The Bible and Music

Today in class we talked about what makes music from around the world different.  I never realized how much a style of music goes into my view and understanding of a culture.  Prior to our discussion, the best answer I could come up with was that music just sounds like a certain culture.

One of the big differentiators we discussed is language.  This one seems obvious – different countries speak different languages so it makes sense that their music would reflect that.  However, this rule becomes less clear when analyzing what subcategory the music falls into.  For example, we listened to a Psalm sung in Arabic.  I would never have guessed that it was a piece of biblical text being sung, just that the music originated from the Middle East.

The second distinction we talked about was instruments.  Someone mentioned that Caribbean music often utilizes a steelpan drum.  This instrument has a very distinct sound and is not used as much outside of the Caribbean, so when I hear it in music I automatically think the music is from the Caribbean.  However, not all instruments are so segmented to one geographic location.  A guitar, for example, is used to create music across the world.

I think the biggest factor in determining where a piece of music comes from is the general style that is being used.  This could be in the form of a genre or a general tone of the music.  Country music is something that is pretty consistently from the United States.  It has it’s own themes and feeling that distinguish it from other cultural musics.  Reggae is almost always from a Caribbean island.  Country and Reggae music both utilize guitars and are often both in English, but they have completely different styles.

All of this discussion led to the ultimate question: what does Christian music sound like?  Christians can be found all over the globe and some biblical composers do not identify as a Christian.  While Americans generally have a very narrow view what Christian music sounds like, the reality is that it is as diverse as all the different cultures of the world.

In class yesterday we talked about what we wanted to do for the rest of our lives. Professor asked us if we wanted to do something that we are passionate about.  That was a little funny to me, why would any one want to do something that they are not passionate about. But, that made me realize that I am passionate about many things. Some of the things I am passionate about do not give me a pay check, so I cannot make a living off of them. The key is to find something that you are passionate about, and find what pays the bills, and merge the two together. I really want to help others, but I do not plan on being a doctor. So, I can go into business and maybe start my own missionary that goes into 3rd world countries. Another thing that Professor brought up is what happens when you get burnt out on what you are doing. I can relate to that because after a full season and practices, I would always want to never pick up a basketball again. At the end of a season, I would always take a few weeks off, and not think about basketball at all. That break always made me excited for when I did start practice again because I missed playing so much. The same is in a job. If you do the same thing every day, you will get burned out on it. Taking a little time to rest and gain your thoughts, can make you realize why you love it so much and make you want to get back to work.

The “Ave Maria” piece was first mentioned to our class on the 14^th of March. Having sang this song in church and heard it playing on the radio as a Christmas carol, I wanted to know more about the history of this song.

Translated from Latin, Ave Maria means “Hail Mary.” Lyrics to this song also happen to be the words of the Roman Catholic prayer titled “Hail Mary.” The original words to this prayer were written in English, while it is most often sung in Latin. Surprisingly, the song was not written by a priest or member of the Roman Catholic clergy, but rather a portion of Sir Walter Scott’s (1771-1832) poem entitled The Lady of the Lake (1810). In the original, “Scott’s heroine[, named Ellen Douglas,] is praying to the Virgin Mary [after being forced into hiding and very afraid]. [Ellen] opens her plea with the phrase ‘Ave Maria,’ but continues in her own words:

‘Ave Maria! maiden mild!
Listen to a maiden’s prayer!
Thou canst hear though from the wild,
Thou canst save amid despair.’”

Only in 1825 was this poem put to music by composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828), after he used a prayer from The Lady of the Lake using a German translation by Adam Storck. Later published in 1826, Schubert “called his piece ‘Ellens dritter Gesang’ (Ellen’s third song).” Initially not created for use in liturgical services, a Latin version of the song was created in order to make it proper for church choirs and services.

Based on research, I found out Schubert’s original composition was added onto. The opening lines can be seen deriving from Luke 1:28, in which Gabriel comes to Mary on the day of the Annunciation. The Annunciation is when Mary is told she will bear the son of God by the Angel Gabriel. The next part of the Ave Maria can be linked to Luke 1:40-42, where Elizabeth greets Mary and Elizabeth’s child, who becomes John the Baptist, leaps for joy in her womb. Elizabeth exclaims Mary and her baby she is also carrying are blessed, as Mary’s child will become Jesus Christ. Finally, the final portion of the song brings attention to Mary’s holiness for agreeing to God’s plan for her to be the mother of Jesus. The ending of the song includes an appeal for mediation on Mary’s choice to trust in God.

Many composers tried to add on their own rendition of the ending of this song, which is a plea to Mary, in the Middle Ages. The majority of these composers also happened to be poets, a fun insight I found to be interesting. All petitions added as the final part of the song “occur in the same musical genre known as the ‘motet,’ a sophisticated piece of choral music in which the voices sing different texts simultaneously.” Differing petitions of the last part of the Ave Maria include “Filio sis, O dulcis, proprio nostra advocata” or “Be our advocate, O Sweet One, before your own Son of your Womb,” “Natum dulcissimum pro nobis peccatoribus exora, beata Maria” translated to “O blessed Mary, pray to your sweetest son for us sinners,” and “Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis” meaning “Holy Mary, pray for us.” One historian’s thoughts on the addition to the Ave Maria happens to be that composers were trying to make the song a bit more engaging for audiences at this time period.

Through this extensive background analysis of the Ave Maria, I feel much more aware of the process a song goes through in time. As mentioned before in this class, not all music was initially spiritual in nature; the Ave Maria can attest to this phenomena.

Works Cited and References:

http://www.chantcafe.com/2010/12/origin-of-ave-maria.html

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=18531

http://study.com/academy/lesson/ave-maria-lyrics-meaning-composer.html

http://www.conservapedia.com/Ave_Maria

Today in class we started the discussion with what we are passionate about and how we want to connect that with our future jobs. We talked what we would do  if you have already started pursuing your dream job and you realize you don’t want to do it anymore. I found this very relevant to my life because I am in the midst of possibly switching my major. This is a tough decision because I am not really sure of what I am passionate about yet. I am planning to wait and take more classes on my majors and see what I would love to do in the future, then picking it. I feel that once I take a few more classes in different fields of business, then I will find what I want to major in, and eventually find a job that I am passionate about.

Towards the beginning of today’s class, it was asked what are we actually getting out of this class. One of the responses to this question was that it is teaching us to appreciate other styles of music that intersect with the Bible. I thought the activity we did in which we listened to different music styles without knowing the origin helped to showcase this because at the end of class we were asked what Christian music sounds like, but through the listening activity, we were able to recognize that there is no set “sound” of Christian music. The songs that were played for us today were all very different from each other and from contemporary Christian music that is played on the radio, but that does not mean that they do not share the same level of importance to their listening demographics. Overall, I enjoyed today’s class because I think many of us had the opportunity to come to some realizations about the intersection of the Bible and music.

~Alyssa

Even when participating in something that we are passionate about, if we are faced with these activities repeatedly, we may become bored with it. A composer may love making music, but when faced with this task daily, they may become burned out. For this reason, bands, composers, and other artists try to “change up” their material. Artists change their material, not only to keep it fresh, but also to keep themselves interested. If they are not passionate about composing a piece, then they cannot expect their consumers to feel any different when listening. This seems to be the case across cultures. Composers may have a passion for composing music within a certain genre, within a certain country, but could eventually get bored. Would an American composer be able to compose Irish music?Would an Irish composer be able to compose Spanish music? Across cultures, a listener will see both similarities and differences between instruments. Although it would take practice in order to fully understand an unfamiliar instrument, a composer would still be capable of this transition. One of the more difficult tasks would be translating the text. When something is translated, a culture is carried along with it. Rhythms and scales are also key aspects that distinguish cultural music. When a composer becomes bored within their genre, a transition to a different culture’s music could be an interesting activity. Even if a composer has a passion for composing country music, to avoid becoming burned out, it is important to go outside of your comfort level and explore other genres and other cultures.

March, 28, 2017

In class we discussed finding passion in ones job. We easily see this passion often times in teachers, professional athletes, musicians and plenty other professions. It is hard to maintain greatness in any profession without passion. Passion is what wakes you up in the morning when you are tired and drives you to go to work. Some people’s passion for money is enough to get them to go to work, however, without passion that desire to be great at what you do will vanish.

Often times we see musicians change up there musical style to find new passion when they become bored with their current music. For example I’ve seen rappers switch from predominately  hip-hop music to more rnb or even pop. Sometimes artists do this to challenge themselves as they seek to find and reach their full potential. An example of an artist who constantly changes his style is Drake.

Today in class we discussed our passions, and how we can and should utilize our passions in our every day work. For many students, the goal is to graduate Butler and integrate the things they care about the most with a career. This is a difficult task, but not an impossible one. My cousin is graduating high school soon and is conflicted as to what she should major in for college. She is very math and science oriented, but also incredibly talented in the musical realm. She was thinking of combining her love for music and her love for science by going to school for musical therapy. I told her that would be a fantastic idea, and it would be a great way to combine her gifts into something she could study and enjoy. I did some research and found a number of musical therapy programs in Indiana:

http://www.dynamicmusictherapy.com/

http://meaningfuldays.com/services/services-adults/music-therapy/

https://indyschild.com/autism-and-music-therapy/

http://www.opgrowth.com/music-therapy.html

http://www.accessabilitiesinc.com/music-therapy/

http://www.inmusictherapy.com/vlt12776.htm

These programs all aim to help children, and even adults, with disabilities and autism, with their cognitive and social skills through the power of music. The IndysChild website defines music therapy as ” the clinical and evidence-based use of musical interventions to target an individual’s functional needs – including physical, psychological, cognitive and social skills.” This therapy has proven to have immense benefits for people, and it is easy to see why. One does not need to have autism to know that music can change make you happy, more calm, create a safe atmosphere, lower your heart rate, and more. I wish my cousin all the best in her adventures with music therapy, and look forward to see where she goes with helping people through music.

The professor switched gears from talking about passion and artists authenticity to music around the world.

He showed us a song, and we had to guess where it was from. He then emphasized that key markers are not just the language they speak/sing in, but also the instruments. For example, the first song was in spanish, but it clearly was not from Spain because of the presence of the pan flute, so it had to be from some where in South America. I also felt like how they were all singing as well. I do not know how explain it but the tone and mood, were similar to some songs we listened to in my spanish class in high school during our cultural unit.

After we listened to few more songs from other places like Ireland, he concluded on this interesting point: there are similarities from culture to culture because we all originated from a particular area, but distance provides cultures its variation. Some instruments from culture to culture are similar but over time they developed variation as people settled in different areas.

Today we talked about our passions and the risk of having a type of crisis that makes you question your life’s direction and how to cope with it. This made me think about why I chose to be a PA: I want to help people. The issues I think that would make me question my choice, and probably one of my biggest fears, is having to deny someone care because they don’t have the proper insurance, or resources to acquire the care they need. I think this would really make doubt my profession and the system I work for. This could be comparable to what the professor referred to as, “the artists curse”. When artists begin to doubt and lose their passion for their work and possibly lose their authenticity. For instance, money is a very influential motivator to artists to just produce what ever gets them revenue. As a listener, I think sometimes you can definitely tell when an artist does this, in an EP artists sometimes release the most “poppy” songs. For instance, Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You has relatively shallow lyrics compared to his other songs on his new album “Divide”. Songs like Castle on the Hill and Supermarket Flowers, I think embody more of his type work. Shape of You I think was released as way to appeal to a larger population to purchase his album.

Overall, I think that artists can start out genuine, but money can potentially skew their authenticity and passion