A Musical Soapbox Revisited

Here’s the final outline:

1) Definition of Music
2) Music: A matter of preference or of conscience?
3) The moral nature of music
4) Should the whole be dispensed with if part is flawed?
5) Rock music
6) The Biblical answer

The points I had before are still there. They just collapsed into different points. No use in discussing the same thing twice, is there? Most of the arguments here are stated in what I hope is a concise form — a sort of springboard for discussion. Well, here we go!


1) Definition of Music

Though we all probably have a similar conception of what music is, it would be advisable to arrive at a definite definition of music. I like what my dictionary had to say on the matter:

music n. 1. the art and science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds or tones in varying melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre, esp. so as to form structurally complete and emotionally expressive compositions 2. the sounds or tones so arranged, or the arrangement of these

Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition

What do you think about these definitions? I didn’t take time to research them:

sacred music: Music used to worship God. Or does that require a qualifier?
secular music: Music not intended for the worship of God.

2) Music: A matter of preference or of conscience?

The bottom line question here is this: Is music relative or universal? If relative, music is a matter of preference; if universal, a matter of conscience. But even were the latter to prove the case, it cannot be denied that preference plays a part in the selection of any particular acceptable piece of music, leading us to a further question:

Are we hardwired for certain music, conditioned for certain music, or both? I have no definitive answer. (I wonder what my psychology textbook will say on the matter.) Let me give a stab at it nevertheless.

We are hardwired for certain music in as much as our personalities differ, but our experiences further temper those preferences to produce the tastes that we possess. But if music is universal — that is, if it is not merely relative to a person’s conceptions — then cannot music be right or wrong? I would say yes, leading me to a third point:

3) The moral nature of music

My first question: is absolute music moral in nature? By absolute music I mean “Instrumental music that is free of any explicit verbal reference or program.” Examples would be Bach’s Orchestral Suites, Grieg’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13, and anything Vivaldi wrote that was non-vocal and non-Four-Seasons.

So, is it? I would say yes because music constructed in a given way produces a given emotion. That emotion may be elicited to different degrees based on the experiences and opinions of the persons involved. Person A has determined he hates flute music, Person B refuses to listen to opera with an open mind, Person C has decided Japanese music is not his thing. At the core, however, these people would be affected similarly if not identically by the same notes of music apart from associations.

You see, music does not change from person to person. The only thing that changes is the person himself. If there were no way of determining the moral value of a piece — if it were relative — you could get away with musical murder and no one could stop you! Who is to stay Piece A is bad? It doesn’t talk about anything bad. Well, that isn’t the only criteria for music, I dare say.

Something else that has colored this discussion is whether music can be inherently evil. Considering the above, it stands to reason that certain notes can inherently produce a certain reaction — perhaps even a reaction forbidden by God. That would make said arrangement of notes basically wrong for a Christian.

Sound, you see, carries meaning. Whether it is a tree falling down, someone screaming at you, or a door being slammed, sound conveys something to anyone who will listen such as information, a moral message, or a feeling. Music cannot be exempt from this principle.

Apart from the being inherently evil, it is even easier to prove a certain piece of music practically evil. If its use would cause other believers to stumble, then we are instructed to forgo that usage of our Christian liberty. (If the song is inherently bad, of course, then it would be practically evil as well.)


4) Should the whole be dispensed with if part is flawed?

Should an entire song be discarded if part is flawed? Should an entire genre be discarded if it is flawed?

Let’s examine this issue on the level of a single song:

Do the words and the music have a direct relationship? Are the two inseparable? Good words certainly do not make up for a bad tune, just as a good tune do not make up for bad words. The use of the good words or good tunes could easily be hampered, however, by their association with their immoral counterparts.

Can this principle be extended to an entire genre? I would say yes, it is possible, if not as likely or as clear-cut.


5) Rock music

a. Definition and origins of rock music

WordNet gives this definition of rock music:

rock music (a genre of popular music originating in the 1950s; a blend of black rhythm-and-blues with white country-and-western) "rock is a generic term for the range of styles that evolved out of rock'n'roll."

A gentleman who writes rock music puts it thus:

Rock and roll is sexual energy expressed in sound

What about the phrase “rock and roll?” According to AllWords.com,

As a noun:
1. The type of music
2. The dancing associated with the music
3. “An intangible feeling, philosophy, belief or allegiance relating to rock music (generally from the 1970s &1980s), and heavy metal bearing certain elements of this music, pertaining to unbridled enthusiasm, cynical regard for certain Christian and authoritarian bodies, and attitudes befitting some degree of youthful debauchery.”

As a verb:
1. “to start, commence, begin, get moving (Let’s rock and roll)”
2. “a euphemism for sexual intercourse.”

Wikipedia has something similar to say about the verb meaning of the phrase.

If this is not enough to condemn rock music, it certainly indicates that something is wrong. Very wrong.


b. Is rock music sensual? Permit my dictionary to define sensual:

sensual (adj.)
1. Of the body and the senses as distinguished from the intellect or spirit; bodily [sensual pleasures]
2. a) connected or preoccupied with bodily or sexual pleasures; voluptuous b) full of lust; licentious; lewd
3. resulting from, or showing preoccupation with, bodily or sexual pleasure [a sensual expression]

It should be noted that a distinction must be made between sensual and sensuous:

SYN. — sensuous suggests the strong appeal of that which is pleasing to the eye, ear, touch, etc. and, of a person, implies susceptibility to the pleasures of sensation [soft, sensuous music]; sensual refers to the gratification of the grosser bodily senses or appetite [sensual excesses]

(Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition)

The word sensual therefore has general the connotation of lust and the “grosser bodily senses.”

I believe that rock music is a generally sensual thing. Recall the fellow above who defined rock music as “sexual energy expressed in sound.” Even if that is only half-true, it could not be denied that rock appeals to generally sensual feelings and drives.

If this is the case, then why bother with rock music? Personally, I find no reason to bother with it, as I find it generally repulsive. But what about as a general principle?

c. Why listen to rock music at all? I can see a number of possible reasons:

i. You find it enjoyable
ii. You feel it can be used to effectively praise God
iii. Um, yeah.

One question I have: Should you find it enjoyable?

6) The Biblical answer (please list all the verses I've failed to remember)

As EK pointed out, we must ask the question is there a distinction between what music we listen to or perform for pleasure & recreation and what we use in a church setting?

It seems logical that music used to worship God must be held up to a higher standard than personal music. For example, humorous songs, while appropriate in many personal situations, are hardly apt for worship.

Does this mean that only serious music glorifies God? No, music can glorify God without being ideal for worship. There is a lot of amazing music that shows how great God is that is not constructed as sacred music. How could such wonderful sounds exist without Him? I have asked myself on more than one occasion when considering certain secular songs.

I quote for your consideration Colossians 3:16:

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (NASB)

So, what about Christian liberty? Aren’t we just making sure the weaker brother doesn’t stumble when we choose are music? I would say it is not impossible, but that it is not necessarily the case.

While some acceptable music may be sullied through some personal attachment according to a particular believe, the moral nature of music assures that there is doubtless some music which all believers should avoid. The key is discerning what that music is...which is why we’re here.

Is there anything in Exodus 32:17 that should influence our discussion? When the people of Israel worshiped the golden calf, their fervor deceived Joshua into thinking it something else:

Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”

I leave you with Psalm 150:

1 Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
3 Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD! (NASB)

A Musical Soapbox

This is truly a rant. Your indulgence is humbly craved.

If you know me much, you know the soundtrack of my life consists of symphonies, operas, oratorios, string quartets and other delicious things. But for the life of me I can’t quite see why that isn’t the case for everyone else — and that’s what I’m going to rant about.

Before I plunge in, I had best describe my own musical background. If you are skimming, this is a good section to skip.

How I Discovered Classical Music

I grew up hearing scraps of the Beatles, a few soundtrack-like hits (things like Hawaii Five-O and Dueling Banjos), and whatever oldies were played back in the 90s. I had occasional exposure to a 5 CD set of random classical works, but I rarely listened beyond Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the bumble bee.

At about the age of 12, I decided that I loved James Horner’s soundtrack to Universal’s animated film Balto. My mom graciously purchased a reasonably priced copy on eBay, which quickly became my mainstay of background music for playing with Legos. (I still have the same stereo I did then, come to think of it.) Mom, perhaps annoyed with the repetition of what I considered 43 minutes of heaven, trucked in the 5 CD boxed set of classical music into my room, suggesting I listen to some other music too. I dutifully accepted her offering. Memories returned of wanting to like the Dance of the Reed Pipes from The Nutcracker, but shunning the impulse — liking ballet could hardly be masculine, my childish mind reasoned. At one of my sister’s ballet recitals, I fell in love a short dance from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. A complete recording shortly made its way into a BMG Music order. From there, it was not very difficult for me to see what I liked was something special.

My appreciation of a couple other forms of music (rock, jazz, rap, pop, etc.) seemed to vary inversely to my love of older compositions. Today my recollections of my friend and I thinking the Backstreet Boys emotionally affecting fill me with blushing shame. What was going on there??? Now I can barely listen to Phantom of the Opera with my stomach churning. I assume this is a personal problem. At least, that seems the easiest answer.

Perceptions of Something I Just Don’t Like

In my journal entry for January 19th, 2010, I reflected,

Which is worse, listening to rock CCM or watching football? The former, naturally, as the latter, rather than making you want to commit a mild act of violence, prompts the desire to do something that in some way stimulates the brain. This last desire is a good one, better [however] without such inducement.

It doesn’t take a psychologist to divine that I do not take a sanguine view of rock music. Dear me, I still have problems appreciating Stravinsky, let alone the far less sophisticated writings of various rock (and jazz) artists, as they are so quaintly termed. Gladly would I endure 15 minutes of a football broadcast if it meant forgoing 15 minutes of hoarse women, incorrigible drum players, and screaming “Are those men?”-quartets. (Those of you who have magnanimously deferred to my obstinate predilections have my heartfelt thanks — I do notice.)

The funny thing is that people decide of their own accord to hear this sort of thing. What I sometimes accidentally see on Amazon’s main music page leads me to believe that people actually buy recordings of some of this stuff. How could you want to hear that — again? I just don’t get it. Perhaps Richard Bonynge, conductor-husband of one of my favorite opera singers, understands better:

Richard Bonynge: If [audiences] want something modern, they’ll go to Broadway, but even the Broadway pieces that have success are as old-fashioned as they can possibly be. The idiom is almost 19th century with a bit of beat behind it, that’s all.

Interviewer: Is “rock” music?

Joan Sutherland: Don’t ask me that.

RB: I don’t think we’re in much of a position to say because we don’t know much about it. It doesn’t appeal to us very much, but it certainly appeals to a great many people, so there must be something about it. It’s primitive and very easy to listen to.

JS: Not for me it’s not! It’s taxing, sort of bang, bang, bang, bang...

My feelings align more with Joan Sutherland than Richard Bonynge, but the latter does have a point. He must, or else 90 percent of radio stations would be playing classical music (which, by the way, in its widest sense makes up the vast majority of music in existence).

What am I missing? Rock music makes me feel like I should be getting a headache. (It rarely gives me one, as I am generally impervious to the normal headache stimuli.) Is it enjoyed simply because it’s fashionable? Because people like their sappy dollar-store “Jesus Music” (sorry) because they just don’t know any better? Are they afraid of being elitist? Is it because I’m elitist? What is it?

But what really puts the icing on the cake for me is that they are rejecting one of the most delightful things God has allowed man to create.

What They Give Up

What great pleasures people forfeit! There is such greater, more glorious music written to God’s honor than that which airs these days. John Stainer’s Crucifixion, Sullivan’s Prodigal Son (set verbatim from various bits of scripture), anything by Bach, Handel’s Solomon (and a myriad of other Biblical oratorios), Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Tchaikovsky’s Moscow Cantata, Berlioz’ lovely setting of a religious poem by Thomas More — and this doesn’t even begin to cover secular music!

I’ve heard many of the excuses. “Classical isn’t my thing,” however, doesn’t cut the mustard. This is the musical equivalent of saying, “Oh, I’m not fond of cooked foods.” There is such a vast variety of music tritely labeled as “classical,” that an all-encompassing statement of preference shows either insanely narrow tastes or limited musical experience.

The latter seems more likely: Our culture does hardly anything to encourage the love of great music, as much as it uses it subliminally. Sure, instances of positively portrayed opera singers are on the rise, but it is still an uphill battle. Think of how many people will consciously name a bel canto aria as a favorite song, much less know what bel canto even is. Nevertheless, I believe that if people realized how much classical music they inadvertently heard—and even enjoyed—they would take a more favorable view on this subject. Indeed, some of the most pleasant classical music of the last 80 years has escaped much biased criticism by innocently advertising itself as a part of the soundtrack genre.

The Biblical Approach

What frustrates me perhaps the most is that I cannot come up with a solid Biblical response — in my favor or in theirs. (I attribute some of this to my yet insufficient knowledge of the Scriptures.) Well, there is I Corinthians 14:40:

But all things should be done decently and in order. (ESV)

However, as unpleasant as rock music is, it cannot be denied that it has some sort of order. There’s the guilt by association argument, which I think holds some water. Though we often forget it (unlike some rock artists — eek), a fair number of classical composers were less than saints, which opens up a whole new can of worms (which I won't open here).

Some people say the beats in rock, et al. are inherently bad. That could be, but there was a time that opera was considered an unrighteous form of entertainment to be shunned by anyone with a conscience. Still, whether they were wrong does not affect whether people today are wrong about the beats, though it certainly calls for closer inspection.

Paul tells us not to be caught under the influence of anything that isn’t God. Some describe the potentially darkly sensual effects of rock, et al. and tie it to Paul’s admonition. I know too little to offer an opinion.

Tapering Off

I have fumed enough on this matter, but it wouldn’t hurt if to focus some of the above:

• I’ve come to love classical music without being prodded
• I don’t understand rock, pop, jazz, rap, country (did I mention how little I can stand country music?)
• I don’t understand why people don’t like other kinds of music
• I’m frustrated that I can’t formulate a satisfactory Biblical answer in either direction (or another direction I have not considered)

Help me understand!

In truth I could pursue this painful theme much further, but behold, I have said enough.

Advice from Egypt

Taking Hints from other Cultures

Let not your heart be puffed-up because of your knowledge; be not confident because you are a wise man. Take counsel with the ignorant as well as the wise. The full limits of skill cannot be attained, and there is no skilled man equipped to his full advantage. Good speech is more hidden than the emerald, but it may be found with maidservants at the grindstones. …

If you are a leader commanding the affairs of the multitude, seek out for yourself every beneficial deed, until it may be that your own affairs are without wrong. Justice is great, and its appropriateness is lasing; it has been disturbed since the time of him who made it, whereas there is punishment for him who passes over its laws. It is the right path before him who knows nothing. Wrongdoing has never brought its undertaking into port. It may be that it is fraud that gains riches, but the strength of justice is that it lasts. … [transcribed from Western Civilization Volume I: To 1715 by Jackson J. Spielvogel, 2003]

Aside from sounding like something off of a Wise or Otherwise card, this excerpt of advice given by Egyptian Vizier Ptah-hotep to his son comes across as being rather timeless. Much of it is solid teaching.

Before I get going, let me put forth a disclaimer: I am not about to advocate the cultural relativism that pervades postmodern thought. I am simply warning against a reaction that goes too far in the other direction.

We know what postmoderns are typically like.

The idiot who praises with enthusiastic tone
All centuries but this and every country but his own.

Nevertheless, being nationalistic to the point of refusing to accept the possibility of the wisdom of other culture’s ideas — well, that’s not kosher either. Other cultures, just because they do not think like us or have the same religion as us, does not mean we can learn from them — or even that we should not desire to learn from them.

For example, consider this passage:

I swear by the time, / Most surely man is in loss, / Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience.

Not too terrible. Missing key information, but not extremely awful.

What do you say when I tell you that the above was an extract from the Koran? Not so good? Yes, the Koran is full of lies concerning the nature of God (70% of its content at least from what I can see), proper behavior (Jihad, anyone?), and who knows what else. But does that mean we should shrink in horror from every word that Mohammad dictated to his literate companions? I would say no, not because Mohammad was particularly wise and amazing, but because it would be difficult to create a truly and obviously terrible religious text — and have it followed by millions of people. (Sure, some of the teachings of the Koran/Qu’ran are terrible, but the whole thing is written agreeably enough. Some of the arguments even make sense initially, even if they are based on flawed premises.)

A couple things I’ve learned:

• There are a lot of really whack religious beliefs out there

• Every major religion has at least some common sense in it here and there (which is why we have to learn how to discern)

Maybe the best course of action when it comes to discussing other religions is to, as the English Proverb says,

Use soft words and hard arguments.

But it isn’t just religion I’m talking about. There is more to learn from the general wisdom of other peoples. The source of this wisdom (good or bad) can range from Plato’s writings to wise sayings from the Orient to the philosophical reflections of Arabians from the Middle Ages.

Then there’s always the argument that it is best to know which tunes the devil is playing. But that is another story.

I’m not quite sure where I want to land. Perhaps this tidbit from Master Kong is as good a place as any:

Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star. – Confucius