And why?
Because it has the power to change people; it has the power to communicate between people; it has the power to convey ideas, and it also has the power to bring people together in the collective process of music making.
But more importantly, I see music as a gift that God has given us to use and so bring glory and honour to His name. People can talk about music in terms of physics, the frequencies, harmonics and vibrations of sound, and how it is all formed; however I like to see music as a wonderful gift. Something precious. Something indescribable.
What draws me to music is its power. The music doesn't have to be loud and full of rich, fat harmonies to have power. The power that I see in music is that which is present in the simple, soft spoken melodies as well as the bold and majestic. It is the power that moves people. If I listen to a piece of music, I am never in the same mood when its finished as I was when it started. A piece of music may have the power to make me happy, reflective, sombre, joyful, peaceful, energised, bold or even pensive. It's amazing what music can do.
This morning when I dropped in at school to pick up some band music, I unexpectedly stayed for another hour and a half to take park in a 'DRUMBEAT' workshop. DRUMBEAT is a therapy based programme originally designed as a means to engage young people. It promotes social understanding and connection through team drumming experience. As participants in the workshop we were all given a drum on which we played various games and activities. The activities were designed to get you to listen to the others in the group and respond to the things they played, while it also allowed you to add your own improvisations. It was just so much fun, and so engaging. The way rhythms are interconnected, the way you can connect your rhythm to someone else's, or have a conversation via drum is just so intriguing.The way music connects people and works as a meduim in relationships is wonderful.
Thinking back to music as a gift from God, the psalms in the bible were a means of communicating with Him. They were played on instruments such as the timbrel or lute, or sung, as prayers or praises to His Name. Today our church services are filled with singing, through which we also communicate with God. That is the power of music. Music is such a blessed way to give praise to God.
I also think of what a blessing it is that our Christian schools can also have such a strong music programme. Its always wonderful to walk into the music department and hear music floating around the rooms, to see the gifted teachers give their 101% in all classes (they are another influential factor in my love for music), and to understand the love of God that flows from teachers to students alike. It's the love of God that's communicated through music in such an environment as this. Truly, that is a blessing. And I'm blessed to be involved in only a small part of it!
Psalm 150
"Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet,
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with the clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!"
That's why I love music so much.
Music is indeed a wonderful gift.
ReplyDeleteI was really struck last night how blessed we really are as a family to have so much music in it - Ben on the Harmonica and Dad on the accordion while Mars was playing trumpet in the background... and then later, you and me on our own instruments (and that't not all the music our family can produce). We are truly blessed - in fact it had inspired me for my next blog post but it seems you beat me to it :)