The Bible and Music

I thought class today was very interesting as we examined other reasons to be more invested in the class, rather than it just being due to its requirement status. Also, I’m considering picking up the saxophone as a hobby and grade booster now. I stopped playing my junior year of high school as I didn’t need the credits then anymore. I’m excited to see what else is in store with this class.

I’m taking this class as part of the core curriculum and was really worried that I would be the only non-musical person in a class full of musicians. I was so relieved to find out that there were all kinds of people in the class, even another biology major! I’m still worried about making my own music because that’s something I’ve never done. I’m not even sure how to use garageband or anything. But everyone in class seems fun and nice, so even if my music sucks I’m sure everyone will be nice about it. I’ve never learned about music and am excited to learn more about the mechanics and how different parts of music come together to make a song.

This morning I walked into The Bible and Music class not knowing what to expect.  To be honest, this was not a class I chose to take, but after this mornings session, I don’t think that I will be disappointed.  I am very excited to learn something new that I would otherwise never have had the opportunity to learn.  I also took the time to listen to the two songs emailed this afternoon, and I am looking forward to discussing them in class on Monday.  Hopefully next week I will have coffee before class.

Today was the first day of class and it was the first class i have had before 9 am. To be honest it was a bit rough. We went over the plan for the semester and the point system is totally different from all of the other ones I have encountered during my time at Butler, so this will be a new experience. I have also never written a blog post before, on my own or for class. So far this class has already exposed me to multiple new things.
This class is the second religion class I am taking at Butler, the other being Religions of the World, my TI credit, which I am also taking this semester. I am interested to see how the classes overlap.

Today was my first day in class for Bible and Music. I think this class could be really interesting. I used to be involved in music when I was younger. I played the piano and flute. I have loss touch with my music playing abilities as I grew older. I am also very familiar with the Bible. I grew up Catholic and attended a Catholic high school. We had a religion class every year and my family and I attended mass on Sundays.

Looking at the syllabus, I was inspired by the “A course load” to get in touch with my music playing abilities. I have decided to try and learn to play the ukulele. One of my friends knows how to play and is willing to help me learn. I am very excited to learn to play because it is something I have always wanted to do. I am excited to see where this class will lead to and expanding my horizons.

Today was the first day of class, which we spent going over the syllabus and talking about the overview of the class. We watched a short video at the end, however Professor McGrath mentioned to me that I could form a post about anything I desired. We did a brief activity in class that involved everyone clapping, however we all tried to maintain the same clapping rhythm that Professor McGrath was doing with his hands. This short little exercise got me thinking about if we all did our own clapping and what the outcome would be with the variety of noises. Instead of focusing on his clapping beat, we could all focus on any pattern and still be listening to the others in the classroom.

After I caught myself thinking about this, I wondered what campus life would be like if we all just blared our music on our phones without using headphones. If I was walking to class, I wonder what my thoughts would be if I heard several different songs playing at once. It certaintly would be distracting at first, yet I could get a better feel of someone if I listened to their playlist. So why do we use headphones? To keep to ourselves and not get distracted from other outside noise? Do we use them to just simply listen and find inner peace?I know one reason I use them is to motivate myself for a workout or to simply chill in my bed with my favorite genre of music. With this class being The Bible and Music, I also thought of it in a church setting. Many churches around the world have choirs or bands that play throughout the service, which requires hours of practice and preparation. What if these choir members and musicians never had to chance to practice their own instrument alone? Instead of going to sing in their own room of quietness with their headphones, they were forced to practice their singing with other instruments playing in the background that may not have the same harmony as what they are singing. Music is a lot about how one interprets it and I believe it would be very interesting to see what life would be like for a day without headphones and privacy in the music world. It just might create new sounds that we never heard before or it may frustrate some who look forward to putting their earbuds in at the end of a long day.

Today, was the first day of class for the Bible and Music. I think this class is going to challenge me to think about music and the Bible in ways I have never thought before. It will be very interesting to see how music is influenced by the Bible. I don’t have much skill in terms of singing/playing an instrument- so I might feel a little challenged. Performing in front of the class is a little nerve racking, too.  I listen to music frequently and am Catholic so I am aware of both aspects of the class. I hope the workload to achieve an “A” will be manageable. Since this was the first day of class, I don’t have a lot to reflect on. I hope to learn a lot!

Yesterday I went to the Across Time and Space in Schrott and I really enjoyed it.  My favorite part was when the Spectra sang the mountains and the wind because they used humming and other techniques that I’m not aware of to create a song that sounded like a wind tunnel in a mountain.  At the end they did a song about the good samiritan (I believed, I can’t remember) and they had two huge solo artists singing with powerful voices that left me in awe.

Last class our song was due.  I set psalm 3-4 to MGMT’s Electric Feel and I found many challenges while doing it.  First, my singer, is an opera major and he didn’t know the song, so it wasn’t EXACTLY what I had planned but it still turned out alright.  Also, it was difficult to have the song flow appropriately like the real song because the psalms do not rhyme.  But I still had a lot of fun and I also learned how to use FL Studio too! (Fruit Loops Studio)

Today I wrote a small paper about Metallica and about how, despite them being grouped in the same category as Slayer and other antichrist bands, they are actually very religious and the complete opposite of an antichrist band.  James Hetfield actually considers himself as a relgious person, which I found very interesting.  I had a really fun time writing the paper.