I worked at Seagull Book for a little while. (For those of you from outside of Utah, it's the discount version of Deseret Book.)
Here is an example of the type of music I would here while working there.
The lyrics are nice, but the music itself is formulaic and predictable, like most other forms of LDS music. To me, it's trying to hard or cheesy. I have a hard time feeling the Spirit when I listen to it because it seems to diminish the glory and power of Christ by putting Him in a formulaic and cheesy song. It also gives an impression that all Mormons are squares.
Here is an example of Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith (both of whom were mentioned in the book.)
The music is still a bit formulaic, but it doesn't matter as much to me because the subject matter isn't as deep as the previous Kenneth Cope song. The lyrics match the music better.
Here is a song that became very popular about five years ago. "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me.
To me, this is an incredibly beautiful, spiritual song. I think the music matches the subject matter in a simple yet moving way. Notice how his voice goes from weak and quiet at the beginning to a near shout with the excitement of the thought of meeting the Savior. The drums also enhance the feeling.
Now to contrast that, listen to this by Mama Shirley Caesar.
Can I get an Amen? For some reason, this music just gets to me. I can't get enough of it. I listen to it on Sundays all the time. A lot of people in the LDS Church complain that it is far too rowdy for religious worship. I feel that it might be a bit much for a Sunday meeting, but I'd love to sing in a choir like this on weekdays, or Sunday nights. God, of course, deserves reverence and respect, but doesn't He also want us to rejoice in His Word? This, to me, is sincere rejoicing.
This song is by Fireflight, who are a Christian Rock Band very similar to Flyleaf and Paramore. (Flyleaf is also a Christian band)
I actually enjoy this music. I'm not sure it would be something I'd listen to on Sundays, but I appreciate the goal of singing about God to an audience that may not be looking for Him. If it opens their hearts to start to believe, then I can certainly appreciate this music for that. I think this music would have a more powerful influence on someone who had never been introduced to the gospel than the first Kenneth Cope song. However, I think the Mercy Me and Mama Shirley Caesar songs have the most powerful spiritual effect.
This one, by Disciple is interesting to me.
Here is an example of one that isn't very Christian. Saying that you will be "Brought Down" if you defy God is a little contrary to Christian love and tolerance. I don't think this kind of music or these lyrics are likely to bring anyone to an understanding of God's love and mercy.
This of course, is my opinion. Everyone is touched by the Spirit in different ways, so I want to know:
When does Christian Music become secular? Is it no longer Spiritual if it is too rowdy, or is it not spiritual when it is too formulaic? Are the lyrics the most important factor, or does the music itself need to be a certain way in order for it to be religious?
See this is a very interesting discussion because first of all you have to admit that Mormons have a music market. I believe that the music that sells for the majority of Mormons is the "predictable" music you spoke of. As for your "predictable" comment consider this; isn't R & B music just as predictable because it has the same beats, similar lyric topics etc? And yet R&B still sells and will continue to do so until the demand from the audience changes. It is the exact same way with Mormon music! Deseret Book is a company and therefore is "secular" follows the principles of supply and demand, just as any other company, they are just lucky enough to get to choose what sells. So until the markets open up to more than Deseret Book being a provider or until the audience demands another genre of music I do not think it will change.
ReplyDeleteLogan Bradford:
ReplyDeleteFABULOUS question, Amber. I've thought (and researched....and written) a TON about this, mainly because of some rules instated on my mission for a while about not being allowed to listen to music that was less than 100 years old or didn't have the Church stamp on it. I had quite a bit of contemporary "classical" music with me, which I felt helped me feel the spirit quite well (Eric Whitacre, Henryk Gorecki, Arvo Paart, Max Richter, etc.), so I naturally objected to the rule. I spoke to my president about the new rule and after some time, the rule was repealed. Thank heavens.
However, the topic intrigued me so much that I came home and wrote a 20-page paper on it for my advanced writing gen-ed. My approach, or question, was slightly different than yours, but it followed the same basic topic: what is it about music that qualifies it as being "spiritual" or "conducive to the Spirit"?
Daniel J. Levitin wrote a book called "This is Your Brain on Music" that you should probably read; it will explain much of the neurospychobiology of music and answer many of your questions, I think. Basically, he teaches that in our respective cultures, we grow up hearing certain musical phrases or themes in certain situations and learn to associate those elements with those situations. Another thing he dissects is what is called "musical grammar." As we hear musical phrases, we can hear where they are going (example: go to a piano in a public place and play a major scale, "do" to "ti," but not the top "do." See if someone, within 10 seconds, will not go and plunk the top "do," simply because it will drive them crazy not to hear the resolution from the leading tone (ti) to the root (do).). that probably shouldn't have been a parenthetical statement. Oh well. Anyway, it's the same with music: we have expectations and when they are met, if the expectation has become commonplace, it seems "ho-hum" to us (ex: nearly ALL of Janice Kapp Perry's music, including what I have termed "the Mormon key change." See also "the Mack attack," referring to his ever-so-signature choral arrangements). Gag me.).
Alternately, if the expectation is met in a slightly different way than we had expected, endorphins are actually released in our brains and we feel pleasure. That creates an atmosphere that is arguably conducive to the Spirit. If the cadence or musical elements are "too out-there," then it becomes unrelatable to us and it's uncomfortable to us, making it unconducive (that's not a word) to the Spirit.
So, the Church has recommendations about what kind of music we should listen to. Their recommendations actually have some backing. They are, in a sense, "safe," but not necessarily applicable to all people. For example, I feel the Spirit so incredibly strongly to much of Eric Whitacre's choral music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pg0tuah-VA), but my dad just thinks it's too contemporary and "out-there."
As far as rowdiness goes, I think it has everything to do with the adrenaline it creates in our system. If music is creating adrenaline, we probably do not have a psychological environment where the Spirit can reside.
The bottom line is that music and spirituality is different for every person, depending on their background.
Let me know if you want to read that paper about this; it fleshes it out a whole lot more.
-Logan Bradford
Music is a tremendously powerful tool. Secular music can lead to a spiritual moment, just as spiritual music can be overdone, losing its power. The secret is keeping it sacred. The word sacred seems to lose its definition every now and then, but what it means is that something is devoted or dedicated to a religious purpose. Once people start taking the power of music and make it formulaic or poppy, it loses some of that spiritual power.
ReplyDeleteWhile some may never grow sick of listening to an EFY CD from their youth, most "Christian" music holds no sway on me, because it is not sacred enough to be powerful. In fact it becomes cheap and formulaic. For an example of this, go to youtube and search "faith + 1".
This was a great question. I also find myself asking that question when I listen to certain types of Christian music. But, I personally believe that being Mormon we have our own little world of music. With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and all our famously known signers from EFY camps and whatnot. For us, its not necessarily about the poppy-ness of it but about what is means and how its sung.
ReplyDeleteBut, if you look outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there are churches all over the world that worship differently than us. For them, that is the way they feel best fits the way they like to worship and feel closest to the Lord. For them, its about how emotional and rowdy they can get with the song.
Music of any style, sound or formula is truly a personal thing. One person’s favorite song can be hated by my masses. It all comes down to what each person gets from the song and what feelings it evokes. To me, the most obvious thing to make music have a style is the lyrics. The lyrics tell the story of what the author was feeling at the time. It can be about God or anything spiritual if that is what the author is feeling but it can be secular in its interpretation by others as being about a loved one or something else all together. I don’t think the music that is put to the lyrics really affects the spirituality of the song at all. In fact, the music’s beat can attract a certain group of listeners who would be more likely to listen to a specific style of music, i.e., hip-hop, rock, easy listening, rap, and maybe introduce them to a spiritual side instead of the songs talking about sex, drugs and rock-n-roll.
Music and religion are both personal. This post reminded me of a story involving a friend of mine. On Sundays I prefer to keep my music religious, now this doesn't mean that my music is all going to be LDS. I find peace in other forms of music. For example, I love gospel music. I find it to be inspiring, and while we'll never see a 25-person gospel choir in our services, I feel that the music and the message are worth exploring. Well, one day I played a cd of gospel music on my way to church, and a friend turned it off. She didn't ask. She didn't even mention the idea. She straight turned it off. She told me that we shouldn't listen to music that isn't quiet and calm. Now, this album didn't have an all out band or rappers. For goodness sakes, it was pretty calm. She said it was "R&B". I laughed, and waited until she got out of the car...and then put it back on. I won't force my preferences on someone else, but I won't be that ignorant to say that all non-LDS music is unacceptable. It's a personal choice. As your post said, some people think this is rowdy, I think that people should be allowed to express their praise however they find fit. I'd never belt out a hymn in sacrament, because lets' face it-a lot of people would be uncomfortable. We are very vanilla.
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