Musical
and Social Meaning…part 15
A faith-based music philosophy that is informed,
in light of 21st century definitive research and philosophical
understandings, must recognize that all music does contain social meaning in its
fabric and landscape. This meaning is an inherent and unavoidable part of the
music part of the music. Therefore, the
committed Christian worship leader must be very careful of the styles that he
or she uses in the context of worship (and by his or her doing ipso facto
places approval on the music), because musicing forms cultural performing and listening
habits that will be shaped by these ideologically informed critical music
metalanguages.
Worship leaders need to be constantly concerned
with what musical cognition and metacognition is capable of doing to the whole
life of those who experience music and who participate in corporate musicing.
Since paralanguage has the
propensity to partially or even completely change the original meaning of
sacred music, all sacred music must be carefully vetted
before it is utilized in the context of public worship. If worship leaders do not give the practice
of musicing unto God and musicing unto each another much careful vetting before
performing the music, they may do much harm to those to whom they minister and
to those who minister musically with them.
Although rejecting all or most all music that is new without having a
good reason to do so is often a mistake, ignoring traditional sacred music that
has proven to be useful and valuable for decades or even centuries is also a
serious oversite.
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