Is Music Communicative?

 

Is Music Communicative? 

The concept of musical communication has been a buzz word for over a half century among Christian and secular musicians and music philosophers.  Christian musicians have traditionally had a sincere desire to make sure that the music they use in public ministry connects so that it will communicate meaning to both Christians and the un-churched.  Many who have advocated change in the music utilized in children’s ministry as well as teen and adult ministry have based their musical philosophy on both style and text.  However, a confusing incongruity has occurred.  Those who have advocated complete style change have often at the same time purported that the music part of music does not matter since it does not communicate meaning to the hearer, and furthermore, that only text communicates meaning.

It is difficult to understand how something that does not communicate meaning is so vital to music ministry.  It seems to me that if the music part of music does not communicate meaning, then one should ask, why all the fuss about the necessity of drastic style changes?  Why cause so much division over traditional church music if only words matter?  Wouldn’t it be much better to simply write new words with current urban imagery and set them to traditional church music? If communication is the issue, then I understand changing the word pictures created in the mind from descriptions and figures of speech so that they will communicate meaning more clearly to the listener.  However, many times new worship music does not succeed much or any better than hymns and gospel music at producing urban mental images that are *germane to the understanding of an urban unchurched audience.