And now for something completely different

Just listening to some classical music and felt inspired to write a few ponderings about music in general.

I'm a muso myself and have a few offerings on my Music page if you are interested.

I find the role that music has for us absolutely fascinating. So much so, that I've spent most of my life trying to understand why we love it - what it is that makes some music special for some but not others - the feelings that it evokes in us etc. Its a huge field of study and one that's still quite lacking in any real answers.

I would say that there are basically two types of music - "folk" based, and "art" based, and the differences cross over into all the fields of art in many ways.

Folk based music is all about cultural and community identity. I don't mean hippies with guitars and musical genre of "folk". Its far more encompassing, being music that expresses common values among communities. It's music that provides comfort, meaning and purpose. Through the ages its been the music that the "common folk" could sing together, or the traditions could be passed down through the generations. It's music that everyone can understand, learn easily, sing along with and identify with. It often links with key points in our own journey through life and triggers significant events - good and bad.

Folk music can cover everything from classical music to rock to hip hop to country to metal... whatever. Its not the style of the music. Its the purpose.

Art based music however, is about exploring forms and expression, creating new sounds that stimulate emotions and reactions, that dig deep into our souls to confront the "status quo" (subtle pun intended). Art based music is like the painter who goes beyond the traditional images to purposely challenge emotional paradigms, to draw responses and emotions that we may not be comfortable with, to stretch us.

Of course, these two basic approaches aren't clear cut, and often the boundaries between the two are blurred. A lot of what we might consider traditional classical music is nothing more than folk music, in that it creates a place of structure and comfort from easily recognisable forms, melodies and harmonies, rhythms with tried and proven "clichés" (not in a derogatory sense, but simply meaning well used motifs, phrases, patterns etc)

Modern music is the same. Most of it is just a collection of commonly established forms within certain genres, drawing from well defined boundaries to create music that's comforting, familiar, inspiring and defines and builds a particular community identity.

But there's always those who push the boundaries. Those who feel deeper than the commonality of the "folk" expression. Those who long to explore the full range of passion and emotion that can be expressed through sound and word. These are the people who break the traditions, and yet often the very things they wrestle and struggle to give birth to, become the musical norms for the next generation of "folk" music.

But despite all that, there's always the profound words of John Cleese: "Ooo, I like a nice tune - you're forced to!".

Singing in the spirit

While writing some content for my book, I was thinking about the first time I heard "singing in the spirit" in a charismatic church in the 70s.

It was an incredible experience. I couldn't really hear much, sitting up the back, and the songs were all a bit tacky, but then they started this “singing in the spirit” thing. This was the most amazing sound I had ever heard as waves of random harmonies

went sweeping over the auditorium. I couldn't believe that this could be so wonderful and spontaneous! I'm not sure if it was just because it was the first time I heard it, but nothing else ever came close. It tweaked my musical creativity and my spirit simultaneously – truly awesome.

As I moved into charismatic/pentecostal worship leading this became common place and was something you did to bring the "anointing". I learned all the tricks, but I could also just feel what to do, how the dynamics worked, and found it was easy to bring that elusive anointing.

There is a unique dynamic that goes on in community singing - in ALL cultures. People are united by singing together about common themes, which can be spiritual or social. When you listen to and watch these other cultures there is the same freedom to express joy and admiration as christians feel, and there is the same sensitivity to the dynamic. From wild happy celebration to mystical solemn song and chanting. Now some would say its a demonic copy of the Holy Spirit. But I would say its something built into our nature.

The music and rhythms can touch subliminal thoughts and emotions, so in a christian context we have Jesus as our common focus. The sounds are culturally based however, so what would bring a state of ecstasy for Mongolians would probably send your average Texan running from the room screaming.

I would now dare to hazard that its nothing to do with "anointings" but with our innate ability to find a state of joy, strength, unity and ecstasy through culturally applicable, focused, community singing.

Now this doesn't negate our "praise and worship" times, but it takes away the illusion that we have to do it right for God to anoint it and for some reason think He suddenly turns up when it "feels" right or some appropriate climax is reached.

God is always 100% there, in us and with us, so He ain't going to turn up any more than He is already. But its our focus and unity we feel when we sing about Him together. We switch off everything else and allow our spirit and emotions to express themselves in the music. This is the same for all cultures and has nothing to do with Christian doctrine as such, we are just tapping into a common human experience and using it for enhancing our experience and relationship with God.

This is actually great news because we can relax, without any expectation of some mystical experience determining whether the "worship and praise" was anointed or not. We are free to accept Gods presence in and with us all the time, and that our singing together is for us, its for our benefit, it makes us feel good, and makes us feel good about God. Its natural and wonderful without any need for hype and super spirituality.

So back to the singing in the spirit... Its like mystical chanting in many cultures. It can drift and swirl with rhythm and harmony relevant to the culture. A uniting expression that unites spirits and focuses emotions. And its beautiful, freeing, and its something we can use to enhance our intimacy with God and each other.

I'll continue to work through this and comment more on the spiritual side another time,

Worship??

What do we do about praise and worship?!

Many of you probably know I've been a "worship leader" for about 25 years. I've played with some big names, done the rounds, taught in colleges, done workshops, studied, the whole kit and caboodle (whatever that is!).

Most of this time I have longed to understand the nature of worship, especially in regard to music. There are so many questions and so many factors that come into play:
Music is only a tiny part of worship
Our whole lives should be an act of worship
Is worship an act of obedience or an act of natural love and adoration
What is the psychology of community singing - every culture has it
How does our emotional state relate to worship
Should singing songs in church be considered worship
Should we even think in terms of singing a few songs in a structured meeting being an act of worship and praise

...and the list goes on!

I could give a list of all the correct responses to those points, but they would be responses based on current traditional thought and biblical interpretation.

I want to know the heart of the matter! Yes, I know, I'm probably analysing the whole thing too much and destroying the simplicity of it in the process. So if you just love signing along on Sundays and all that entails, you'd better stop here and go back to whatever you were doing.

Here's something from a worship leaders perspective. When you first start leading worship you are panic stricken that God won't show up, you'll get all the words and chords muddled, and that you'll "quench" the flow of the Spirit. After a while you start to get comfortable with the whole thing and can feel where its going and how people respond to various cues. You settle into the routine. Its just what we do in meetings.

So what do we do at home with God? Are our hearts as open to Him in a meeting/worship context, or are they more open? Can we worship Him in any context, with or without songs and music, especially in our intimate times on our own. Perhaps this is far more important than singing worshipful songs together (not saying we shouldn't).

What if there was no music at our meetings? Would we deem it any less spiritual?

What if we abandoned the whole meeting structure paradigm and just got together once a week to hang out and be friends? Perhaps we could get our teaching on-line, or print something out and hand it around. Or ask someone if they had something neat to share. Or if anyone would like to sing something, or lead us all in singing? Or whatever. Would the church fall apart? Would we all become indifferent to God?

So what am I saying in all this? I think we have formulated "praise and worship" into a particular style of corporate singing that is conducted at meetings and is a prerequisite for God to successfully move in our hearts and prime us before we hear the preacher. We then like to make sure we are in a good space before we go, so sing another one or two before we leave.

This may sound cynical, but I'm not trying to be. For me these are genuine questions and part of my journey into true freedom and allowing Father to break down the walls that divide the spiritual from the natural, to make us fully "integrated" beings, where our intimacy with God is a totally natural part of our lives.

Mins songs

To all you fans of Min's songs. I've put all of the songs we did back in '94 up for listening and download. 


Please bear in mind it was a fairly primitive recording setup and the keyboard was dreadful (to say nothing of the guy over-playing it).

Old demos

Hey boys and girls, I found some old demos I did back in the 80s. You thought the other stuff was tacky!... but it was the 80s after all. I've got a few more, might just post the ones that aren't too embarrassing.

The CCC student project was done as part of the CCC Creative Arts course when I taught there for a while. Students wrote the lyrics and I did the music - I ended up singing this one as the girl who wrote the lyrics couldn't sing. I can't remember who she was so if you are out there and find this let me know!

You'll find it in the Jim's Music tab.

Min's Songs

Min has written some amazing songs over the years but unfortunatley we haven't had a chance to record the newer ones or do justice to the older ones.

I've published one called Draw Me in the Media Player. The recording is live at a Living Waters conference and was taken straight from the mix so its very rough, but it gives you an idea.

I would really love to record Min's songs very soon as we are unsure of the future and I believe she has so much to offer yet. I believe her songs should be out there for all to hear - although I am biased!

Return to Grace

Well, I bit the bullet and finally uploaded the album I did back in 95. Listening to it now makes me cringe, some of the sounds are dated and it waffles on a bit, but then it was made to put on and just chill to. It makes no demands on you and wasn't meant to have catchy melodies. It was just to "meditate" to and hopefully take you to a closer place with Father.

I have never got around to recording newer stuff and spent most of my musical time worship leading, and lately not much of anything. But it's churning around in my head and heart to get back to it and create something far more up to date, unusual, inspiring, risky, soothing and universal, sort of... well, yeah... So as time and resources start to open up you never know what might happen.

I have some old demo suff as well I might put up soon.