord.  Good common musical sense is always proper when a Christian is selecting music for worship.