Today we talked about how musical creation, whether amazing or poorly constructed, is worth it because what is important is that we are being creative. It is more important to step out of our comfort zone, and maybe even do something embarrassing, than stay in our comfort zone and never try. What we realize is… Continue reading Musical Creation

The popular story of Exodus has been featured in numerous pieces of music. Because of its continuous celebration around Passover, it shows why musicians and artists continue to write and sing about Exodus. “Wade in the Water” shows how the holy water will wash away your sins and bring you healing, as well as keep… Continue reading Exodus in Music

In class today, we talked about the Exodus story and how it has influenced music, and how it has been influenced by music. The story has been able to be popularized because music often accompanies the telling of the story. Because there is often music with it, the Exodus story is very common and well… Continue reading Exodus and Music

The conversation we had in class this week revolving around children’s songs based on the Bible revealed two key themes to me that are relatively consistent throughout many of these children’s songs. First, these songs tend to have lyrics that are very repetitive. Most of the time the context in which these songs are played… Continue reading Children’s Bible Songs

Something interesting I found from the activity of finding children songs that were written from biblical texts that we did relates to the song This Little Light of Mine. What I found interesting about this song is that so many students chose this song to present to the class. It is a very popular and… Continue reading Biblical Children Songs

I remember singing the song “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” in preschool, kindergarten, and daycare; however, I never realized this catchy children’s song originated from the Bible. The song was actually introduced in the nineteenth century entitled “When The Chariot Comes.” The first verse of the original song very nearly reflects that of the… Continue reading She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain . . . Biblical?

After class discussion on October 7, 2021, it dawned on me how much of the song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen is biblical. When I have listened to the song in the past, it has always been clear to me that some lines of the 2nd verse were biblical. “Your faith was strong, but you needed… Continue reading New Meaning to Old Words

As our class took a look at a number of children’s songs this week, I realized just how little about many of the biblical stories we actually teach to children. Yes, there is a word to be said about protecting the innocence of youth and withholding certain details that they can not possibly comprehend. But… Continue reading Protecting the Youth at the Expense of Truth

The last couple of classes we have been discussing a number of Biblical children songs. When I think of these songs I feel as though they are sort of the first exposure children have to religion and the Bible. At a young age, children don’t usually understand what the Bible or the idea of religion… Continue reading Children Songs

A few classes ago we discussed the story of King David and Bathsheba. For me, this is a story that I’ve heard hundreds of times throughout my life in a variety of forms from movies to songs and of course from the original Biblical scripture. Growing up, I saw this story as a sort of… Continue reading King David