The Bible and Music

One common theme I picked up on through a lot of the music we listened to in class and from what I listened to outside of class is that these songs/hymns all contain an older instrument, such as the lyre or the shofar. These very basic instruments provided virtually the only beat through the music. The tune is something you would perceive as very different from modern music. The earliest Christian manuscript, “Oxyrhyncus hymn,” contains many of these elements.

From my perspective, while listening to these songs, it reminds me of something you would hear in a movie. I know in lots of military movies I have watched, there are always some sort of music similar to this, especially when it is set in the Middle East. That is just a connection I made.

For me personally, I actually really enjoyed listening to “Greensleeves,” I found it to be very relaxing and the rhythm was to my liking. It is weird to think that songs with no music are just lyrics or poetry. I never really thought about it that way, so it was interesting to think of music in that way.