July 11, 2020 (Friday)
Disclaimer: I am not a musician. Whatever I say about music in this blog may be held against me, but opinions abound and I suppose I have one.
There are 8 notes in an octave. That’s all the individual tones in the world. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do. That’s all there are. There are 88 keys on a piano, but only 8 notes, repeated one octave after the other. Seems to me there are really only 7 notes, because the 8th note is the same note as the first note, just an octave higher.
How many different types of music exist? I found a list of 40, that contained 188 different types of songs within the 40 genres. Then I looked in Wikipedia and found a list of too many to count. How did all these types of music come into being when there are only 8 notes, Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do? Well, actually the notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. What about the black keys on the piano? They can be either sharp or flat, but their identity is still one of the eight basic notes.
Now, here’s what I’m getting around to: there are more than 97 million songs. All of them are made up of eight notes and a limited number of genres. Someone figured out that it would take 637 years to hear 97 million songs.
Have you ever thought of these things before? Or are these the types of things done by crazy people such as I when they are penned down inside their homes, waiting for the “all clear” to return to the streets?
I’m not going to give you the names of the 97 million songs. I don’t even know what they are. But I would like to point out that these 8 notes have given us all kinds of music. What is your favorite kind of music? Personally, I love almost all of it. I can listen to Beethoven, then immediately play myself some Jones. I love the Fifth Symphony and I am enthralled by “He Stopped Lovin’ Her Today.” I can also go from Mozart directly to Merle Haggard.
Most of my blogs feature a song that is or has been popular among Christians.
We have come to an impasse in our choice of songs to sing together in worship services. Some folks love the old hymns, while others prefer the contemporary sounds. I love the old, and I love some of the new, also. But there definitely is a difference. We are in a transitional period. Hopefully, there will come a day when we can sing all of the songs–old and new–together to the glory of God.
Those who prefer the old need to remember that what we call “old” was once new. For instance, the songs of Fanny Crosby, so revered by us as old , were once new to churches, which immediately rejected them as “worldly.” The organ, so much a part of worship services, was once called “the Devil’s instrument” and rejected by churches. Change does not come easily to most of us, especially if it involves things we love.
When Jesus met with His disciples on the eve of the crucifixion, he told them He was giving them a “new commandment.” What was it? It was not, “Sing old hymns,” and neither was it, “Sing contemporary music,” so what was that new commandment? Open your Bible and see what He said. He said, “Love one another.” That commandment is binding upon all of us who claim to know Christ as Savior. It is not a suggestion; it is a commandment.
I don’t know what kind of music they had in the early church, but I’m sure it was different from anything we have today.* Paul commended the singing of “Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs.” I think I have some idea of the 21st century meaning of those words, but what did they mean back then? The issues worth disputing within churches had little or nothing to do with types of music or orders of worship. The doctrines worth defending were true beliefs about Jesus. Paul said little about music in worship, but, it seems to me that he believed methods of worship are not as important as the grace of God revealed to us by the one and only Savior of mankind. If someone says His grace is insufficient, then it’s time to be upset about that. He had strong words to say about those who preached a so-called “gospel” that was in truth a doctrine of salvation by works of man.
We are saved by grace through faith; we are not saved by singing the songs of Fanny Crosby, and we are not saved by singing the songs of our contemporaries. But we can be more than blessed by both.
* Idea of early worship song (“Jesus Must Rise Again”) from 1953 movie, “The Robe:”
Jesus Must Rise Again
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning
We came unto the sepulchre,
And found the stone rolled away rolled away
The great stone was rolled away,
And we entered into the sepulchre
And found not the body of Jesus.
And lo, a voice spake to us saying
Why seek ye the living among the dead, among the dead
For seek not the living among the dead,
For he said unto you in Galilee
The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men
And be crucified and rise again, rise again
The Son of Man must rise again
And lo, Jesus appeared to us and showed us his wounds
And he said unto us there
Go ye therefore
Be blessed and teach all the nations
And I am with you always
I am with you
I am with you
Even to the end of the world.