Thought for the Day-Music’s Meaning- Part 17

Thought for the Day-Music’s Meaning- Part 17

I Corinthians mentions singing with understanding; how can a Christian musician music with understanding if music has no meaning?

 

Musical Sound Communicates Meaning Part 17

Musical Sound Communicates Meaning Part 17 

First, I contend that music does communicate meaning and second, that  the person who will receive the greatest meaning from a particular music will, without doubt, be the person who has the greatest understanding of that musical genre and ipso facto, its meaning, import, understanding, communication, or message.  Third, I will concede that constraints on one’s understanding of a piece of music will affect the amount of meaning its musical sounds will communicate to the performer and the listener.

The strong belief that musical sounds are a “mirror of life” or an “imitation of reality” is as ancient as Plato and Aristotle—and so are the various arguments against such a philosophical thesis. Thus, it is not far-fetched for me to contend that musical sounds do have the potential to affect the whole life of all who hear and perform them. 

My belief, therefore, leads me to the conclusion that those who have a thorough understanding of music that arouses physical passions, such as rock music with its incessant driving forward propelling directionality, will possibly receive more harm because they have the greatest understanding of this music’s content and intent communicated through sounds.  This is not to say that music sounds will not also have a negative influence on all who hear it. Because sounds penetrate the mind and the emotions, this music will exert influence on all who hear it.

Scripture for the Day-Music’s Meaning- Part 16

Scripture for the Day-Music’s Meaning- Part 16

1Cointhians 14:15 “What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”

 

Musical Sound Communicates Meaning Part 16

Musical Sound Communicates Meaning Part 16  

             If musical sound was incapable of communicating understanding, then the music part of music would not have any value as a ministering tool.  However, there is entirely too much evidence that music has the power to communicate “knowing” to the performer and the auditor for me to ever be convinced that musical sound is impotent and incapable of having any positive or negative influence.
            Perhaps Roger Scruton’s statement should be considered at this point in our discussion of musical “knowing’ and “meaning”.  He stated, “If music has meaning, then that meaning must be understood by the one who understands the music.  Hence the concept of musical understanding displaces that of musical meaning: we have no idea what musical meaning might be, until we have some grasp of the distinction between the one who hears with understanding and the one who merely hears.” Understanding Music by Roger Scruton, p.34.  He prefaced this statement by explaining, “The meaning of a sentence is what we understand when we understand it.  Constraints on understanding are therefore constraints on meaning.” Ibid. p.34 It is a very dangerous thing to take one or two isolated statements of a music philosopher’s writings and suggest exactly what is meant by these statements.  So, I will not attempt to lock down exactly all that he meant, but merely use these famous quotes as a springboard for discussion.

Thought for the Day-Music’s Meaning- Part 15

Thought for the Day-Music’s Meaning- Part 15

If God was wise enough and powerful enough to speak music into existence, then He is wise enough and caring enough to instruct us in how to music unto Him.

 

Musical Sound Communicates Meaning Part 15

Musical Sound Communicates Meaning Part 15 

I have often mentioned in my philosophical writings the importance of Colossians 1:16 which states, “For by him are all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things are created by him and for him.”  There are two words in this Scripture that are of great importance to our discussion. They are visible (horatos 3707) and invisible (aoratos 517). 

When it comes to God’s creating music there is the portion that one is able to see (horatos) and the portion that one cannot see (aoratos).  The musical score is a part of music that one can see and musical sound is a part that one cannot see.  Although the written part may communicate meaning to the trained musician who is capable of audiating it [i.e. the ability to see pitch, rhythm and harmony on the musical score and hear them in one’s mind], it is the sounds that are what really matters to the rest of the people who are incapable of audiating it in their minds.  Music that is still on the page of the score, if it doesn’t have words, may very well be considered to be to be neutral to the non-musician.  However, when sounds are produced from that score they take on life and communicate meaning to everyone who hears them 

In Colossians 1:16 there is a list of things that were created by the exceeding God (Theos 2316).  Among this list is the word exousia (1849) which, among other things, means delegated influences.  I believe that the invisible part of music belongs to this category.  Colossians 1:16 explains that all these categories of creation were made by the exceeding God for the exceeding God.  I believe that God, in his creative power, gave music the delegated authority to influence mankind with musical sound.  The composers, arrangers, performers, and conductors have been given the delegated authority to influence all those who hear them produce sound.  Because God always gives mankind a choice, all those who compose, arrange, perform, and conduct music may influence others for good or evil with the musical sounds that they produce. So, ipso facto musicians are able to influence others with the message that a particular sound communicates to the auditor.

Musical Sound Communicates Meaning Part 14

Musical Sound Communicates Meaning Part 14  

  Although the use of the musical reference in the fourteenth chapter of I Corinthians is in the middle of another discussion, it is still a musical reference.  Verse six explains that distinct speaking brings about clear communication.  Likewise, verse seven explains that clear production of musical sounds brings about a clear musical message or meaning.  Therefore, one may safely conclude that music is at least a meta-language in that it communicates meaning in an analogous manner to language.  Musicians are cautioned by this verse that clear production of musical tones will insure a clear message much like clear language communicates an understandable message.

I want to make it clear that I am not saying that clearly spoken language and clearly produced musical tones function exactly alike.  As I said before they function similarly.  Therefore, I conclude that music functions only as a meta-language.  The import of the use of this musical reference in I Corinthians 14:7 is that clearly produced music can and does communicate meaning to the performer and the auditor.  Therefore, the music part of music does matter because it communicates real understandable meaning.  A careful look at verse seven reveals that the inspired Word of God teaches that music that gives a clear distinction in its sounds has the potential to cause the performer and the auditor to “know” i.e. gain information and meaning from the musical sounds.

If music was 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 clearly 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.

Thought for the Day-Music’s Meaning- Part 14

Thought for the Day-Music’s Meaning- Part 14  

I have found over the years that the greatest problems in church music are not caused by exactly where a minister of music draws the line musically, but rather by music ministers who no longer draw any lines musically.

 

Thought for the Day-Music’s Meaning- Part 13

Thought for the Day-Music’s Meaning- Part 13  

Just  because God gives a Christian musician a choice concerning how he or she musics unto Him, that musician is not relieved from the responsibility of using music in a way that will represent His moral nature and thereby bring honor to His name.

 

 

Musical Sound Communicates Meaning Part 13

Musical Sound Communicates Meaning Part 13  

As can be expected, Satan is always present in this dark world to assist men and women in messing up God’s wonderful creation called music.  Any philosophical belief about music that denies that God intends music for our good and that Satan intends to pervert it to aid in our spiritual failure is simply a naive and over simplistic misguided belief system.  In the Book of Genesis, it is stated very clearly that ALL of God’s creation, which without doubt had to include music, was created in a very good (maod towb 3966, 2896) condition [see Genesis 1:31].  However, God always gives man a choice.  If man had not listened to Satan he would not have fallen from that wonderful state where he walked and talked with God in the Garden of Eden [see Genesis chapter three].  However, he did listen to Satan, fell spiritually when he disobeyed God, and took on Satan’s sinful rebellious nature.  Since man has a choice today, he can compose and arrange musical sounds that honor God or that feed the lust of sinful men and women. 

I Corinthians 14:7 states, “And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped.”  This Scripture has been subjected over the centuries to a plethora of confusion of opinions concerning its meaning.  We know that the Greek words translated giving sound            (didomi phone-1325, 5456) mean something that yields sound.  The words “give a distinction in the sounds” (didomi diastole phthoggos 1325, 1293, 5353) mean to yield a distinction of musical notes in the process of utterance of musical sounds.