Author: mplindsey

Today’s visit by Professor Delvyn Case from Wheaton College (not that Wheaton) was a very interesting experience. I was really grateful for the opportunity to hear from a real composer who was doing something related to the course material. I have met and spoken with one other composer in my life, and both experiences have… Continue reading Delvyn Case Visit

During our discussion of the Psalms and prayers being set to music in class today, it got me thinking about how frequently prayers are made into musical melodies throughout more traditional church services, which is what I am accustomed to attending. Music is a very powerful tool and can be very useful in services. A… Continue reading Musical Prayer and Worship

In class yesterday we talked a lot about romance and how it has its place in the Bible. What I learned, however, is there are very few (if any places) where it explicitly talks about romantic love. This got me thinking about the use of music for telling stories. Obviously, musicians when writing songs about… Continue reading Stories in the Bible

Listening to some of the more modern music in class today really struck me. It made me realize that music truly is a universal and timeless language. It is no wonder why Biblical texts and other sacred texts are frequently set to music. We have listened to A LOT of different types of music in… Continue reading Modern Music

Our topic of conversation in class today was all about more unconventional melodies, scales, and methods of creating a piece of music. I will admit, today’s class did not include some of my favorite music we’ve listened to, it was definitely necessary to learn about. Music is a beautiful thing, and you can never create… Continue reading The Concept of Freeing Music

Meeting today on Zoom and hearing all of the children’s songs was a wonderful reminder of how great a tool music can be. One thing I noticed, that I’m sure we will likely discuss in class, is the common use of repetition. Almost every single song that was presented had some sort of repeating phrase… Continue reading Children’s Music

Listening to a variety of settings of both the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in class led me to a realization about music creation. I grew up in a very devout church setting where I learned a lot of sacred music. In the Divine Service, I am so used to hearing these two songs. I know… Continue reading The Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis

When I was listening to some of Bach’s pieces of passion music, I noticed how they had similar qualities, but yet the overall sound of the music was different. It had me thinking about the different point of views that converge in these sections of the Bible, in regards to Jesus’s suffering and death. There… Continue reading Points of View in Passion Music

During class on Tuesday, we listened to a few musical creations based on accounts of Creation in Genesis. This discussion itself was very interesting and definitely challenged some of my own widely held beliefs, because I was hearing viewpoints I had never heard before. For example, I was never aware that people believe that there… Continue reading Storytelling in Music

When I was tasked with the assignment of setting a Biblical text to music, I assumed it was not going to be too hard. I stand corrected now. I had problems with a few things, but I struggled the most with keeping the Biblical integrity. The Bible, to me at least, is a sacred text… Continue reading Keeping the Integrity