Author: Benjamin R

Aaron Copland’s “In the Beginning” is truly a work of art in all ways. The way it is able to convey not just the words of scripture, but also the emotion behind it is truly amazing. I have not heard many people who have achieved the same level of emotional conveyance, especially in myself. I… Continue reading The Emotions of Scripture, Revealed

The lesson on Thursday the ninth really hit home a point within me: There are so many other ways to learn than just reading a textbook or listening to a lecture. As we were sitting in the room, listening to the music and singing along, it really spoke out how much these songs are able… Continue reading A New Way of Experiencing

It comes to me as strange the idea of paraphrasing being bad. It’s the student’s dream, you can use your own words, cut out everything you don’t feel the need to share, and can really help any research paper. But after today’s classes I can see that we lose something through paraphrase. While many hymns… Continue reading Lost Meaning Through Lost Words

As we read through chapters two and three, there are a few things that seem to scream at me from within the page. The biggest of which is the variance of the styles of chanting. It amazes me that there are not just multiple ways to chant in different regions of the world, but the… Continue reading Chanting Across the Cultural Boundaries

I have grown up in a house of faith. It’s always been around like a strong, guiding presence in my life. As such, I have been exposed to a vast quantity of songs in the Christian faith, both hymns and contemporary, through my parents. No car ride was complete without the playing of the local… Continue reading A Strange Phenomenon

You never really think about music before written sheet music as we know it. It’s strange, because I’ve been in musical settings for the past 12 years, and sheet music has been a constant in my life. But today, seeing that music written down in a format that contained no staff nor notes was odd.… Continue reading An Odd Format of a Common Theme