CF what genre of music do you think is good?
What genre do I think is good? I don't see that as being valid. My opinion doesn't matter. Besides its not about a
genre but the actual
music. and b) I think
whatever God says is good is good, as
He has authority as the creator and is not a liar. c) What do you mean by good? Quality or Christian... I
personally like
alot of
genres of music not one type, but I don't listen to anything God says is wrong.
This idea that I have based things on an opinion and not Gods
infallible word frustrates me indeed! I am NOT being biased in any sense with my "
opinions"
I am following what is written in the Bible. Sheesh! It would be nice if somebody could grasp this at last. D: I never claimed to be God, but I do have the authority to speak Gods word which He has provided for us, to reveal truth which God provided. You should be aware of this as a Christian.
Brace yourselves because this is going to be long, but complete. And it is based on GODS WORD NOT MY OWN!!! Please, either read the whole thing or don't reply because it it all relevant and important as a whole!
First we need look at what
music is, its components that define it as a whole. Music is composed of
three main components;
Melody,
Harmony and
Rhythm.
As defined in the Dictionary...
Melody: 1. Sweetness of sound; music 2. The chief theme of a musical composition. 3. A tune; song
Melody is the
most prominent part of music. Melody is the theme of the tune.
Without the melody line, there is no music! Melody is the horizontal line the notes follow on the musical score.
"Three things belong to composing, first of all melody; then again melody; then finally, for the third time, melody." Salomon Jadassohn (Wordsworth Dictionary of Musical Quotations, p. 15)
"Melody is the very essence of music." Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Wordsworth Dictionary of Musical Quotations, p. 16)
Harmony: Agreeable proportion of sound. A succession of chords.
Harmony is when two or more notes are played at the same time. Harmony
adds depth to the melody line! Harmony is the basis for the formation of chords. Harmony is the vertical line where the notes meet on the music score.
Rhythm: The pattern of
tones with regard to their relative time value.
Rhythm is the movement in music. Without rhythm, music would be one, long continuous sound, or an uncontrollable noise.The rhythm is an "
unseen" but required component of the music score.
So we have the basic understanding here, the
melody is the
main component, the
harmony adds depth to this and the
rhythm is the
unseen glue. But in Heavy metal and various other "genres" today the rhythm or the beat literally takes over the music! This is something even the musicians accept.
Here are quotes on Rock music (though today I think we can agree the "beat" is the main component in alot of music genres, Look at Rihanna's Disturbia which is "
Pop")...
"The
rhythm in rock is the dominant part of the sound. The heavy emphasis on the
BEAT is what distinguishes rock from every other type of music." (Frank Garlock, Music in the Balance, p. 32)
"Perhaps the most important defining quality of rock and roll is the
beat, . . . Rock and roll is different from other music primarily because of the
beat."
(Charles Brown, The Art of Rock and Roll, p. 42)
And it is that
Beat which the Flesh really loves!
"The sexuality of music is usually referred to in terms of it's
rhythm — it is the
beat that
commands a directly Physical response."
(Simon Frith, Sound Effects, Youth, Leisure, and the Politics of Rock 'n' Roll, p. 240)
"
Rhythm is the element of music most closely allied to
Body movement to
Physical action. Its simpler patterns when repeated over and over (which is exactly what that metal etc do) can have a
hypnotic effect on us".
(Joseph Machlis, The Enjoyment of Music, p. 19)
You all know this to be true. The beat gets you tapping your foot or hand, and starts you moving,
even without thinking about it. People aways say things like "I really love this beat" or "Give me a good beat to get into and I'll be happy" etc...
Michael Jackson was asked why he did the "groin-grabbing" on stage and he replied: "It's the music that
compels me to do it.
You don't think about it, it just happens. I'm a slave to the Rhythm!"
"We take the kids away from their parents and their environment to where the only reality is the rhythm and the BEAT."
(Hart, Lowell Satan's Music Exposed, p.102)
What does the Bible say about music? Many people say its subjective and that God just "left that part out", or isn't specific. God is
always specific! He doesn't "forget" and He makes
all things
clear to us. So does He say what is "
Christian" music? Of course!
The ridiculous lies about the Bible not giving us clear instructions on the type of music a Christian should listen to can be dead and buried if you obey His word.
Isaiah 23 : 16 "Take a harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet
melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered."
Isaiah 51 : 3 "For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; jothe d gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of
melody."
Ephesians 5:18 - 19 "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the
Spirit;
Speaking to yourselves in
psalms and
hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the Lord; "
God refers to music as
MELODY! So many times it states it in the Bible!
(It looks like Mozart and the Dictionary are right!) According to
God, the
emphasis of Christian music is the
melody — not the
BEAT! So how can people say the Bible gives no instructions on the type of music a Christian should listen to (or produce)? It's all a matter of " preference and culture"? Either you haven't read the scriptures yet, or you
don't care what God has to say within them.
According to the
technical definition of
music — genres like Rock and Metal
aren't even music. And according to the
Lord God — they are
NOT music! Because
No Melody = No Music! (Don't argue with me about this, argue with God and the Dictionary and learned Musicians. This will be more complete as we go on anyway!)
Lenny Seidel, a concert pianist and twenty-five year Christian music scholar, gives this definition of both godly music and rock music:
"True godly music will be composed of
three elements -
all in perfect balance. They are:
Melody,
harmony, and
rhythm."
"The
big beat is
deliberately aimed at exciting the listener. . .There is actually very little
melody, little sense in the lyrics,
Only Rhythm (
beat)".
(Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Aug., 8, 1965, p. 9J)
Rock "music" has no
melody only
fragments of
melody endlessly repeated. Since there is no
true melody, there is
no real harmony. There is
only rhythm. And
rhythm in and of itself is not music." (Leonard J. Seidel, Face the Music – Contemporary Music On Trial, pp. 46-51)
"How does rock differ from jazz and other popular music? One characteristic is its
HEAVY BEAT, which led one critic to define rock as '
music in which the bass drum carries the MELODY?'" (Charles R. Hoffer, The Understanding of Music, p. 503)
Metal (go into whatever sub-genre you like) & rock music and others
emphasizes that
hard,
driving beat. What instrument do you hear more than any other? What instrument is it that
pounds out that
heavy beat? The
DRUM!
The
Bible lists many kinds of instruments:
Psalms 150:3
"Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
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 psaltery and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. "
The Drums are not mentioned
even once! Why is that? The drum was a very common instrument in Egypt and the lands around Israel. Could it be the fact drums are associated with voodoo, shamanism, paganism and magic rituals?
Don't try to say
God left it out or forgot to mention it. He even said "Let every thing that hath
breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD."
The Bible is
God's word, it is
perfect and
infallible.
"The
shaman was the original 'long hair', the first rock star draped in leather, dancing possessed to a
rhythm banged out on
a drum."
(Danny Sugerman, Appetite for Destruction, p. 208)
In Siberia, in northern Asia,
drums are used in
shamanic rituals to heal people. It is believed that the
shaman can communicate with the spirit world through drumming.
(Louise Tythacott, Musical Instruments, Thomas Learning, 1995, p. 37)
"
Pagan dances and
rituals are
always accompanied by the
incessant beat of drums.
Rhythm plays a
major role in these
demonic activities."
(Hart, Lowell Satan's Music Exposed, Salem Kirban Inc., 1980 p.71)
"Bata
drums (
drums used in
voodoo),
sacred to the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Cuba: Their push and pull provided a
template for the inner rhythms of rock and roll."
(Palmer, Robert Rock & Roll An Unruly History, Harmony Books, New York, 1995 p.46)
"The idea that certain
rhythm patterns or
sequences serve as conduits for
spiritual energies,
linking individual human consciousness with the gods, is basic to traditional African religions, and to African-derived religions throughout the Americas. And whether we're speaking historically or musicologically, the
fundamental riffs,
licks,
bass figures, and
drum rhythms that make rock and roll
can ultimately be traced back to African music of a primarily spiritual or ritual nature. In a sense, rock and roll is a kind of '
voodoo' . . . ,"
(Robert Palmer, Rock & Roll, An Unruly History, Harmony Books, New York, 1995 p.53)
Robert Palmer also describes how drums are used in "
voodoo" possession, and the
same drum patterns are part of the basics of rock, metal etc!
"Bata
drummers tap out their toques, or
rhythm patterns, like signals to the
realm of the gods, inviting and enticing them to come on down and mount or possess their horses, or devotees. . .The
specific drum patterns or toques
include some riffs and licks basic to the rock and roll vocabulary."
(Palmer, Robert Rock & Roll An Unruly History, Harmony Books, New York, 1995 p.62)
"My true belief about Rock is this: I believe this kind of music is
demonic . . . A lot of the
beats in music today are
taken from voodoo, from the voodoo drums."
(Charles White, The Life and Times of Little Richard, p. 197)
You can look up the origins and usage of Drums and their
rhythms/
beats yourself.
But scripture left out the drum for good reason as you can clearly see!God didn't "forget" and was not "unclear".
Christian music should feed the
Spirit not the
Flesh!
Ephesians 5: 19 "Speaking to yourselves in
psalms and
hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the Lord;"
Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and
admonishing one another in
psalms and
hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
Galatians 5: 16 "For the
flesh lusteth against the
spirit, and the
Spirit against the
flesh: and these
are contrary the one to the other:. . ."
You cannot serve the
Flesh and the
Spirit! The
heavy beats that
take over and/or
replace the
Melody are
appealing to the flesh as we already mentioned. It is
not serving God, it is
not what God says to Praise Him with in the Bible, so it has no part in "Christian Music". It is
not feeding your spirit, but your
flesh. Christians are to
crucify the flesh!
Galatians 5: 24 "And they that are Christ's have crucified the
flesh with the affections and lusts."
God is
Spirit and you "
must worship Him in
spirit".
John 4:24 "
God is Spirit: and
they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
James 4:4 "know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a
friend of the world is the enemy of God."
The Bible tells us...
2 Cor. 6:17 "Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and
touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you, "
Not only do we "touch" it, we "honor" them by singing their songs.
1 Cor. 14:15 "I will sing with the
spirit, and I will sing with the
understanding also."
Christian music is
not entertainment (I know this is unpopular but it is true). Christian music is
spiritual "food". Real Christian music
admonishes, while
praising the Lord. It is
not for evangelism either!
To say that having Christian messages within non-Christian based music is okay because you can
bring people to Christianity through it very wrong. Not only because it cannot be combined (the
Flesh and the
Spirit), but because Christian music is not meant to be used for evangelism, but for the
Christian community and the
Praise towards God! We are to
Preach to the lost, not lure them in with "
feel-good" corrupt Christian music, which shouldn't be for them anyway!
Colossians 3:16 "Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and
admonishing one another in
psalms and
hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the LORD"
Ephesians 5:19 "Speaking to
yourselves in
psalms and
hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the
LORD;"
1 Cor. 1:21 "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of
Preaching to save them that believe."
"
Music is NEVER used in Scripture as a means of
reaching the lost."
(Tim Fisher, The Battle for Christian Music, p.155)
Christian music should emphasis and praise the Lord, not the music nor the musician!
Psalm 66:2 "Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise
glorious."
You cannot sing to "please men" and sing unto the Lord. It's one or the other!
Galatians 1:10 "For do I now
persuade men, or God? or
do I seek to please men?
for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."
When Christian musicians get too caught up with their
music and just the "right-sound" they lose the plot! When it is more of a "
performance" rather than a Christian message it has lost its Christian purpose and is fruitless. Unless you are not a Christian, then it is supplying your worldly/ fleshly needs.
Music
like metal, rock and all that have that
driving beat are of the
Flesh. That is why the
world loves it, and what the
world loves is
not of God as it is
against Him. The world does
not love holy, spiritual things...
1 Corinthians. 2:14 "But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are s
piritually discerned."
"When Christian music carries the
beat,
instrumentation, and
exact sounds of the lost crowd, it results in
confusion and shame... It is shameful to use musicians who in shallow songs
daze instead of praise, who
entertain instead of train... They transfer the
worship owed to Christ to 'concert hopping', money-hungry entertainers who
have never left, the world far enough behind to stop sounding like it..."
(Shame, a tract by Dr. Hal Webb, pp. 2,4,6)
"Its
admirers want to make
rock appealing by making it
respectable. The thing
can’t be done.
Rock is appealing because it’s vulgar, . . Rock is the quintessence of vulgarity. It's crude, loud, and tasteless."
(Pattison, Robert, The Triumph of Vulgarity, 1987, preface, p.4)
An anonymous testimony from someone on other site (can't link)..
"When I got saved, I loved rock 'n' roll. Nothing – but nothing, was more important to me than rock music!. I played rock guitar – day and night! I did not have a dream or goal besides rock music. And when I got saved July, 30, 1975, at 20 years old, I had NO intention to stop listening and playing rock music. But something changed. . .
I didn't know it then — but "old things are passed away; behold, all things are become New" and that included my music!
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become NEW. 2 Corinthians 5:17
I didn't change intentionally — but within six months, the ONLY music I wanted to listen to and play was real Christian Music. Music that praised my Lord and Savior! My desire and love for rock music was replaced by a NEW SONG — even PRAISE unto our God!
Just as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says (and God cannot LIE - Titus 1:2) "all things are become NEW" and the very FIRST thing God "makes new" is a NEW SONG!
After someone trusts Jesus Christ, according to the Word of God, God gives that person a "NEW song" — and notice that NEW SONG is — "PRAISE unto our God". And also notice — "he has put" — God did it. If someone does NOT have a NEW SONG chances are they're not even saved! All things are become NE especially your music! "
Psalm 144:9 "I will sing a
new song unto thee, O God: upon a
psaltery and an
instrument of ten strings will I
sing praises unto thee."
I can go on further or I can leave it here. The
bible tells you what you
should and
should not listen to or produce. And it is all for good reason, as
God knows best. It goes further into where it is appropriate to play Christian music, and more on appearance (although God does not judge us on what what we look like, He does have certain standards which He explains clearly and for a purpose, there is such a thing as un-Godly apparel).
Thank you for that.
