Is Music a Closed System?--Part 4

 

Is Music a Closed System?--Part 4  

If music is totally benign, knowledgably mute, sealed in a “bubble”, and therefore helpless to communicate any meaning, the writer of this first letter to the Corinthian Christians would not have used the Greek word ginosko (1097) which means “to perceive” or “to understand”.  As I said earlier in this discussion, music alone (music without text) is not capable of communicating exactly like a spoken known language, but it does have the power and ability to communicate meaning—thus the term meta-language is applied here to music being able to “say something” or communicate meaning.

The hypothesis that music contains understandable meaning has existed since the time of the ancient Greek music philosophers.  I contend that this belief is as old as the writings of the Old Testament.  The OT writings gave credence to the belief that music represents, says, reflects, and conveys powerful meaning to those who experience it in or outside of public worship.  The NT also gives music a place of importance, value, and in the lives of all who experience it.  Therefore, the student of music philosophy who is seeking a Bible basis for his or her music philosophy should be skeptical of modern-day writings that reduce or deny music’s power.