Thousand Oaks Baptist Church

Music in God’s Work

Chapter 3

The Essential NATURE of Music 

In the last two chapters, we examined what the Old and New Testaments say about both good and evil music.  In this chapter, we'll move on to attempt to very carefully reveal the essential nature of music itself.

 

III.     And so we turn to the question, "What is the essential NATURE of music?"

 

As I mentioned in an earlier chapter, the second of the Apostle Paul's criteria for Christian music is that it be sung with the understanding.  We are to know what we are singing.  And we are to know what the music does to and for us, and what it does to and for those who hear us sing or otherwise perform the music.  We must understand both the meaning and the significance or result of what we sing, both in the words and in the very music itself.

 

In order to achieve some measure of this understanding, we must first define our terms.

A.      Definitions of "music."

 

1.       "The art and science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds or tones in varying melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre, especially to as to form structurally complete and emotionally expressive compositions."  "Unity and continuity" are two essential elements of music.  This definition is from the New World Dictionary, 2nd Edition, 1974.

 

2.       The Greek words for music used in the New Testament have significant definitions.  First I will give the English word, then its Greek counterpart, then (in parentheses) another English word derived from the Greek word; then I have listed the definition from either Strong's Concordance or Arndt and Gingrich's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.  Lastly, I have added my own comments.

 

a.       Music = sumphonia (symphony); "unison or concert of harmonious sounds."  The Greek word comes from words having the ideas of harmony and agreement of varying elements.

 

b.       Song = hode (ode); "any words sung."  This Greek word was only used of sacred songs when it was used in Christian literature of the First Century.

 

c.       Hymn = humnos (hymnology); "a religious song."  Whenever this word was used, it referred to one of the psalms.

 

d.       Music = mouichos (musical); "instrumental music."  This word is only used in early Christian literature of music produced by instruments, never of vocal music.

e.       Sing = ado (adulation); "to sing."  See Rev. 5:9.

 

3.       Authors who write on this subject describe music variously as the language of the emotions or the language of the soul.  The consensus is that music is able to express and communicate the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of the heart, perhaps even more completely than the written or spoken word.  Thus, music is perhaps man's most powerful tool to enter and control the hearts of others; because of this, it can be used for tremendous good or untold evil.

 

B.      In order to really understand music, we need to briefly examine the universally accepted elements of music.  Music consists of four basic elements:  Melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.

 

1.       Melody is the first basic element of music.  Melody is the most difficult part of music for a composer to produce.  At the same time, melody is the easiest for us to sing and recognize, and it's also the most essential element of music.  In other words, music is not really music without the melody.

 

a.       Technically, melody is a succession of tones that we perceive as an entity.  In other words, we grasp the melody as a complete unit in itself.  In this sense, melody is to the composer what the outline is to the writer or the form to the painter.  Examples of melody would be "Amazing Grace" or "Happy Birthday."

 

b.       Because we perceive the melody as a complete unit, we also understand that the melody has a sense of beginning, middle, and ending.

 

c.       A good melody also has something inevitable about it - a feeling of something that is predetermined and inescapable.  It possesses a distinctive profile.  It seems alive.

 

d.       Melody results from the interaction of musical space (higher and lower tones) and time.  In other words, the tones in a melody move up and down the scale, and are timed in their duration to produce a distinctive pattern of tonal movement and timing.

 

This pattern of timely interaction is the plot or theme of a musical work.  It is the basic structure upon which everything else hangs.

 

e.       Melody is usually expressed in phrases.  Each phrase is completed by a cadence (a resting place).  Good examples of phrasing are found in "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" and "London Bridge."

 

f.       The rest of the melody is then developed by repeating or contrasting or altering the phrases.

 

g.       The melody usually is developed around a central tone, and it returns to that tone at the end of the melody.

 

h.       Melody creates and builds a feeling of tension and drive until the climax of the song.  Then the melody creates the impression that the crisis has been met and is over, and that the final goal has been reached.

 

And so, a song without a melody would be like a story without a beginning, plot, or ending. 

2.       Harmony is the second basic element of music.

 

a.       Harmony adds depth to music, just as perspective adds depth to a painting or "3-D" adds dimension to a picture.

 

b.       Harmony produces an impression of musical space at each point in the melody.  It clarifies the direction of the melody.  It creates part of the emotional meaning of the song.

 

c.       Melody is the horizontal aspect of a song; harmony is the vertical aspect.  By this, we mean that the melody moves with the time of the song, but the harmony occurs in connection with the melody at any given point in the song.  The melody is represented on a printed line of music by the horizontal array of the notes in the melody; the harmony is represented by the vertical array of notes printed above and/or below each note in the melody.

 

d.       Harmony is built on the relationship of a group of tones used at the same time, creating chords.  An example would be to strike the notes C, E, and G simultaneously on a piano.  This creates a triad C chord.

 

e.       The progression of chords creates purposeful movement in a song.  An example would be to play a C chord, followed by an F chord, then another C chord, then a G chord, then return to the C chord.

 

f.       Harmony consists of rest chords and active chords.

 

g.       The rest chord is also called the tonic chord.  It provides a central point of departure and return for the active chords.  A song usually begins with the rest chord, and it almost always ends on the rest chord.  In the example cited in e. above, C is the tonic chord.

 

h.       Two often-used types of active chords are called the dominant and sub-dominant chords.  In the example cited in e. above, G is the dominant chord, and F is the sub-dominant chord.

 

i.        The active chords seek to be completed or resolved by returning to the tonic or rest chord.

 

j.        This striving for resolution is the dynamic force in our music in the western (non-Asiatic) world.  It shapes the forward movement of the song, imparting direction and a goal.

 

k.       The movement and emotional quality of music derive from this tendency of the active chords to be resolved in the chords of rest.

 

(1)     We call the restlessness of the active chords dissonance. It creates musical and emotional tension and unrest.

 

(2)     We call the restfulness of the rest chords consonance.  It resolves the musical and emotional tension.  Consonance produces relaxation and a feeling of fulfillment.

 

Dissonance is to music what suspense and conflict are to drama.  Without it, the music is dull and lifeless.  With too much of it, the music can play havoc with our emotions.  In fact, certain types of dissonance can actually compel various physical responses in some of our glands and muscles, shape our attitudes, and result in outward actions.

 

3.       Rhythm is the third basic element of music.

 

a.       Rhythm is the controlled flow or movement of music in time. Rhythm is the principle of organization and design that regulates the duration of the tones and chords.

 

b.       Rhythm is to music what physical action is to the body.

 

c.       Rhythm is to music what meter is to poetry.

 

d.       Musical rhythm - any rhythm - will cause our motor reflexes to operate, even if don't overtly respond with physical movement.  Our minds and bodies respond to rhythm automatically.  We feel it in ourselves as a kind of ideal motion, whether we actually move or not.

 

e.       Rhythm in music is confined and directed by the measures in the printed score, by the number of musical beats per measure, and by the spacing of the beats within the measure.

 

f.       The number of beats per measure is called meter.  Some common examples of meter are 4/4, 3/4, 6/8, 2/2, etc.

 

g.       The rhythm is the pattern of the meter.  For example, in 4/4 time, with four beats per measure, the rhythm pattern has the heaviest emphasis on the first beat, and secondary emphasis on the third beat.  The second and fourth beats are not accented or emphasized (eg.:  1, 2, 3, 4.  We can also write this by symbols: |-/-).

 

h.       The traditional patterns of meter make it possible for us to anticipate the music.  Through regular occurrence and repetition of accent, expectancies are set up in our minds that we feel a need to have fulfilled.  In the morally best uses of meter and rhythm, these feelings minister to our basic needs for security and acceptance.

 

In irresponsible and evil uses of meter and rhythm, we are driven to fulfill the lusts of the flesh and of the mind.  Some commonly used examples of the latter uses of meter and rhythm are: -|, --|, ||||, |-/--|-/--.  These are some of the typical meters and rhythms ("beats") used in currently popular "rock 'n roll," "hard rock," "heavy metal," "rap," and other irresponsible and evil music.  Personally, I'm extremely hesitant to even call this "music."  To my obviously aging ears, some of these rhythms sound like a couple of pairs of tennis shoes flopping around in a clothes drier...!

 

i.        One important element of rhythm is tempo.  Tempo is how fast or slow the music goes.

 

j.        Fast tempo excites us; slow tempo can calm us or even depress us.

 

k.       Tempo is to music what the pulse rate is to the heart.  Not surprisingly, tempo can actually affect the rate of the heart, breathing, digestion, and other bodily functions.  This includes the rate at which certain glands produce the chemicals that cause the somatic and psychological reactions usually considered to be symptomatic of the various emotions.  Experiments with both humans and laboratory animals have provided ample independent proof of this phenomenon.

 

4.       The fourth basic element of music is timbre.

 

a.       Timbre is the specific quality of sound that any given type of instrument produces or that our individual voices possess.  An example would be the difference between the characteristic sounds made by a trumpet and an acoustical guitar.

 

b.       Timbre is to music what color is to the painter.

 

c.       A skillful blending of various timbres produces a choir, a symphony orchestra, or a superb duet, trio, or quartet.  Mozart, for example, had the genius of blending previously unmatched instrumental voices to produce truly unique and beautiful results.

 

d.       On the other hand, amateur, irresponsible, or evil blending of timbre can produce ear-jarring, emotion-straining noise.

 

5.       Beyond the four elements of music itself are the three properties of musical sound:  Pitch, duration, and volume.

 

a.       Pitch is the actual tone produced by a note.  This can be expressed technically as an audio frequency, such as 440 Hz (a sound vibrating at 440 cycles per second).  A low tone or pitch has a low number of vibrations per second (15 to 30 Hz is about as low as any of us can really hear); a high tone has a high number of vibrations per second (14,000 to 17,000 Hz is about as high as we can normally hear).  We use a range of pitch as one measure to determine the fidelity or quality of an audio amplifier or speaker system (e.g.:  20 - 20,000 Hz).

 

b.       Duration is how long the note is produced.  This is expressed in beats.  For example, in 4/4 time, a quarter note is held one beat, and a half note is held two beats, etc.

 

c.       Volume is how loudly the tone is produced; it is the level of the sound.  Perceived volume is expressed technically in Decibels (dB).  The lower the dB rating, the softer the sound.

 

Fortunately, we can adjust the volume control on our stereos and TV's to control this property of musical (and other) sound.  At church or other public musical performances where sound is electronically amplified, we are at the mercy of the performers and their technicians; such occasions might well call for -30dB ear plugs!  OSHA requires hearing protection for industrial workers whenever the level of sound exceeds 80dB for a certain length of time.  Live, electronically amplified concerts can easily exceed 100 or even 120 dB in an enclosed hall.  Any prolonged and unprotected exposure to sound levels over 80 dB can result in impaired hearing.  I cannot help but notice that when loud music was recommended in the Old Testament, electronic amplifiers obviously had not yet been invented; thus, the volume of loud music in the Old Testament was limited to what the unamplified singers and instruments could produce on their own.  And I've already mentioned in a previous chapter that the instrumental volume was restricted so as to allow the human voice to be clearly heard in words of praise. 

These, then, are the basic elements of music.  Human music reflects the basic needs and desires and lusts of the soul and spirit and even body.  Music reflects these things by means of its melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and timbres.

 

In and from music we both express and derive security, love, joy, excitement, and rest in a world that doesn't always necessarily otherwise give us these things.  Music comes from our emotions; music also produces our emotions.  These emotions and their music may be either good or bad, spiritual or fleshly.

 

In the next chapter, we'll move on to understand the practical importance of good Christian music in our lives, our families, and our local church.

 

Please click here to proceed to Chapter 4.