THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Because who we are as musicians and who we are as people cannot be separated.
Sean-David McGoran
Tuned In Press Lacey, WA
The Tuned In Musician Because who we are as musicians and who we are as people cannot be separated.
Tuned in Press Copyright 2013 Tuned In Press ISBN: 978-0-9897115-0-0 Printed in the United States of America ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise- without prior consent. Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the Holy Bible, The English Standard Version, Copyright 2001, Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Cover design by Maegan Riley
For more information contact: Tuned In Press, Lacey, WA (360) 688-9911 http://www.thetunedinacademy.org/tunedinpress/
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Scales and Stumbling Blocks
2 Copping Some Licks
3 Tuning In: Meditation as a Discipline
4 Tune in to Scripture as Your Score
5 Tuned In to the Call
6 Tune in to Genuine Love
7 Tune In to the Community
8 Tune In to the Blues
9 Tune in to Justice
10 Tune in to Teaching
Recommended Reading
References
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank a few friends who have been an encouragement and help to me in fleshing this book out: my dear friend, fellow musician, and former teacher Daniel Bowerly for his helpful suggestions, and to my colleague and friend Mike Muender for his encouragement to write as well as his reading and editorial suggestions. In addition, I would be remiss if I did not thank some of the musician- educators that helped shape me into who I am today. To Gail Phillips who built a foundation of music, trumpet, and jazz in me in the Northwest, and to Jerry Bergonzi who convinced me that it was OK to be different, that I don’t need to sound like every other trumpet player. My wife Jenna is both my best friend, biggest encourager, and a fellow musician who knows my struggles to be a musician-educator well. Her patience with me as a husband, father, and fellow musician is beyond expression by words, and without her support, I could not do what I do every day. I would also like to thank my pastor, Dr. Kent Sweatman, and the people of Oak Cliff Baptist Church in Fort Smith that welcomed us into their family when we needed one. Finally, my mentor and friend Ron Shepard, and Dr. Jim Wilson, director of the DMin program at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.
Introduction
Why another Book on Meditation for Musicians? Because what we do as musicians and who we are as people cannot be separated- Barry Green
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN Meditation that Matters and Makes a Difference Some of the world’s finest musicians have written books that either describe or teach ideas, theories, or examples of meditation for musicians. Each of these books offers a certain uniqueness and even some excellent tips on incorporating meditation into musical practice. At the same time, sadly, the majority of them present meditation itself simply as a means to better music, without giving musicians any specific focus for these meditations. Musicians want to be better musicians, to be inspired, and to create new music. These are worthy goals, but if music itself is the highest goal, we are missing the mark on at least one level of what it means to be musicians, a people, and humanity! The meditations in this book will focus on several truths regarding what it means to be not just musicians, but what it means to be a people. Music itself, by definition, is largely dependent upon what the musician muses on; what the musician thinks about deeply or dwells on. Shouldn't meditation for musicians be deeper than just a means to better music? Meditation is not simply a means to better music, although this book will argue that it can and should be a regular part of your musical discipline and art, but meditation should also be a means to moving forward in far more than just your music. This book will start with a premise that renowned musician Barry Green introduces in his book, a fundamental truth: “what we do as musicians and who we are as people cannot be separated.”1 This is true of everything by the way!
1 Barry Green. The Mastery of Music: Ten Pathways to True Artistry. ( New York: Broadway Books, 2005), 4665-74. Kindle Edition.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN What we do and who we are cannot be separated, ever. So the same is true concerning music and who we are. With this premise in mind as an important starting point, this book will look not only at meaningful meditations that matter to the musician on a musical level, but also on a personal, neighborly, and community level. The meditations in this book begin with the reality: what the musician thinks on, dwells on, and meditates on matters—it makes a difference what lies behind and underneath your music.
Meditation that Centers on Truth Tuned In will not begin on a false foundation of a buffet of truths, but rather it will center on truth. When you walk in to a buffet, especially a good one, although there may be all kinds of healthy and substantial items to choose from, if you’re like me you sometimes skip the salad and go straight for the dessert. A buffet of truths is an oxymoron. Truth by definition cannot be subjective; it doesn’t change based on the person. So this book begins on this foundation, and this is where it differs from many other books you may find on the subject. This book begins with the presupposition (or starting point) that objective truth exists. Even my friend the atheist would agree with me on the problem with a buffet of truths: just because there are a bounty of items (or in this case truths) to choose from on a buffet does not guarantee that you will choose well, or in this case that you would choose truth at all! In fact, my friend even agrees with me at least in part on the concept of truth itself. He likes to say: Truth is not like a bunch of puppies in a room, and you get to choose the one you like best, which then becomes your truth. Something is either true or it is false, and a buffet of truths may contain no truths at all! Truth is objective, and
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN Tuned In will begin with this starting point and suggest that we center all meditation on what is true. If you have thumbed through the pages of this book, or even just glanced at the names of the chapters, you have probably already realized this book is saturated with Christian scripture and written from a decidedly Christian point of view. What that means is that this book starts from the understanding that God as revealed in scripture2 is real, and in fact has revealed all necessary truth regarding Himself, His people, and His creation (including music) to humanity through His word. This book will make no apology about starting from the biblical viewpoint, but I am hoping that whether you have thought much about this before, if you are not a Christian, if you reject the Bible, historic Christianity, or maybe even reject the idea of objective truth completely; that you will read on. Why should you read on? If nothing else you should read on because you have come this far and hold the book in your hand! You should also read on because you and I share a love for music, but mostly you should read on because this book teaches an understanding of meditation that is historical, respected, and based on objective truth that brings deeply profound and meaningful purpose to what we do as musicians. Even if you disagree with one or many of the assertions in this book, realize that millions of people the whole world-over, since the beginning of creation, have accepted these as fact, and the majority of the most beautiful music ever created has been written in meditation and reflection
2 Whenever the word scripture or the phrase God's word is used in this book what is meant is the word of God as revealed in the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament known as the Christian Bible.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN on such assertions. Finally, you should read this book because you love music and because you love people even more, even if you do not know or love the Creator. Shouldn't we all be concerned with making music that matters, music that is about more than just entertainment? I certainly think so, and I hope you will share that conviction if you do not yet. So I implore you, read on.
Reading Tuned In I know how busy we all are. People are busy, and musicians are not exempt from the problem and plague of busyness. In fact, if you have a day-job, and many musicians do, you may be among the busiest! Of course, in addition to the busyness of life, family, and work; finding time to practice, write, and even listen to music often becomes scarce. You picked up this book though, which means you are at least interested and likely willing to put forth both time, mental energy, and effort into working on, reforming, re- visiting, or even implementing for the first time ever a meditation discipline into your life and music. Musicians are often extremely disciplined people in the area of their craft. In fact, some of my musician friends are among the most disciplined people I know, so I know you can do this! You can read and implement some or all of the ideas in this book. For your benefit, as well as for the sake of music community, and the glory of the Creator, I hope you do! I wrote this in a way that I hope will make reading easy for you. Chapters are deep, but short. The first couple of chapters will explore the proven effectiveness of meditation. Practical applications of meditation in musical practice and discipline will be explored, a definition of what meditation is and isn't, and finally, a chapter establishing why the musician should meditate on objective truth and
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN reality rather than anything subjective, contemplative, or mystical. I think you will find these chapters worth the read—they will set you up to understand and appreciate why the rest of the book is worth your time and efforts. After establishing these important introductory matters, each chapter focuses on an aspect of life, an important truth or a major area of concern for musicians and offers truth on which to meditate and apply. You may quite easily read each chapter in brief parts over the course of the week, or maybe even in one sitting. At the end of each meditation chapter is a Meditate on This section breaking down the matter in to simple and easy to focus on nuggets of truth. My suggestion is to work on one chapter, or tune in to one truth per day, perhaps even one per week in your initial implementation. As you go through the book, you will be able to build on your meditation as a discipline and become more comfortable engaging in any or all of these meditations in a sitting, and not just in practice, but also in your writing, improvising, playing, and recording. My hope is that these truths will eventually become some of the foundational truths you would draw upon for your regular meditation and practice, but that they will be just the beginning! I hope that after finishing this book you will have tasted the sweetness and refreshment of meditating on truth, and will thirst for more.
Not a Musician? Not to Worry, Tuned In is for you too! While this book is written by a musician and primarily meant to challenge and encourage musicians in the discipline of meditation (especially in practicing, writing, and playing music), this book is really for any artist, especially those involved in the communicative arts. Are you a communicative artist, do you communicate through your
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN writing, painting, or sculpting? Maybe you communicate and tell stories through photography or a screenplay, Tuned In is a book for you too! The principles of meditation in this book and many of the practical applications are tailored with the musician in mind, but could be easily applied in the practice and creation of any art form because they are concerned primarily with timeless truths that transcend any culture and matter to everyone—they are applicable to any vocation. This is meditation that matters; for the musician, for the communicative artist, and ultimately for anyone. So any time you read musician or musicians; feel free to change it to read artist, painter, playwright, or any vocation or craft compatible with the call.3
3 See chapter 5, Tune in to the Call
Chapter 1
Scales and Stumbling Blocks The riches of music are so excellent and so precious that words fail me whenever I attempt to discuss and describe them.-Martin Luther
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN
Before we can dig into what it means to be, tuned in, we must have some kind of framework, some kind of reference by which we will seek to analyze and address our music. We need to consider what it is exactly that we seek to tune in to. For the sake of understanding and simplifying, I will try to break this down as simply as possible. As musicians we practice scales, we memorize scales, and sometimes we may even develop our own scales. The scales that we practice build the foundation for melody creation and composition, harmonic construction (chords), and improvisation. These same scales help us to analyze and understand music better. I am going to suggest that every musician should have some frame of reference which they will use to analyze and evaluate their own music (as well as the music of others). It is best to start by focusing on your own music. For the sake of this book, I am going to offer a starting point. By no means am I suggesting that this is the consummate model or framework from which to analyze music, but at least it is a start. Francis Schaeffer, a brilliant writer and lover of the arts developed what just may be the best scale for evaluating art that I have ever read. Schaeffer suggests four standards of judgment for art or music. Technical excellence, validity, intellectual content or the worldview expressed through the work, and the integration of content and vehicle.4 Now I love Schaeffer, and I am not suggesting his use of the word judgment to be wrong in any way, but I am hoping that he would be OK with me suggesting a slightly different term here instead of judgment. Let us call this a four-step scale by which we can begin to analyze music. If nothing else, analysis sounds a little more musically friendly than judgment.
4 Francis A. Schaeffer. Art and the Bible. (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2006), p.62.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN
A Four-Step Scale: Speakability, Validity, The S Factor, Form and Function
Technical Excellence (Speakability) is important for many reasons, but when considering the music of others, it is even more important. Just because we do not agree with the content of an artist's music or perhaps even the style of their music does not give us permission to dismiss the music as worthless.5 When considering the music of others—like it or not: creative ability, technical excellence, and form are an objective reality and an expression of a Creator who is infinitely excellent and infinitely creative. Schaeffer states simply, “if the artist's technical excellence is high, he is to be praised for this, even if we differ with his worldview.”6 And I would add if the musician has an excellent grasp of style and form, or writes exquisitely well, even if we dislike their music for valid reasons, we should not dismiss the music itself as anything less than what it is: art! Wouldn't we expect this treatment of others? I know I can do better in this area! A rather fundamentalist pastor once chewed me out for listening to Ella Fitzgerald. Ella of all people, a herald of excellence and creativity, and generally even in intellectual content singing primarily the blues or love songs—both of which can be in tune with the Creator and community as we will see. I know this man, and I do not think he meant any harm by it. In fact, I hope he has grown past this in recent years and am inclined to think he has. By the way, I say this not as a slam against fundamentalism in any way. We could easily describe
5 Ibid. 6 Schaeffer
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN Schaeffer as a fundamentalist, one whom I am grateful for even; but I am also convinced that he knew all too well the dangers and the devilishly divisive lies that lay underneath such a response to music. I appreciate much about fundamentalism, but when your view of music denies the beauty of the Creator expressed in creativity and excellence, it fails in legalism and self-righteousness. Such a view is never just between the musical bigot and the music itself; it also expresses a dangerous divide between man and Creator as well as between artists and community. At the risk of overstating the obvious, speakibility is also important because we can't speak without it! Most of us usually do well in evaluating others, and even ourselves based on this component, and this is certainly a foundational and necessary element of music, but if our technical ability or speakability is just not there then we can't really speak! Whatever intellectual content you want to express (the stuff you want to say musically), or whatever vehicle (song form or style) you want to use, you must have the speakability to do it. Sometimes speakability can be hindered by stumbling blocks, and incredibly talented musicians like Kenny Werner have argued well that meditation can be an effective tool in helping to remove or break down some of the stumbling blocks that often stand in the way of technical ability and excellence. We should become so familiar with the language of music and the tools that we use to speak it (our instrument, composition, arranging, etc.) that we can communicate in it from any point or context. This book will examine some of the stumbling blocks that stand in the way of speakability for the sake of moving past them, but your technical ability is on you—this is not a book about technique.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN If you do struggle with technical ability though, don't get angry and throw out this book, or your horn. Do NOT give up, whatever you do. I want you to play, I want you to write, I want you to make music like you never have before. Not only do I want music to pour from your pores, but also I am here to tell you that there could be countless people out there just waiting to hear what you have to say. Write, play, and sing! Your speakability will improve as your drive to speak grows. Most of our issues of speakability on our instrument do not stem from too much difficulty, but a lack of familiarity. Validity is all about honesty. Schaeffer expresses this better than I ever could: By validity I mean whether an artist is honest to himself and to his world-view, or whether he makes his art only for money or for the sake of being accepted. If an artist makes an art work solely for a patron — whether that patron is the ancient noble, or the modern art gallery to which the artist wants access, or the modern art critics of the moment — his work does not have validity.7 We will explore the validity of what we do in Tune in to the Call, but for now, I would suggest that being honest about our validity begins with exploring what it means to be a musician. Intellectual Content (The “S” Factor) will be a key area in which this text will focus on, because it is important and because this is an area that matters! What music says, matters. What music teaches, matters. Everything about music matters. Some of us may not think about this as much as others, but if you don't think that what is said through song matters just watch the blogosphere or the
7 Schaeffer
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN news next time someone writes or sings something that really upsets someone (or some thousands!). As I am writing this, we are still in the wake of the 2012 New Year. This year Cee Lo Green gave a performance of John Lennon's iconic Imagine from New York Times Square and caused quite a controversy when he changed the already provocative lyrics ever so slightly.8 Just look up Cee Lo's lyric change. You will see that the waves moved for quite a while because of this little revision. In case you didn't catch it, the reason the lyric change made any waves at all was because although the change may have only been made with a word or two, it made a fundamental shift in the argument the song makes: an argument about religion. We will explore this step of analysis a good deal in this book because my hope is that you will realize how significant the “S” factor is to your music. The story your music tells—who or what you serenade, and the sermons you preach through song matter because they will be heard. Every note you pen or play is a serenade (a love song) to someone or something (even if yourself), telling a story, or proclaiming some form of message (like a sermon). If you have never been that concerned before about the intellectual content of your music, I would urge you: resolve to be concerned about it now before you are criticized for it. Of course, we may still be criticized for what we say, but let’s at least do it with resolve and purpose! Integration of the Content and Vehicle (Form and function) is an important area, and I think Schaeffer was incredibly shrewd to include this component for consideration. While we will focus primarily on the
8 Alexandra Cheney. "Cee Lo Green Defends His 'Imagine' Lyrics As Controversy Continues - Speakeasy - WSJ." WSJ Blogs - WSJ. http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/01/04/cee-lo-green-defends-his- imagine-lyrics-then-erases-tweets.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN intellectual content and validity, I will address some concerns regarding content and vehicle or the form and function of music. The idea of content and vehicle integration is essentially how well the vehicle fits the content or the message. In our case, this would be like song form, style, orchestration, and arrangement. Does the sound fit the serenade? Does the story tell better through a blues or a ballad? If you are proclaiming a message through song, is the message clear or is it muddled in so much poetry or polyphony that it complicates the point? Fortunately, there have been some solid treatments on this issue, and I would highly recommend many of them. (So be sure to check out the recommended resources section in the back of the book.) For now, my hope is to jump-start a serious conversation with musicians about this four-step scale. By no means will this be an exhaustive treatment, but I hope we can begin some important conversations in the practice room, conservatories, universities, garage bands, church choirs or worship teams, private lesson studios, and symphonies of the world. In addition to these four steps, I want to suggest one more two-part reference point in everything we do as musicians: Creator and Community. Think of this reference point like melody and harmony. Just as much as music cannot exist as we know it without both melody and harmony, so music would not exist, have any purpose, or have any validity apart from the Creator and community. Even a solo monophonic (one-part) melody still exists and emanates from some tonality or harmony (even if it is not present or played along with the melody). The same is true with every note we write, play, or sing. We do not exist in isolation, and neither does music—music lives and breathes for and in community.
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN Obviously, I am writing this book based on the presupposition that a Creator exists. Regardless of what you believe about a Creator or the absence of a Creator, I am hoping that through your reading you will come to at least appreciate and honor this as truth; we have music because a Creator has graciously given it to us as a gift. In fact, even if you were to deny the existence of a Creator who is transcendent or beyond us, certainly you would agree with me that without someone making the music (a creator of music), music itself just wouldn't be happening! We would live in silence if no one existed to create music, and I shudder at the thought! So, in considering the Creator we will seek to tune in to the Creator who has given us the gift of music, and consider what we can know about Him and this glorious gift and calling as it relates to what we do. So why does community matter, and what do I mean by it? By community, I mean everyone else besides us. On a basic and musical level, community matters because if it were only you here on this earth (if there were no community); everything would be a solo, and you would have no audience but yourself! We would also have no other musicians to communicate with or to make music with; it would be tragic. Fortunately, we do have a community in which we live, breathe, and can create music for, with, and in. More than this though, we have to dig deeper into what community is and why thinking about community matters in music; because music was not just given to us as individual musicians, it was given to people. Along with what it means to be a musician, we will examine what it means to tune in to community, what it means to be a musician for and of the people. Therefore, as we move forward we will use the four- step scale and this two-part reference point as a framework for what we will seek to tune in to as musicians. I am also
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN going to suggest that the primary areas we will focus on within the four-step scale, The “S” Factor and Validity have their entire existence wrapped up in Creator and Community. My hope is to challenge you with this thought: your view and understanding of a Creator will affect everything that you do and think which will ultimately shape the intellectual content of your music and what you have to say through song. Your understanding of your role as a musician in relationship to a Creator, and also the community in which you were given life and the gift of music to live among will also ultimately shape the stories you tell, the sermons you proclaim, and even who you serenade through song. How active you are in tuning in to the Creator and the community will largely determine your validity as a musician. Walk with me through this book, and let us see if we can't tune in better, together.
Stumbling Blocks Stumbling blocks can stifle our speakability and creativity, and therefore hinder us from creating, serving, or impacting community. Because of the crippling nature of these stumbling blocks; they must be dealt with. As we study some of the most common stumbling blocks we will also see, however, that most of these stumbling blocks can and should be shattered with the sledgehammer of truth that reveals them to be the sham that they are. Kenny Werner observes rightly that one of the biggest hindrances to the musician’s ability to create beautiful music is fear. Musicians fear many things when it comes to playing music. We may fear a lack of acceptance from those who are listening, musical mistakes (the fear of playing wrong notes or of playing out of tune), the fear of dry or empty music, and if we are improvising perhaps a lack of fresh inspiration. Maybe we fear that we will forget
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN the chord changes, or that the music just won't groove. Werner even suggests that not only are we afraid, but that we've been programmed to be afraid.9 Fear is a stumbling block that while real and often crippling in our heart and mind, has not a shred of bite behind its bark. We will consider how to shatter this stumbling block as we tune in to truth of who we are.
Self-Validation is another stumbling block in the musician's constant need for approval. Performance-based reviews are not exclusive to the workplace, but the sad reality is that people often see themselves as valuable or less than valuable based on what they do and how they do it. For musicians, such performance based self-devaluing is a dangerous and paralyzing discipline to be practicing. As we tune in to the truth, we will explore where music and musicians truly find their value, and why we can kick self- validation and condemnation to the curb.
9 Kenny Werner. Effortless Mastery. (Scotch Plains, NJ.: Jamey Abersold, 1996), 9.
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Chapter 2
Copping Some Licks: Lessons from Some of the Greats There is as much difference between a truth remembered, and a truth meditated on, as between a cordial in a glass—and a cordial drunk down.-Thomas Watson
Musicians often hold themselves back from free flowing creativity and artistry. Struggling to stay focused, stress, fear, and even pride can cause musicians to cripple themselves in all of this stuff. Meditation can be a powerful tool in musical development and in tearing down these barriers. Spending time thinking, planning, and refocusing— getting back to the basics and the natural state of music is a healthy and important reset the could benefit us all. Meditation is far more than just a tool or a way to better your music—tuning in (which I will use throughout this book to refer to meditation) will certainly help with hitting the reset button on your musical discipline; however, meditation can be and is an important part of who we are and who we will become. Kenny Werner (the phenomenal jazz pianist and author of Effortless Mastery) and Barry Green (symphony bassist, educator, and author of The Inner Game of Music and The Mastery of Music) offer some worthwhile and practical ideas about better musicianship, some seriously good licks! In fact, some of these ideas are so practical that any musician would benefit from taking them in to consideration. So, just as jazz musicians often cop licks from their favorites players, this book will seek to cop some licks from some excellent musicians on the discipline of music, and some licks from the history and scholars on the discipline of meditation.
Music as Language Werner begins Effortless Mastery with an observation that music is not as exclusive among some peoples in the world as it is—or at least as it seems—to be in the Western and modern world.10 In many cultures
10 Werner, 9.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN around the world, music is not exclusive to a special class of individuals (musicians) as it seems to be for us. Now, the ego inside of us may resist the idea that music belongs to everybody, and even reject such a statement as a lie. We may think, “Yeah, but musicians are different, and we're supposed to be different. Don't rob us of that!” Believe me, the last thing I intend to ever do is devalue a musician or artist, or to explain away their uniqueness. I love musicians, and I love being a musician, with all its beauty, joy, and frustrations. However, this may be one of those thoughts that causes us to think selfishly: “If everyone can do what I do, then I am no longer me!” Trust me, if your uniqueness and value come from yourself, this might be true, but thankfully, your value does not come from you or your music! The exclusivity of music in our culture often gives birth to the attitude that "some of us have it, some of us don't."11 This is both arrogant and completely incorrect. In fact, it’s just plain wrong! Some people may have more natural ability, or perhaps they have worked more at their craft—music at least on some level is a gift the Creator has graciously given to everyone. Music certainly doesn't have to be as complicated and exclusive as some people have made it out to b e, and sometimes musicians are guilty of making it out to be exclusive—even and perhaps especially in the way it is presented and taught in conservatory, university programs, and maybe even in our private instruction. Victor Wooten suggests that music is a language.12 For sure, we all would agree that music is a communicative art, an art that communicates something. And music also
11 Ibid., 9. 12 Wooten, Victor. The music lesson: a spiritual search for growth through music. (New York: Berkley Books, 2008), 22.
has language-like characteristics, but Wooten's primary concern in making the suggestion is in considering how we learn music. We learn music much like we learn a language. Musicians want to play music well. Wooten brings up what might be an alarming comparison for many of us. Language acquisition begins at birth, and we learn it by immersion. On the other hand, we usually learn music through at least some form of disciplined education involving teaching, practice, and more practice. For the most part however, at least in Wooten's own personal testimony, language may not be learned best so much in practice as it is simply spoken.13 If this is true, then some of us (or many of us) may have been and may continue to go about musical practice completely wrong! The result of this kind of immersion in language and speaking in a language usually produces a natural ability to speak it fluently,14 which is exactly what we want with music. Unfortunately, in music education, we just may not spend enough time speaking the language of music! It is even possible that we have gone about learning it in a way that is less complimentary and effective than it could be. Wooten's sage ideas on music as a language give us all something worth thinking about. Werner writes, "If you can talk, you can play."15 To an extent, there is accuracy in this statement. The problem is that, in some sense, much of the exclusiveness and even teaching of music aimed at making musicians better and more able in their craft has actually paralyzed them with fear—I know it certainly has me at times.
13 Ibid., p.23. 14 Ibid. 15 Werner, 9.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Performance pressure is a problem that I fear reaches far beyond the arts, but it certainly affects artists in a major way. The pressure to build a platform, to constantly build an audience, to be liked by everyone—these are just some of the nagging concerns (legitimate or not) that can actually stifle our creativity. We are breeding this into the arts today with commercial television reality shows that make music and the arts into a commodity. When popularity, marketability, and ability to overpower their opponents in competition are the credentials that make someone successful as a musician, pressure and stress are sure to be a hindering actor in our creativity. Social networking has brought more opportunities for new creative outlets, and it is exciting to see people using this vehicle for important and beautiful creative works. But with social networking integration into everything there is also a constant push for artists to roll out new content regularly. And it doesn’t stop there; we have become accustomed to and maybe even starting believing we need approval or recognition for every bit of content—how many “likes” did it get on Facebook, how many people have shared it or re-tweeted it, how many hits on my blog or YouTube video? . For this reason, I am suggesting that the tuned in musician decide to focus on creating and sharing; serving and presenting instead performing. In fact, Werner observes rightly, "We have been programmed to fear playing. All too often, because of this fear, our relationship to music is doomed to failure."16 The truth is that musicians do not need to be programmed to fear. Everyone is born with an unhealthy fear that often cripples us all! Music is enough like language to consider thinking differently about how we learn it though. Without a doubt,
16 Ibid., 9.
constant immersion in music (playing, listening, and writing) is the most natural way for us to learn the language of music. Understanding this for many of us may mean that our discipline of practicing music may need an overhaul, but at the least, it means intentionally spending time not being overly concerned with practice so much as simply immersing ourselves in music. Whether it is by ourselves or with others, we need to be immersed!
Surrendering Self, Always; Surrendering control, Never One of the most important things we should do often is to reassess our goals and ask ourselves what we want from music. One of the most strikingly true yet painful statements Werner makes is that we just have to let go of the need to sound good.17 Werner is so right on that point. Some of the world’s most proficient musicians have echoed and taught this same principle. If the purpose or the motivating factor behind every note you play or write is simply to sound good or impress others, not only will you beat yourself and others down but you will also miss out on the joy of living out who you have been created to be. Considering the language and immersion factor, needing to sound good is actually kind of a ridiculous and unnecessary concern. If our goal is to speak (musically), then we don't need to be so concerned with sounding good so much as we just need to be concerned with speaking and being heard: communicating. Sure, we want to communicate clearly, but let's face it, good18 is rather subjective and most of the time
17 Werner, p.37. 18 I tell my students all the time that the word good really has little place in writing as an adjective today because there is not an agreeable standard of what is or isn't good (morally, spiritually, artistically). I firmly believe that is true. I use the word here because unfortunately we use the word all the time in our heart and mind, usually in a self or others condemning kind of way. It is almost always
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN an issue of comparison with others, not necessarily an issue of speakability. So there really is a need from the get-go to surrender our desire to sound good and to please others. We must surrender; we must not be committing every bit of our being, our heart, and our energy in to sounding good—rather, we should strive to be truthful, valid, and clear in communicating musically. It’s hard not to care what others think because, come on, admit it— even though it’s selfish, we all struggle with seeking approval from others. But when we quit trying to win approval, it actually frees us to play better! I remember Jerry Bergonzi once sharing with me about the difference between his practice and his playing for a gig. He said that you have to practice, and when shedding scales or doing technical exercises, you work, and work, and work. Then, when you get up on that stage, if you’re still thinking about that stuff, you're missing the whole point. Gig time is not time to be thinking about that stuff, it's time to just blow. This is what we all want, of course, we want to be able to just blow and listen and just let the music flow. This all begins in a sense with letting go of the need to sound good. To reflect back on the music as language idea, consider this: we do the same thing (or at least we aspire to) when it’s time to talk. We just let go and speak. When we learn language and when we teach it to our children, we are teaching rules, fundamentals, and concepts of communication. When you sit down at the dinner table with the family, I hope your primary concern is not for your children to rattle off exercise number three from their grammar book! No, you want to talk with them, you want subjective, comparative, unfair, and even judgmental. My challenge to myself and to us all as musicians- is to stop using it!
them to communicate with you, and you want to hear about their day. I hope that you actually want to hear what they have to say! So, there is a time when we must simply let go, and in many ways it can be helpful for us to let go of the need to sound good even in our practice and immersion, for the sake of learning and becoming more familiar with and immersed in the language of music. Werner calls the goal, or the result of what he sees as properly letting go "the space."19 The basic premise that we should take away from what he has to offer on the space is that we do need to find a way back to that child-like state of relaxed, fun, no-care position with our instrument. Remember the first few times you ever tinkered with a piano and you didn't care one bit how you were sitting, what your finger position was, or even if anyone would like what you played? Perhaps you didn't really even care what it sounded like. You just sat and played, and probably had a blast! Now, here is the beauty and the beast of this premise: you now have technique and chops you never had then (and that's the beauty), but you also have this insatiable need to sound good and impress not just others, but yourself— so much so that sometimes it stops you from free-flowing music (Now that's the beast!) We need to find a way to get into that space (or whatever you want to call it, maybe space freaks you out a little like it does me), and to enjoy all the beauty of music, without the nasty beast. Letting go or surrendering is the first step, which means being willing to screw up, because if we can't make mistakes we will never learn. However, while we do want to surrender the need to sound good, we never want to surrender control in the complete sense. There is a huge difference between the two. Perhaps one of the most dangerous ideas among musicians is the
19 Werner, 77.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN idea of surrendering consciousness and control. This stems from the absurd idea that true creativity can only be achieved by this kind of contemplative mystical state. This kind of teaching has led many musicians down dangerous paths of contemplative spirituality and even to using mind and conscience altering drugs under the goal of reaching some kind of enhanced musical state. Many would suggest that finding your way back to this space begins with emptying your mind of everything, or just sitting there with nothing on your mind and waiting for some muse or some kind of mystical force beyond yourself to give it (the music) to you. Such teaching is quite common among musicians and artists. Sadly, this kind of teaching is nothing new. This often comes from the meditation methods of Eastern mysticism and contemplative spirituality, and in certain streams or traditions of Christianity. But it is by no means the only option for meditation. Tuned in is based on some historical meditation methods that have been in practice for centuries which seem almost custom made for musicians. Such meditation has produced volumes and volumes of magnificent music! This book will primarily focus on this form of meditation which we will refer to as tuning in. So, just as we sought to begin with copping some important licks or ideas about music from some excellent musicians, we will now seek to cop some licks about meditation from some of history's deep thinkers on meditation, but first, let's address why tuning in is so important. Why consider tuning in to something specific rather than just letting go into emptiness or some kind of mysticism?
Werner writes, “As musicians, we have the potential of doing great things."20 The word great and awesome can be grossly over-used today, but I appreciate Werner's use of them. He also answers our question. When it comes to the power of the human voice as well as the musical voice, we really do have the potential of doing great things. Kent Hughes goes a step further and uses the word awesome quite appropriately when he observes that what humanity speaks "has awesome power for good," and he is correct—if we have set apart what we have to say to what is beautiful and true.21 Hughes draws his conclusion from the Christian Bible, Romans 10:14-15, in which the scripture states through the apostle Paul that the Gospel is proclaimed by people, by words, and by mouth. Shouldn't musicians be arrested by this truth, the awareness of this awesome power that our voice is capable of great good, and seek to make our voice captive to that good22 in every way? By extension, the same power for good rests within your horn or piano, your lyrics, composition, or whatever instrument or medium has also become your voice. Your musical voice or instrument can certainly have almost as immeasurable a power as anything that we could ever speak of. It must be said, of course, that the most powerful truth ever spoken (the Gospel) was recorded into words. In fairness then, it would be a little far-fetched to
20 Werner, 79. 21 Hughes, R. Kent. Disciplines of a godly man. (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1991), 1587-93. Kindle Edition. 22 Realize that when Hughes uses the word good he is speaking of good in the only non-subjective way we can use it, to speak of things that point to the only One who is good according to scripture.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN suggest that an instrument could have the same power in voice as a voice that is capable of actually proclaiming the truth of the Gospel. Still, your voice (whether your human, compositional, or instrumental voice) is capable of awesome power for good; and unfortunately, for evil as well. Schaeffer states beautifully: "While creativity is a good thing in itself, it does not mean that everything that comes out of man’s creativity is good. For while man was made in the image of God, he is fallen."23 So while the musician and artist should be excited and encouraged with the truth of the awesome power of the artistic voice, he should also be ever aware of the danger of what the individual and collective voices within the world of music are capable of. In considering and applying meditation as musicians, we should always seek to make our musical voice captive to that awesome power for good. This is why it is so important to have a solid foundation upon which to build an element of meditation into the discipline of music practice, study, and composition. Meditation that is not properly grounded on truth could be unhealthy and unhelpful; any fruit it would produce would be less than pleasing to the Creator who gave us the gift of creativity.
Relax As you will see, this book will decidedly not focus on physical positions, stretching or posture, rather it will focus on what matters most: the subject of our meditation, or what we tune in to. However, one useful physical aspect that will help you with meditation is relaxation. We have to get over ourselves to be less uptight! Whatever it is that you
23 Schaeffer, 35.
need to do to get yourself relaxed (if it is legal, safe, and moral), do that. We don't need to belabor that here, but as you consider and seek to integrate the meditations in this text into your practice, my suggestion is to spend time simply meditating on them first. Let these meditations themselves help you find your most relaxed state. Then, and only when you are relaxed and tuned in, pick up your horn, place your hands to the piano, or prepare to play or write, on whatever instrument(s) you work with. Werner would suggest the goal of increasing your activity little by little in that state. In other words, if you start playing and you begin to tense up or lose the relaxed state, start over again simply in meditation. This is certainly a worthwhile goal, if you can set aside the time to do it.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Licks of Note
These are some tips worth committing to memory and implementing as a regular part of your practice:
When you sit down to play, especially while first implementing meditation into your music discipline, “Don't attempt to control the sound at all! Let it be as ugly as it wants to be!”24
Become as familiar as you can with your scales, chords, melody, and song forms. “The more form becomes second nature, the more it becomes a vehicle for free improvisation.”25 Remember, speakability issues generally stem from a lack of familiarity, not because of difficulty. Realize that things are “familiar or unfamiliar, not difficult or easy.”26 Seek to become familiar with what is unfamiliar and speak it carefully, slowly, and often in practice. When you have speakability you will be ready to speak the language in presentation.
“Learn what you practice, and practice what you learn.” One of the hidden gems in Green's Ten Ways to Mastery is the little list of tips he has on practice. The first point is simple, yet is worth repeating for us all (and reminding ourselves of often):
Don't practice mistakes
24 Werner, 140. 25 Werner, 106. 26 Ibid., 102.
The reality is that many of us practice one passage, one scale, or one riff repeatedly until we get it right. Once we get it right, perhaps we play it again correctly once or twice. Green argues that what we have just done is taught ourselves to play it wrong— perhaps up to ninety percent of the time!27
Realize that Unconscious Mistakes Don't Count
The idea here is that when we focus specifically on one component of the music, like the melody for example, we are not focused on the other components (articulation, tempo, etc.). This is a simple concept, but an important one. The bottom line is that it limits the mistakes we will remember and hopefully repeat. “Whatever you are practicing consciously is what your memory will retain.”28 So if you sit down to work your scales, the first point of focus should be the scale itself (the notes), not the rhythm, tone, articulation, etc. These are all wonderful and important components of the music, we can all agree I am sure. Once you have learned the scale, not the wrong notes, and you have learned to play it correctly more often than incorrectly—or, even better—every time, then you are ready to move on to another area of focus.
27 Green, 1376-84 28 Ibid., 1393-1401
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Learn First, Then Practice What You Learned
Again, Green is excellent at bringing out what should be some obvious points of truth for us all to begin from, but they still need to be said. I wouldn't want anyone who hasn't read his book to miss out. “Learning implies study,”29 he chimes, which we know is true. How often do we sit down with our instrument really just to fumble through something or become familiar with it, to learn? I know I'm guilty of this. The point Green makes is simple, we should study it first. We can do this through a number of methods, but he reminds us to listen, study the music or score itself mentally, or even play through it. If we choose to play through it, we should be careful to be intentional about what we are doing. “You can play the piece very slowly yourself with the sole purpose of learning the sound, line, rhythm, or harmony—not to master the piece or play it perfectly.”30 This is an excellent practical application towards familiarity, which we need so much to have speakability.
29 Green, 1401-10. 30 Ibid., 1401-10.
Practice Away From Your Instrument
Green's third point is really another opportunity to learn first, or to do some serious experiential learning without the possibility of mistakes, off horn, or off the keys so to speak. This is an effective way of getting back to the basics and avoiding all the negative habits we have accumulated with our instrument.31 This idea of practicing away from your instrument may also be one of the best entry points to start with meditation, because being away from your instrument will bring one less activity to the table.
STOP
Implement the STOP Tool for focusing in your practice routine. This idea comes from Tim Gallwey, and the idea is simple:
▪ Stop means to take a break and refresh yourself. ▪ Think is to spend time reflecting on the purpose of what you are doing. This by the way is a key point in our practice time to refocus and revisit our meditation. ▪ Organize is really a reflection and analysis on Green's above points. Am I learning what I'm practicing? Am I practicing what I've learned? ▪ Proceed, back to the page, scale, whatever you're working on.32
31 Ibid., 1417-25. 32 Ibid., 1451-58.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Practice Slowly
Eddie Daniels and Edgar Meyer both implement this technique regularly. “I slow things down so much, it's maybe to the point where I'm playing sixteenth notes as though they were whole notes, and I listen intently to each individual note.”33 Again, this is almost tailor made for coupling meditation with music discipline, practicing slowly will allow for a focus, a relaxed state, and an opportunity to meditate while playing that should open up a completely new kind of practice for us. Meyer continues, “A lot of times when people play fast, they think it is the movement between notes that really makes the difference, but it's not, it's arriving and being at the right place that really creates accuracy in playing a fast passage.”34
Sing!
Sing the music you write and play. Become familiar with it by singing it. Get to know the music intimately enough that you can sing it aloud with your voice. “The first human instrument is the voice. When we hear great violinists, flutists, or even pianists, we often say they are 'singing through their instruments.' Just as jazz can't swing without the beat, music cannot communicate unless it sings.”35 Practically, this means that if we can't sing it, we probably should not play or write it, at least not yet; because we have yet to become familiar enough with it enough for a clear speakability.
33 Ibid., 1468-77. 34 Ibid., 1477-8. 35 Green, 1491-99.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN
Chapter 3 Tuning In: Meditation as a Discipline Being a musician is more than just a hobby, an occupation, or a skill; it is an essential part of who you are.
Most musicians are concerned on some level with their spirituality and their spiritual formation. Many in fact spend years on elaborate quests and even tragically seek out what they think might be spiritual experiences through all kinds of manners, including dangerous drug abuse which has murderously taken some of the world’s finest musicians. All the musicians I have ever met are primarily concerned with their musical formation, that is, their growth and development as musicians, artists, and composers. It is important to realize that our musical formation is directly affected by all the other factors in our lives, and it is directly connected to and an extension of our spiritual formation. Many of the leading texts on the growth of the inner musician have made strong arguments in favor of the claim that meditation is an important part of individual musical formation, or in some cases, perhaps even a reformation. All musicians could benefit occasionally from a repairing of negative musical habits and a reshaping of the inner-musician to play from a comfortable, free, and unhindered space. Meditation as a discipline has been established and employed by many of the world’s finest musicians as a method of finding that space, that center, or that sphere of free flowing music—whatever you choose to call it. Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner beautifully applies meditation to the practical application for the musician, and in many ways I am indebted to Werner for his text. I remember still the day that Werner came to Berklee College of Music and offered a clinic demonstrating his methods and sharing the basic premise of the book. Unfortunately, while Werner's text offers some wonderful starting points and important considerations for the musician regarding the discipline of music itself, it also assumes a mixture of worldviews that make conflicting and false truth claims. While Werner is not a theologian or a philosopher, his text
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN does imply worldview claims and therefore must be considered and carefully weighed against truth accordingly. The meditation exercises offered in books like Werner's presuppose or assume that there is no objective truth in the reality of the source of music, or even the source of life. As musicians, we should apply meditation into our daily practice, but it is important that we meditate on the truth. Werner absolutely deserves credit for making some accurate observations as well as having offered up some excellent practical methods of application for meditation in musical practice and discipline. This text will address some of his helpful ideas presented as potential opportunities for applying meditation. Tuned In will suggest that the musician meditate only on what is true.
Revisiting Meditation Many people become a little weary when the topic of meditation is brought up, and I certainly can't blame them! Meditation as a term or word itself (not to mention meditation as a spiritual discipline) has suffered gross redefinition and manipulation in its teaching today. Think about it: what is the first thought or picture that comes to mind when you see the word meditation ? Do you immediately think of someone sitting cross-legged on a rug in a dark room, burning incense, maybe chanting strange unintelligible sounds? Maybe you think of the local YMCA or fitness club that holds what many are calling contemporary yoga sessions. If that is what came to mind, perhaps if it even makes you a little nervous, or maybe gives you the urge to chuck this book in the trash; let me put you at ease, you will find nothing like that in this book! In fact, you will find little in this book about physical models of meditation, body position—there is nothing about stretching, breathing or chanting. Instead, I
want to focus on the mental aspects of meditation. Edmond Clowney expresses why such things are unimportant in his preface to what is a simple yet beautiful and truthful expression of historic Christian meditation entitled Christian Meditation: What the Bible teaches about meditation and spiritual exercises:
Those looking for a system of Christian yoga will be disappointed. Biblical meditation is distinctive both in principle and in practice. Postures, rituals, and chants are missing from the Gospel of Jesus Christ for good reason. Christian meditation follows its own way in the fellowship of the Spirit.36
The Tuned In Musician will challenge you to revisit meditation itself as a discipline, how you approach music as both a discipline and vocation, and even how you live life. Being a musician, after all, is more than just a hobby, an occupation, or a skill—it is an essential part of your identity. Professor Joel Beeke observes the sad truth that while meditation was originally taught correctly and embraced by Christians as "a core discipline of Christianity," it takes on a negative connotation for many today, especially among Christians. Use the word meditation today and many even in the Christian world immediately think of New Age and contemplative spirituality.37 The reality is that New Age and contemplative would be an
36 Clowney, Edmund P.. Christian Meditation. (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980), Preface, V, emphasis mine. 37 Joel R. Beeke. Puritan reformed spirituality. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2004, 1.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN accurate description of the methods of meditation taught most prevalently today, but it hasn't always been this way. I have been guilty of viewing meditation through a skewed set of lenses, clouded by my own fears and opinions. I am thankful for the scholarship of men like Beeke and Clowney for challenging me in this area and forcing me to revisit history and Christian scripture. One of the primary drives for me personally in writing this book was to force myself to deal with the necessary and important discipline of meditation. A few years ago, I began teaching a few university courses in Spiritual Formation and Christian Life, Faith, and Ministry. There is nothing like teaching a course to send you back to the books. What I found in reading through the Christian Classics intrigued me. Much of it irritated and disturbed me, but some of it challenged and encouraged me. After studying and teaching through many of these works, I revisited Werner’s text, which I had not really read since it was first published. I found myself wondering what it would look like if a musician wanted to make meditation an important part of his musical discipline and life, not a mystical kind of meditation, but meditation focused on truth? How would it look for musicians who would love to try some of Werner’s ideas but don’t subscribe to his worldview? The results of my questions are what led to Tuned In. I hope they help you. Not only is meditation an important and commanded discipline for the Christian, but also a tremendous comfort and opportunity for growth as an individual and as a musician. I realize now that I was missing out on both for years, and I truly hope that you won't make the same mistake. Biblical meditation is a core discipline of biblical and historical Christianity and has much richness, depth, inspiration, comfort, and direction to offer the
musician. Rather than throwing meditation out with the bathwater of New Age contemplative spirituality or mysticism, or dismissing it entirely, soak it up as a sweet opportunity for direction, refreshment, and inspiration, both for music—and for life!
So Long Self An excellent place to start discussing meditation is with ourselves, because we are always in the way of everything (including music)! Werner understands the problem of self, at least on some level: "the highest state a musician can be in is a selfless state."38 He is correct. Music ought to begin and flow freely from a selfless state, and so should everything we do. Werner begins his text by presenting the need for "a quiet mind." He reasons that from that quietness, the musician is able to "tap into the wellspring" of what he calls the "Divine Music within." Werner has made a profound statement here about the source of music that contains truth to it, but still sadly falls short of the truth. Musicians need to be aware of and tuned into the right source, the source of all creativity: the Creator. Musicians must begin with the One who claims Himself to be the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:26), because beginning with any other assumption or position declares Him a liar. The truth is that the Creator does live within every musician and artist that He has made new, and to them He has given a heart to create music for His glory and a heart that obeys Him (Ezekiel 36:26-27). So those who have the Source in the person of the Holy Spirit living within them can and should "tap
38 Werner, 81.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN into the wellspring," but this is not the same wellspring Werner alludes to. The problem with taking Werner's approach is undeniable. If you are not tuned in to the Creator, then you have no such spring to tap into; whatever you may tap into will eventually leave you empty and dry. The last thing that musicians (or anyone else for that matter) need is to thirst for deep, cool, sustaining water and plunge themselves into an empty and bottomless pit only to come up dry! Musicians need to make sure they are tuning in to the Creator, tapping in not to an earthly, limited, and temporary well; but instead tapping in to the unending, eternal, and life-giving waters from which whomever drinks will never thirst again—the Source of all that is good—including music (John 4:13-14). The beauty is, for those who come to Christ with such a thirst, He promises to give not just a drink; but also spiritual refreshment, even eternal life (John 4:14b). Again, Werner brings up an important observation regarding tuning in or meditating: it isn't that easy! Of course, if you aren't tuning in to Christ (the only way to tune in to God), tuning in or meditating is not only uneasy, but will always be unfruitful also (at least in terms of spiritual fruit). On a basic understanding of the mind however, Werner brings up an excellent point for which he deserves credit. Try telling anyone, especially a musician, to quiet his or her mind. Most musicians I know, myself included, would be likely to have a more difficult time quieting our mind the moment someone suggested it! A phenomenal musician himself, Werner is tuned in to the reality of what it means to be a musician trying to quiet the mind in a busy and troubled world:
Artists have trouble getting out of their own way, and therefore must struggle. More likely, they are oppressed by a river of mental and emotional activity. Feelings of inferiority, anxiety, and anxiety jam the airways. The battle is mistaken for a holy war and romanticized by the artist, but the struggle is simply with one's own ego. What should be regarded as an ecstatic act becomes as much fun as paying the monthly bills!39
If this sounds like a description of your own practice or performance troubles, you are not alone I can assure you. The realities of being hung up on all the stuff of the world and all of "one's own ego" described by Werner are certainly a reality for many musicians, and not just musicians, but all people. Before you can tune into the Source however, you must find your way into a selfless state, you must surrender your own goals and agenda.
Tuning In Most musicians love to listen to music. Most musicians want to hear inspiring music; they want to hear new sounds, new arrangements, new voicings, and new rhythms that will permeate their whole being. I know I do! Beyond that, most musicians really want to hear something spectacular in their mind, and then we want to be able to create it. Have you ever thought that you may be standing in your own way? Your ears may have never been trained to tune in! Is it possible that your ears are clogged, that you can't tune in or meditate because you haven't been through ear training yet? Even worse, is it possible that you have completely closed
39 Werner, p.81.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN your heart and mind to the Creator? The truth is, we all start with the same disadvantage; we are born rejecting the voice of truth and the source of inspiration and creativity, as recorded in scripture (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:11). By ears when I say your ears haven’t been trained I don't mean your physical ears, but your heart and mind. Many conservatories and university music programs now have ear training courses designed to train the physical ears to hear chords, intervals, and progressions. Few today however teach the necessity to train our spiritual ears to tune in to the Creator. The good news is that the Creator has created you in His image to create music, and He is able to give you spiritual ears to hear. Scripture tells us that God has literally made the ears of His people able hear (Psalm 40:6), in other words, prior to God's opening them we are all deaf to these spiritual sounds! The ESV translation of the Bible uses the word open to express what God does to make the spiritual ears of His people able to hear, "You have given me an open ear" (Psalm 40:6b), but the English loses a little of the graphic quality of the Hebrew verb here, which literally could be translated dug.40 God digs open the ears of the deaf humanity born rejecting His word. This digging is a necessary, loving, and merciful action because the teaching from scripture is when God digs open our ears, it is a result of His grace working in the life of His people. We are born with deaf and closed ears to God (Isaiah 6:10, Jer 6:10), and in His mercy He opens them. In other words, we are all born with disadvantage! We are all born with a closed heart, mind, and
40 Hughes, 890-94.
ear to God's word; the source of refreshment, inspiration, and direction that we need for music, and for life. One of the first places that you must start before you can tune in then is to have your ears dug open! Musicians, we need to have our ears dug open, and God will do the digging! Hughes observes, "the importance of having our ears dug open comes to us from the lips of Jesus: "He who has an ear, let him hear" (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). We need to read God's Word, but we must also pray that He will blast through our granite-block heads so we truly hear His Word."41
Review Meditation has suffered from an unfortunate redefinition, but meditation is simply a focused reflection on a subject, a person, or a truth. Meditation should always be focused and centered on truth. Musicians need to be tuned in to the truth, and it is by that truth that God will open our hearts and minds (and surely our ears as well) as we meditate on it.
The Muse and the Music: Meditation inspired and feeds the Soundtrack of your heart and mind As musicians we all have varying degrees of training; whether you studied at a conservatory, university, through private studies, or perhaps you were self-taught, many have either lost or have never known the foundation of what music is! The word music itself comes from the Greek language literally meaning: "produced by the Muse."42 The word originally assumed that the muse or the one making the music was
41 Ibid., 890-94 42 Gordon, T. David. Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns: How Pop Culture Rewrote the Hymnal. (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub., 2010), 90.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN paying special and focused attention to something that mattered.43 In other words, what you reflect on, pay special attention to, and focus time on is not just important, it is what feeds you your music, and what will give growth to your music. "Thinking, reflecting, or musing presupposes a subject on which to meditate."44 Your music is a reflection of your thinking and reflection. What do you think about? What do you reflect on? If your music is the soundtrack of your heart and mind (and it is), what does it reflect? Are you satisfied with the soundtrack of your life? King David, who has penned some of the most beautiful and profound lyrics ever composed, offers both an important and useful example for musicians. David wrote, "my heart became hot within me." David's heart became hot this way while he "mused" (Psalm 39:3), while he was meditating!45 Isn't that what you hunger for the most as a musician? Don't we all desire that our heart would be on fire, and to then let the music flow from that white-hot fire? The fire within that David writes about begins with allowing the sparks within to grow through musing, or by meditating on Christ and His word. Mary's hymn (Luke 1:47-55) was the fruit of meditational devotion,46 and what a beautiful hymn it is! Musicians, if we keep coming up dry, if our pen is not producing fruit, perhaps the first question we should ask is not a musical one, but a spiritual one. What is our mediation and devotional life like? Musicians ought to seek God
43 Ibid, 91. 44 Beeke, 86. 45 Ibid, 85 46 Clowney, 36.
in Christ first, and the fruit they seek musically will come as He gives the growth in the heart. Meditation is so much more than just thoughts. In fact, meditation as defined by Christian scripture involves the voice; it is audible in many cases! When David wrote of musing or meditating on the word of God, (Psalm 1:2) the word he used to describe his meditation literally means, "to mutter."47 The musing that David journals about in Psalm 39:3 reflects a verbal, audible kind of sound from his mouth, and included speaking aloud scripture that he had committed to his memory.48 So the tuned in musician should be muttering scripture to him or herself aloud throughout the day, throughout the night, and as you practice, play, or write. As you do, certainly the word of God is able not only to open your ears so you can tune in, but also to set a fire in your hearts!
Meditation: Dangerously Simple yet Simply Delightful The meditations set forth here in this text are intended to set your heart and mind in motion to muttering, chattering on, and reflecting; encountering the person of Christ through His word and in considering and loving the community (the people we have been given the gift of making music for). Each meditation will be focused either directly on the One from which all things that were made were made (John 1:3), or on becoming more like Him and living that out in our life and music in a way that is better tuned in to community. This text will address a few important and essential truths about God, man, and neighbor that every musician
47 Hughes 899-904. 48 Beeke, 85.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN should be tuned in to. Each truth will be addressed, and scripture will be communicated in a way that should foster further reflection and thinking for you in your individual practice, presentation, and composition. The idea is that these meditations will become a part of your musical discipline, but I hope these will just be the beginning for you. By no means are these meditations intended to be exhaustive or set forth as equal to, or as greater than the scripture itself! My hope is that tuning in to the truths in this text would encourage you and light a spark in you, that meditation on these truths would set your heart ablaze with affections, love, and passion, and that meditating on Christ in scripture on your own, as an essential component of who you are would soon consume you. My suggestion is that you read the scripture discussed aloud, memorize it, think on it, and reflect on it: muse on these scriptural truths as you prepare to and as you make music. Finally, turn these truths into prayers, prayers that God would transform you and conform you according to these (His) truths; tune in.
A Warning There is a danger in the simplicity of meditation. The danger is that because it is so simple, we will either screw it up by making it more complex that it needs to be, or we just won't do it. I can tell you that I am guilty of this excuse myself, but it is something I have been on a quest to rectify. I have resolved to make meditation an essential part of who I am as both a musician and an individual. Clowney addresses the simplicity of meditation:
So simple a technique as actually repeating the words of scripture aloud may seem too rudimentary
for one seeking the transports of meditational joy, but there is no better way to begin real meditation. If we are to appropriate the word of God we must begin to use it, and the psalmists sets the example of repetition aloud.49
As musicians, you know the dangers of becoming dull to the simple stuff. How many of us have from time to time set aside and written-off a simple rudiment, perhaps the major scales, it could be any fundamental? Do you spend time repeating the fundamentals of music regularly? Maybe you have given up on them because they are so simple. There are certain rudimentary tasks of music that often go unpracticed because although we know we ought to embrace them regularly, if not in-spite of, but perhaps because of their simplicity, we just don't. We can probably get away with a certain lack of discipline in some of them, just because we have been immersed in them and speaking in the language of music for so long, but the discipline of reading scripture is another story. Chances are if you have been playing music for ten years or more you know your major scales quite well (well, perhaps not F# and C#), but do you know the ways of God and His excellencies just as well? Are you as immersed in true mercy, love, justice, and righteousness, as well as you know your instrument? I can certainly say with confidence and honesty that I am not, at least not nearly as well as I should be. Meditation is dangerously simple, yet also simply delightful. If you have been coming up dry either musically, spiritually, or both, I would
49 Clowney, 24.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN challenge you to let the meditations set forth in this text set a new fire in your heart, and to truly tune in to Christ.
Musing on Music Songs can be a powerful tool for memorization, which can be quite helpful for musing and meditation. Some songs are more hurtful than helpful in this respect, and some are just useless, but songs and hymns that are tuned in to the call are an excellent tool for the musician or anyone in daily memorization and meditation. On the other hand, avoid musing on or memorizing music that is not tuned in to the Creator, community, or the call. Embrace music that is tuned in to the truth and that is helpful.
If a song is helpful in your meditation and consistent with the truths of scripture, by all means, sing it, play it, and soak in it— so long as it helps you tune in.
Tune In: Meditate on This
Jesus is the source of life, and perhaps the most fundamental truth to meditate on as a musician is that truth. "All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3). This includes you, your life, and music itself. Tune in to Him as the source.
As you meditate on this truth, consider completely this beautiful reality. Mutter on this truth, and as you repeat it, seek to live in it as you play your instrument. You have breath to fill your lungs, to blow through your horn, because Christ has given it to you. You have a piano to play because He gave humankind the ability to construct an instrument that expresses the language of music that He created. What a way not only to allow Him to dig open your ears, but to selflessly submit ourselves and our music to the One who has given us life, the Source who has given our music its existence!
Whether sitting at the practice bench in your home, blowing jazz on stage, writing at the piano, or perhaps bringing life to the score of a musical in a pit orchestra or bringing music to life on stage somewhere, meditate on the Lord as Creator. Without Him you would not exist and you would never play a note. Let the meditations of your heart and mind, the lyric of your song, the sound from your instrument speak to that glorious truth of Him as the Source (the Creator) of all life.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN
Chapter 4
Tune in to Scripture as Your Score Sages leave your contemplations, brighter visions beam afar. Seek the great Desire of nations, ye have seen His natal star- James Montgomery
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Many musicians are incredibly talented, driven, and disciplined in the area of music study such as theory, pedagogy, composition, and arranging. Why then is there such a need and market for books that claim to offer such lofty promises as The Mastery of Music: Ten Pathways to True Artistry and Effortless Mastery? A closer look at the titles gives a fairly clear indication of what lies underneath the promises of books like these: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music [Victor L. Wooten], The Inner Game of Music [Barry Green], and the subtitle of Effortless Mastery, Liberating the Master Musician Within. The idea behind these titles is that true mastery (assuming there is such a thing, and it is attainable by us) is something unique and separate from musical discipline itself. Specifically, these titles suggest true mastery is something that requires some form of spiritual involvement, often some mystical or spiritual existence— some force that is beyond self. This quest for mastery is nothing new, and some of the most talented and disciplined musicians have spent their lives—many have even lost their lives—searching for this mastery through various means, some of which are more dangerous and deadly than others. The need for such books is obvious and real. So, what are some of the specific manifestations of inability or lack of mastery that lead musicians on this kind of quest? Perhaps the most prevalent problems mentioned by writings on the subject are fear and the need for self-validation (which implies a lack of value or self-worth).
Fear Musicians fear many things when it comes to playing music. Fear-based playing can cause us to over-think, resulting in stiff playing, silencing, or even getting lost in the music,
all the while missing the music that we know and which should come naturally.50 This kind of fear-based playing usually comes from our own expectations of how we think we ought to sound. The way we think we ought to sound is generally in our comparison to someone else, or even in comparison to ourselves (in our last practice session, last gig, last recording, etc.) Werner states, “whatever comes easily is not good enough because, in your mind, you're not good enough!”51 This is dangerous when it comes to our music and can become a major stumbling block, but it does not have to be. Werner suggests that not only are we afraid, but that "we have been programmed to fear playing."52 Conservatories, universities, judges at music competitions, music reviews, and critics, even popular television shows have likely contributed to some of the fears we have as musicians. People can be brutal. Words hurt, and our feelings can easily be hurt by what people say about our music or our playing. We will discuss who and what audience we should really be tuned in later, but for now consider this: no one needs to be programed to be afraid—we are all born on some level with an unhealthy fear whether we realize it or not. Musicians don't need to be programed to be afraid. In fact, every musician begins with the same hindrance, the same illness, the same problem, and fear is just one of the realities. Fear is just a symptom of a deeper problem. While musicians may have hindrances and problems unique to music, the underlying problem is one shared by everyone.
50 Werner, p.54. 51 Ibid., p.54. 52 Ibid., 9.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Within the heart of mankind exists a spiritual problem that on its own is debilitating enough, but when it manifests itself in selfish fear, it often becomes unbearable and can silence the musician altogether. That musicians read and write books like those mentioned above speaks volumes about this spiritual problem, and fear is just one of the ways it rears its ugly head. We don't need to waste too much time discussing what we are afraid of as musicians; you know your fears and should be honest about them. Most of our fears stem from a desire to please others or ourselves. These are performance- based fears. Want to see these fears crumble before you and free you up to play fearlessly? Forget performance! Now, I realize this is a drastic statement and many of you may think it sounds crazy, but consider this:
We ought to value presentation over performance, because music is more than mere entertainment or amusement; it is an art, and a gift to present.
We ought to emphasize and value the presentation of music and ministry to others through music over performance, because if music is made merely for the sake of amusement and entertainment, it has little validity as art. The beauty is that if we were no longer concerned primarily with performance but were more concerned without our presentation and giving, then we need not be fearful at all. Sometimes people reject a gift, or don't care for it, or some just don't want what we have to share or offer them. Some people may not care for our music. This does not necessarily reflect the value of the gift (the music) itself, and it most certainly does not diminish our value as human beings. We need to come to terms with and allow this to shape us as musicians. People can give freely, receive freely,
and reject the gift of music freely. and that is a tremendously freeing reality. I realize that some of you reading this book may be musicians that serve in a local church or in some kind of capacity that you would consider ministry. The word ministry is tossed around often, but the term itself is often confined in far too small of a box. Consider this, and consider how this might impact the way you live your life, and how you operate as a musician. Ministry is “participating with God and cooperating with His people in serving others to meet their needs, fulfill our calling and bring glory God.”53 Is that not what each one of us is looking for? I realize that some reading this book may not care one bit about bringing glory to God, and while I do hope that you one day will, at the least we could agree on the importance and desire to fulfill our calling? If we want our life to have validity and to be about something bigger than ourselves, shouldn't we be concerned with meeting the needs of others? Consider as you compose, make, and share your music with others that your mission is to fulfill your calling and meet the needs of others, at least. For those who are already at a point where you understand that God deserves all glory and honor, consider that this mission is to serve to His glory in pointing to The Lamb Jesus who died for the sins of the world.
Self-Validation
53 Jim Wilson. “Soul Shaping” http://www.soulshaping.net/from%20entitlement%20to%20ministry.pdf
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN When we place an emphasis on performance, we run into a real problem, a constant need to be validated by our performance and how others receive it. In this case, we are picking up our instrument concerned more about our needs than the needs of others. That need is self-validation. Performance-based reviews are not exclusive to the workplace, and a second party doesn’t always do them, as musicians, we often conduct performance reviews on ourselves! Reviewing and analyzing performance itself is not necessarily a negative thing, but if we emphasize creating or ministry over performance, we will experience a pleasant and productive shift in the focus and fruit of our analysis. The sad reality is that people often see themselves as valuable or less than valuable based on what they do and how they do it. For musicians, such performance based self- devaluing is a dangerous discipline to be practicing. Werner states:
The quality of your playing can determine your self- young and old musicians alike, yielding unsatisfying results. It seems as if you have to play good to be good.
Werner wraps this statement up with an observation that leads to the obvious result of such performance-based self-validation: "Musicians who fall into this trap generally don't enjoy life."54 If you fall into this trap you will never find true happiness because you have made music your god, and you have attempted to make yourself master over it, or at least that's your hope. If music has become your god, or if you determine your self-worth according to your performance,
54 Werner, 30.
your life will likely be a constant fight between you and your music! No one can serve two masters (Matt 6:24). Are you so determined to be your own master that you will fight your whole life and die trying, or will you say so long self and serve the Master whose yoke is light? My hope is that you will hear this challenge and give up music as a god and master, and instead be concerned with the serving the Creator and the community above all else. This is not to say that you should not strive to be excellent at your craft. You should absolutely be concerned with excellence in skill, artistic expression, and in everything you do! The point is that when your abilities, or more appropriately in this case your performance becomes the measure of your life, then you have given your life not to the Creator or to the community, but rather to what you seek to create. In such a case, you make music your god. Besides that, measuring our value based on performance is an untruthful measure. Not all of your abilities will be represented faithfully or fully in one presentation, as they shouldn't be, because this is not the purpose of art anyway. This is another reason we need to be careful not to evaluate ourselves or others based on our abilities in performance; especially if your performance is your focus, because performance most often is not what comes natural, but what is manufactured. Presentation is what happens when we give freely of the art we express naturally. When we submit our need to sound good and the need to find validation in others or in comparison of ourselves to others, we can truly find rest and freedom from this kind of fear. Jesus called people to Himself to find rest (Matthew 11:28-30). Interestingly, Jesus can offer rest to musicians because when we realize that all of our abilities, especially our creative abilities come from Him we have no need to
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN fear, be frustrated, or look to ourselves for the inspiration or strength any longer. The value of any created being (which you are) comes not from the creation itself but from the one who created it. Surrender the need to find your value in your creations (your music), or the need to increase your value— but instead, live in this truth: you have already been created with a value beyond that which you could ever imagine or attain by anything you will ever do!
Tuning Out? Most musicians wouldn't dream of intentionally playing out of tune, yet ironically many have suggested that the best way to reach mastery is to tune everything out! Obviously, these musicians are not suggesting that you tune out by your intonation (as in deliberately playing off key), although I am sure we have all met a few musicians who have done just that! What most musicians want musically is to rid themselves of everything in the way (including fear) and just play. We absolutely want to rid ourselves of fear, which will crumble as a stumbling block when we get over the need to perform and focus on the desire to give the gift of music, but should we really rid our minds of all content while creating or presenting art? The idea in this thinking is to tune everything out mentally with the exception of perhaps some inward focus on self. In fact, this is what many other texts would suggest musicians ought to do, to tune out everything else except yourself; however, this is not only a mistake and another hindrance, but there is also a much better, more fruitful, and infinite Source in which to focus into than self. The idea of tuning out what is in the way is not a mistake in itself, although if you tune out everything mentally what exactly is your music being shaped by, speaking to, or representing?
Remember that music is the fruit of meditation. If you meditate on nothing, what is your music the soundtrack of, what exactly is it expressing? The biggest problem in tuning out is what you are left with when you have tuned everything out: nothing! You are left with nothing but yourself, without even your thoughts on anything significant. If tuning out is your method for creating and you have a gig or a recording session, maybe you have just sat down for your planned time of practice or writing, then what happens if there is nothing there? If there is no inspiration, nothing flowing, or nothing happening— then performance based self-validation leaves you seeing yourself as empty and worthless! This is the tragic irony: if the problem of fear and the need for self-validation are real (and they are); tuning out and tuning in to self is merely a set up to fail and fall right back into the same depression caused by that fear and self- validation. Tuning out and tuning in to self is based on an empty promise—the promise that you can be refreshed, reassured, and refilled with inspiration from yourself. Don't fall for the lie. Many artists and musicians have bought into the lie that they as individuals have infinite capabilities. So many of the texts written on the subject suggest that musicians simply need to tune everything else out and tune into the potential within, implying that the unlimited individual potential is within the self. There is unfortunately no such source that the musician can tap in to by tuning in to self. within ourselves (that isn't also beyond us) that is infinite; we are quite limited and finite. What a tragedy, how disappointing it can be or will be when the musician comes to a realization of his or her less than infinite capabilities! I don't want to set you up for disappointment, I want to encourage you! It is not my intent to tempt you with lofty ideas of infinite greatness, but
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN rather to encourage you to embrace the truth of man's finite abilities and sometimes debilitating inabilities. Rather than tune in to finite self; tune in to Him who is good and infinite. We have no infinite power or source within ourselves alone as humans, but there is an infinite Creator, the One from which all creativity flows, and we can tune in to Him. Wouldn't it be far better to spend time in the presence of the One without which music would not be possible, the One who has given mankind music itself, the Creator from which all good creativity flows, rather than focus and trust in yourself; the self that is neither infallible or infinite?
Inability Musicians must get over and past the self because the musician himself is flawed and imperfect. Imperfection is the underlying problem from which fear and the perceived need for self-validation stem. The biggest mistake we can ever make is to begin with the false assumption that we are capable of anything good on our own, because it denies the essential truth that every man and woman is born totally incapable of good on our own (Romans 3:10, Ephesians 2:1, Hebrews 11:6). Everything good that could ever be created, every beautiful note that could ever be played, every sweet new voice that could ever be discovered does not come from mankind himself, but ultimately comes to us as a precious gift from a Creator who is infinite! Shouldn't the focus of a musician be on Him, the One who has given these gifts? We don't need to tune anything out, except what is unhealthy or evil, but we should always be seeking to tune in to the Creator who has given us life as well as our creative ability. Most composers just want to write. Most horn players just want to blow. This goal of unhindered
musical expression is a worthy objective if the heart behind it is right. Unhindered free-flowing music should not be the first goal though, because if we miss the foundational goal and purpose of music, we miss the point. The purpose should be the focus not just of every beat you write or play, but also of every beat of your heart and every breath that you take. The primary purpose of all creativity is to glorify the Creator, and the second is to serve community, but not to glorify man as creators.
Tuning in to the Creator as the Source So musicians must not start with tuning everything out, but by tuning in to Him who is Good, the Creator, because if not, we are denying the Creator, who has given us life and the ability to create, and the One from which everything good (including music) originates. Every note that we aspire to write or play comes from a Creator who is perfect, a Creator whose creativity and creative power is everlasting and unlimited. When approaching meditation for the musician, there is no other solid foundation on which to start than with the Source of life and creativity. If we begin the search for mastery with ourselves, our music is limited to be just as pigeonholed as we are, finite and constrained. Beginning with ourselves, music is doomed to be just as flawed and fallen as we are. Any discussion on the discipline of meditation, whether for musicians or not, must begin with God. Meditation must begin with Him and for His glory, because He is gracious, good, and worthy, and because meditation on anything or anyone else first would be finite and flawed, unworthy of our meditation in the first place. Practically speaking, if we really want to be in tune, if we really want to create something "good," we cannot even
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN come close without being tuned in to Him who is good. The only One who is good is God (Luke 18:19). Let Him who is good, the Source of life, be your score, not just for your music, but for your life! Scripture should be the first and the last score that musicians study, tuning in to He who is revealed in its pages. My intent is to give you some foundational truths revealed in scripture—just enough to get you started. The possibilities are far beyond what I can share in this book, and I wouldn't want to rob you of the joy of discovering some of them on your own. Sadly, the truth of tuning in to the Creator is either unknown or rejected and replaced by a lie by many who write books on the subject today. In fact, I am thankful for a friend who recently completed her Master’s degree in music because she happened to post a picture on her Facebook page of the books she was reading on the subject often referred to as the inner-musician. What immediately struck me was that all of these books, every single one of them, while offering some wisdom and even some potentially beneficial thoughts and exercises, were spiritually dangerous and based on a lie. Of course, if the promises of these books are based on untruths then the promises themselves are empty and ultimately undeliverable (2 Peter 2:17). All of the books on that list are built on false presuppositions; they base their foundations on different belief systems that are untrue. The musicians who practice such methods would ultimately find themselves not getting beyond themselves, but getting stuck on themselves! One such meditation even calls for the musician to meditatively proclaim and muse on the thought, "I am a master."55 Such a meditation is both a lie (there is but one Master; we are all finite and flawed) and an empty devotion to self. Those who
55 Werner, 122.
seek to be tuned in to the Creator can have but one Master (Luke 16:13, Luke 8:24).
Reprogramming “Musicians are in desperate need of reprogramming.”56 The whole foundation from which we should begin our reprogramming should include this fundamental truth: musicians are creators; but we cannot stop there. Your value as a created being is completely dependent on the source of your creation. To leave your creation up to speculation is to leave yourself, your value, your life, your neighbor's life, your eternity, and your music, all up to speculation and subjectivity! This book begins with the objective truth that God has made man in His image and revealed Himself to His people, and meditation, especially for faithful creation, must start with the Creator. Discussion must start with the Creator, because although we are creators, we are not independent creators. God is wholly independent, which is to say that He needs nothing from anyone (Acts 17:24-25). On the other hand, humanity is not. In fact, independent of the Creator (without Him), musicians can do nothing of eternal value, nothing good by God's standards, nothing that pleases Him (Hebrews 11:6, Romans 3:10). This is not to say that music made independent of, without respect for, or without tuning in to the Creator has no value at all. Please don't misunderstand me on this point. All music has value within itself, and I would argue ferociously against the claim that any work of art could be worthless.57 Music is not mere entertainment, it is always
56 Ibid. 57 Schaeffer, 50.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN something more, yet without a doubt, it is something to be enjoyed. Any true value in music, just as with any created thing, ultimately comes not from us as creators, but from the Creator. This is why if we truly seek to create anything of value we should first be thankful for, love, respect, and seek after (tune in) the One who has given us the glorious ability to create in the first place. To put it simply, "creativity has value because God is the Creator."58 What value, then, does music have if it is not tuned in to the Creator? Music has value primarily in that it points in some sense to the Creator because every musician is able to play, compose, improvise, or sing because the Creator gave them that ability. Music can speak to or point to the Creator indirectly in its organization, beauty, complexity, and simplicity of melody, harmonic structure, rhythm, and arrangement, or directly through intellectual content (lyrics). Additionally, as we seek to meet the needs of others beyond ourselves through music there is value in the mission and purpose of our music. I want to encourage you to tune in to the One who cares about you, the One who gave you life, and the One who will provide you with far more than just inspiration, but also with joy, peace, and eternal life. Man is creative, but man did not create himself, nor did he randomly evolve from an accidental cosmic chemical spill. God created every man and woman, every musician— the entire human race in his image as creative beings. Starting with this staggering, freeing, and empowering truth is essential, and it should also be the source of every musician’s confidence—confidence in ourselves will always let us down.
58 ibid.
Even many of those who do not share a belief in an objective truth and reality share this understanding to an extent. Violinist and professor, Donald McInnes, states the importance of a relationship with someone greater than ourselves like this: “I firmly believe each one of us needs to have a relationship of some kind with a higher being, something that makes me a better person and more humble.”59
You Were Created to be Creative Beginning with the Creator, musicians can understand, appreciate, and by God's power and grace, live out the purpose and character they were created to be. The reality that the Creator has a purpose for your life and the lives of those around you is exactly the truth you should be tuning in to, and it all starts with the truth that you were created. Within that act of creation, there is also an implied purpose behind why we were created.The scripture reads:
Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:26-27).
You were created in the image of God, which means you are a creative being. God created man in His image (Genesis 1:26), and perhaps one of the most important truths regarding the
59 Green, 2622-29.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN image of God (for musicians especially) is that humanity was made in His image as creators. T. David Gordon echoes the observation of G.K. Chesterson, which is so important to musicians and artists: "the human is essentially (not incidentally) a creator."60 Essentially and not incidentally is such an important distinction! Creativity is not just a quality humans have, but humans are "creative in the very center of our being."61 Creativity is a part of who we are. Being a musician is not simply something you do, it is an essential part of who you are. You were intentionally created to be a creature that creates, and everyone has the Creator-given ability to do so! Isn't that freeing? This truth should bring an incredible freedom, privilege, and comfort to your heart and mind. You do not need to be validated as an artist by others (including yourself); the Creator who has given you life has validated you as a creative creature! At the same time, you do not have to feel the pressure to create as if you yourself were the Creator because you are not. You are a created being, created to create. This should relieve the stress and anxiety, which so often stifles creativity. The stress and anxiety comes from our perceived need to be validated by others, to prove ourselves, or even to be considered brilliant. We can appreciate, honor, and glorify the Creator by simply creating our music for His honor and glory as we have already been created to do. Schaeffer penned perhaps the most beautiful summary of what this means to us practically:
Being in the image of the Creator, we are called upon to have creativity. In fact, it is part of the image of God to be creative, or to have creativity.
60 Gordon, 53. 61 Ibid.
We never find an animal, non-man, making a work of art. On the other hand, we never find men anywhere in the world or in any culture in the world who do not produce art. Creativity is a part of the distinction between man and non-man. All people are to some degree creative. Creativity is intrinsic to our 'mannishness.62
As you consider all of this, my hope is that you will see that meditation on anything else other than truth—more importantly, the truth revealed by the word of God in the scripture—is destined to be futile and fruitless. If your hope in meditation as a musician is to rekindle your love of music, to become more fruitful in your creativity, to be refreshed and refilled with passion, to find peace, solace or comfort or even to deal with intense anger and pain—all of this can be found and experienced as you tune in to God and His word. Just as a goal of mastering your music can be a dangerous goal if it means music has become your master, turning to the pages of scripture for meditation with any of these as your primary goal would be wrong as well and likely unfruitful. Such meditation would be unfaithful and unfruitful because it would make God not our object of our love and affection, but the resource to which we would be listening (or perhaps even pretending and partially to listening to) just to get what we want. What we want in such a case has become our idol in place of God. The life-giving and music-filling news is this: God is a gracious and good God. All you will ever need can be found in Him and experienced through the process of
62 Schaeffer, 34.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN spending real, intimate time tuning in to Him in loving meditation and prayer. In each of the following chapters, I will close with a section devoted specifically to scripture and some fundamental truths revealed within them about God, you (and all people), and the world. If you are a Christian, take time now to read, soak up, and understand the first one, and then spend time musing on these truths, sitting at the feet of Christ, tuning in to Him in heart, mind, and with all of your affections. If you are not a believer, I would challenge you to take this time to consider these claims of the God of scripture. God is good, and has given you life. He has given you the ability to create, and He is the infinite source of all that is good! These reasons alone are enough to make God the focus of our meditation, our heart, and or affections.
Tune in: Meditate on this (Genesis 1:26-27, Luke 18:19, Acts 17:24-25)
You Were Created to Be Creative
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:26-27).
We are all created in the image of God and in His likeness, both men and women. This includes the magnificent and important truth for everybody (but uniquely and personally special to musicians and artists) that as God is creative, so you are creative. Creativity is not just something you do and neither is music, these are an essential part of who you are.
You were born with the God given ability to create. You may have learned your musical skills from someone else, or by personal quest and digging, but all creativity that is good comes directly from Him as Creator; tune in to Him.
He is the Creator, the source of all creativity. He created you to be creative as well, according to His purpose and plan! Because of this, you have no need to be brilliant, only a need to be who He created you to be, and to be truthful, faithful, and obedient to Him. You have no need
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN to find your value in others. His act of creating you is validation in of itself.
Infinite and Good Creativity Comes NOT from Us, but from God
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone" (Luke 18:19).
Infinite and good creativity will flow from Him because He is the perfect and holy Creator, the only One who is good. "No one is good except God alone" (Luke 18:19).
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything" (Acts 17:24-25).
You are finite and limited, but the only One who is infinite and unlimited created you. Meditate on this truth and tune in to Him. Focus your heart, mind, and understanding on Him who is unlimited; only from Him does all good creativity flow. Then with your heart, mind, and affections fully tuned in to Him: blow, play, sing, or write. Create as the infinite Creator has created you to do.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN
Chapter 5 Tuned In to the Call: A Royal Priesthood, Melodists of the Majestic Glory Sacred is not just a distinction, but also the purpose and person you were created to be.
Not long ago my wife and I were watching one of our favorite late-night network television shows. My wife was excited when she heard the name of the vocalist who was making an appearance to sing on that night’s show. I had no clue who the singer was, but my wife kindly brought me up to speed. The beautiful young woman was a talented vocalist, and she shared stories about growing into her voice. This particular young lady had cut her teeth as a vocalist singing at funerals and memorial services, which is certainly an honorable and important call for a musician. The young vocalist recalled the most commonly requested song for such an occasion in her interview with the host. The song was a familiar one, a traditional Gospel spiritual. The host of the show responded with a request for her to sing the song for the audience, which would include everyone watching on television and anyone with Internet access or any kind of streaming service—what a far-reaching audience! Frankly, I was a little worried before she even opened her mouth. Why? My concern was that she would not be sensitive to the implicit call to anyone who might sing or play this song. Unfortunately, she proved my concern correct. Funerals and memorial services are special, personal, and often deeply spiritual ceremonies. Christians know the eternal reality and ramifications of physical death. In fact, most people, including non-Christians, if pressed, would agree that a funeral or memorial service is not a time for entertainment through song but a time for remembrance, reverence, and ministry. Considering a call to minister music at such a time the question we should be asking ourselves is: What is the greatest need of those I am here to minister to through song?
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN If you are a musician who is called to minister through song for a funeral, it is NOT an opportunity to sell yourself as a musician, showing off your sweetest runs and belting your highest note. You were called to this service for a purpose, and if you are not sensitive to the call you run the risk of offending the family and perhaps damaging your reputation as a singer! More importantly, you would not only have abused the power of the voice, but you would have also abused the call itself. As musicians there is an ethical and an even greater spiritual responsibility implicit within every call for a musical offering or ministry through song, and musicians should be tuned in to that call. The young lady began to sing beautifully, but the message of the song was lost as she became more focused on her performance. Obviously, only God knows this young lady's heart, and I would not presume to know it. From the perspective of one listening and watching however, there was no sense at all that she held any reverence for this God-man Jesus that she sang about! What was most likely composed as a result of meditation on the compassion, care, and complete sovereignty of Jesus Christ had become nothing but a vehicle for her voice for the sole purpose of entertainment! I am not suggesting that such a song should be performed in monotone or with no musical expression, or with special attention given to ensure there is nothing at all enjoyable about it. As musicians, it is important for us to remember that every song was written for a specific situation and with an intentional purpose, which we should be aware of. The tuned in musician should carefully consider each one of these factors and be faithful to them, beginning with the call of 1 Peter 2:9, the call to a royal priesthood as melodists of the Majestic Glory.
Before we dare even discuss the spiritual ramifications of the call in this particular example, we must consider the composer’s original context and the purpose for the piece from a purely musical perspective. Why did the composer or musician write this piece of art? We would be hard-pressed to find one musician or artist that would not want his or her work to be performed the way it was originally intended. The writers of the spirituals wrote with the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel through song. Proclamation of the truth, whether through song or sermon, is not a vehicle for the voice of the preacher or performer, but a vessel. With every call to perform or minister as a musician, it would do us well to reflect on the purpose for which we were called. This is an important meditation prior to any call as a musician to play. Is your heart aligned with the Creator and the holy purpose of His call? This is a question we must constantly ask ourselves. If a musician is proclaiming the Gospel through song, he or she should be concerned with meditating on this call. The young lady, as talented as she is, even (and especially) if she is a true believer and part of the body of Christ, was likely not tuned in to the call at that moment. If she was tuned in to the call, it was certainly not her only or greatest concern—that was obvious by her performance. Never abuse the call by attempting to make secular what simply cannot be. If you have been called, you have also been set apart. Sacred is not just a distinction, but the purpose and person you were created to be. By the way, it is not as if the young woman had no choice. She could have either declined to sing the spiritual opting for a selection from her newest recording (which would probably be more in line with her purpose for being there), or she could have informed the host that she would love to sing the song but would need a moment to prepare herself. Had she opted for the latter, perhaps she
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN could have even offered an introduction to the song that would have set up the Gospel! What an opportunity! We must ask the question, was the opportunity of the Gospel missed? Of course not, she sang the song; therefore, the proclamations of truth about Christ in the song were still heard. Thankfully, the message is not dependent upon the messenger but on the One who gives the Gospel power! Here is the point we must wrestle with as musicians and artists who seek to be tuned in to the Creator: we must be tuned in not just to the Creator, but to the call, which is made by Him (1 Peter 2:9). Every time you stand up to sing, whether in a sanctuary or a stadium; every time you pick up the horn to blow, either in the club or at a cemetery, consider the call, the content, and the compositional purpose of that which you are about to play or sing. Do not just wait for the moment before you play or sing in front of the audience, but today, as you are learning, practicing, and memorizing the music, meditate on the call. If you are in Christ, regardless of any status with a record label or contract, you are a chosen and commissioned melodist of the Majestic Glory. We could begin with countless passages of scripture from which to meditate on in order to better tune in to the call, but perhaps one of the most simple, striking, and suited perfectly for tuning in to the call comes from 1 Peter 2:9-10:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
We are to proclaim the excellencies of God. Many musicians, myself included, have gone through or go through countless months, maybe even years of searching for an identity. God has chosen you, given you life, and given you an identity and a purpose! If you are in Christ, you are now one of His people (vs.10). The primary point of 1 Peter 2:9-10 is to express the call of God to His people and their consecration (or setting apart) to Himself. In other words, the point is that God has chosen and set aside His people for a special and unique purpose, one that is different from others. Within this new identity as a royal priesthood though, there is so much more, there is a specific and special call. The whole purpose of the royal priesthood is to serve in the honor of God the Royal King.63 You have been commissioned to make melody in His honor, in a holy service! Are you ready to answer the call? You cannot hit the ignore button on this call. What is it that God has called us to do? What is the mission of a musician who belongs to Christ? The answer from 1 Peter 2:9-10 is two-fold: First, because you are a royal priesthood, who you are describes at least in part what you are called to—a special and holy service to honor the God who has called us. Secondly, we are to live out that service, which is to say we are to live out the last clause of verse 9, "to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light" (vs.9d). This also involves making the spiritual sacrifices spoken of in verse 5. If you are in Christ, you have been called to proclaim the excellencies of God, period. This by the way is true not just for musicians, but also for all true believers.
63 J.N.D. Kelly. A Commentary on the Epistles of Peter and of Jude. (New York: Harper & Row, 1969), 98.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN The big question: Secular or Sacred? With the call of 1 Peter 2:9-10 in mind, there can be no discussion of what it means to be tuned in to the call without addressing a question many Christian musicians ask: Is it acceptable for a Christian to be a secular musician? Chances are if you have never read 1 Peter 2:9-10 before, the question has already been answered for you in reading it today. The truth in the text is clear. With the Greek translated into such strong English words as chosen, holy, and for His possession, is there any doubt? The short and simple answer is no; someone who has been separated and sanctified for a sacred calling by God simply cannot be secular in the clearest sense of the meaning because they have already been made sacred (or set apart). The word sacred simply means set apart. In this case, sacred means musicians that are in Christ have been and are set apart to God as musicians called according to His purpose. This does not necessarily mean that every musician who is a Christian is limited or pigeonholed to some unique subculture of Christianity, predestined only to live out his or her calling writing and playing music in the local church for corporate worship. In fact, I hope that if you are stuck in such a subculture, this book would challenge you to break out of that mindset! That is far from what God calls His people to do! This does not mean that when it comes to writing and recording, the tuned in musician must sound like the kind of Christian music that you would hear on a contemporary Christian radio station, nor does it mean that we should be labeled as Christian musicians. I for one cannot stand it when the word Christian is employed as an adjective. What this does mean is that for whatever genre, audience, or even "market" (if you want to think that way),
that you write and play for is this: your music should be tuned in to this call. Gordon delivers a powerful punch against meaningless music, which should cause every musician to consider the ramifications of music meant solely for amusement sake: “Whereas muse is another word for the act of meditating, "a-muse" means the exact opposite of the act of musing or meditating, music that is meant for amusement sake is music with "no serious attention to be given."64 The tragedy of music meant only for the sake of amusement is two-fold. If the musician gives no serious attention to anything in producing the music, it is not only empty and created without attention given to anything worthwhile, but also, most likely, no one will pay any attention to it! Why should anyone listen if you have nothing of any seriousness to say? If someone does listen to your music for amusement sake only or comes away after hearing with nothing but amusement, have you been faithful to the call? What need have we met in ministering with our song, and in what way have we fulfilled our call? Dare we ask one more question in reflection: have we made music to God's glory? When I was studying jazz at Berklee, professor and consummate jazz artist, Phil Wilson always said to the musicians in his Rainbow Band: “If you don’t have anything to say, don’t play.” Those called not only have something to say, but it is a primary reason for which they have been called. There is no secular music for those called, but there can and should be musical missionaries interacting with, infiltrating, and creating music within the secular world.
Out of the Darkness As you meditate on what God has called you to, meditate also on the depths of the estate He has called you
64 Gordon, 91.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN from. The second clause of verse 9 describes what state God has called His people from and to: “that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9b). Again, the scriptures are clear, God's people were called out of the profane and worldly (secular) and into His light which is pure and holy. Even worse and to be clearer, however, God's people were not just called out of a bit of darkness or a reality that was simply less than pure, but out of complete darkness—the absence of light! Meditating on the depths of the sin from which we came and were saved from is an incredibly important truth to ponder and proclaim! Consider this truth, and how it led hymn writer Charles Wesley to pen this powerful and profound hymn, which people still sing everywhere today!
Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray— I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee."65
Make the music that angels cannot. Angels can proclaim that God is holy, holy, holy (Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8), but they can never nor will they ever sing “I have been redeemed!” Angels can tell of God’s glory, but they haven’t lived on the receiving end of God’s forgiveness! Angels have never experienced the depths of darkness and sin and the world; they haven’t lived it. You have been there, and apart from His grace and His calling out to you, you would still be there, but you were called out and made His own, for His purpose and to proclaim His glorious message.
65 Charles Wesley, And Can It Be
Perhaps some of your reading this may still be sitting in total darkness and have not yet been on the receiving end of God's glorious forgiveness. If that is the case, I pray that now, even as you read, the Father would draw you to the Son and convict you by His Spirit. I spoke a few times of that fear and inability we are all naturally born with, it stems from our sinfulness. Every single one of us is born fallen and deserving the judgment of a holy God, and apart from Christ we are bound to that sin. Fortunately, God has made a way. You can be free if you are not yet. I pray that God would grant you a genuine faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came to earth in the form of the God-man. A faith that understands and has experienced the reality that He died for the sins of all who would believe so that you could be made right with Him, and that He rose from the dead on the third day breaking the bonds of death for all who would believe. He is able to save you and to pull you out; no matter how deep in the dark you sit, but apart from His grace, there is no hope. My intent in this book is not to exhaustively discuss the ethical and spiritual obligations of the musician in living out this call. (Which will have to be another book and another time.) However, whether the music that you write and play is purposed for the church, for the community of those called out of darkness into the light, or for the community at large, your music must remain faithful to the call. I will try to briefly offer a few starting points to get you thinking and reflecting on this, but my prayer is that meditating on the call will tune you in to it in a way that you never have been tuned in before. I pray that you would become a melodist or a lyricist that is jealous for the glory of God, to sing His excellencies with depth and devotion. Meditate on the call placing yourself before the mercy of
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN the One who has called you. Lay at the feet of Jesus as you engage Him in His word, and with scripture in your lap and your instrument at your side so that your music is the fruit of meditation: tuning in to the Creator, tuning in to the call.
Writing Responsibly, Respectfully, and Biblically Some of the earliest songs known from history were songs of the people of God, composed after meditating and reflecting on God's character, His personhood, and His works. This kind of music is music with a specific purpose: corporate worship and response to God among His people (the Church). Francis Schaeffer writes:
One of the most fantastic pieces of musical art must have been the song the Hebrews sang after they were rescued from Pharaoh’s army. Exodus 15 gives us that song. Think of this great host of Israelites—hundreds of thousands of people—gathered on the far side of the Red Sea and singing an antiphonal song—a work of art. “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to Jehovah, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea” (Exodus 15:20, 21). Here we have the men singing the stanza (given in Exodus 15:1-19) and the women led by Miriam singing the chorus. Think of the joy of deliverance from oppression, and think of what a scene this music-making must have been!”66
As we have seen, Mary's wonderful hymn The Magnificat was the fruit of meditation on the person and work of God, and some of the most profound music ever written has been.
66 Schaeffer, 41.
Original music, for those called according to His purpose, should be a fruit of faithful study, reflection, and meditation; so that whatever you write or whatever story you are telling expresses the realities of this world, always in light of the Gospel and the God of scripture. In that, the composer, songwriter, or artist must write responsibly, respectfully, and biblically. My wife and I love beautiful, faithful, and rich hymnody or song that expresses the excellencies of Christ and His glorious Gospel. Unfortunately listening to the local Christian radio today, you may be disappointed if you were looking for such depth. While you may find a few such works, there are strikingly more that are noticeably different, and even dry. What's missing? Why is there such a stark difference? If music is the fruit of meditation, which according to scripture it should be, at least for those who follow Christ, then what is the problem with music that lacks the depth and richness of God's excellencies (1 Peter 2:9)? In terms of the depth, richness, and truth expressed in music, music is either a faithful representation of the truth, or it is not. Chances are, those works lacking in depth are lacking because the musician or artist who created them has not spent much time drinking at the well of scripture and meditation. Either such music is mediocre because the artist’s meditation is also, or they are simply being unfaithful to the call. Let's look at it this way: if you spend time regularly, and faithfully meditating on God, His Gospel, His calling, and His works, will it not seep into everything you do and say, especially in your artistic voice? Of course it will! The tuned in musician must write responsibly and respectfully of the Truth and their calling. By this I mean that we must be respectful of the truth that God has
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN revealed to us, and responsible with the depths of love and grace He has lavished upon us. Again, please hear me out, this does not mean that your music must sound like something created in a vacuum of Christian subculture; it must simply be mindful and responsible with the truth. For the royal priesthood and melodists of the Majesty to remain mute when the Lord has spoken, or to restrain our voice from proclaiming what He has revealed would be the height of irresponsibility and disrespect. Tune in to the call and write responsibly and respectfully of what has been given you, and by Whom. Bear in mind, we are called to be truthful and faithful, not brilliant. Uniqueness comes from the Creator, not us. This should be a tremendously freeing truth! Werner observes rightly that one of the biggest problems among composers is the problem of "fear-based composing."67 He is correct in his observation that such fear in writing stems from a need for "self-validation" as a writer.68 This is an important fear to understand, because although this is a totally selfish fear in nature, it is a crippling fear, overwhelming need to be well received, to be liked, to be brilliant. In fact, Werner couldn't have said it any better when it comes to writing (whether speaking of writing music or any other form of writing): "nothing is so inhibiting as needing to write something brilliant."69 The musician does not need to be brilliant; such a feeling is simply a matter of insecurity and a lack of confidence in the call, which is to say that you are seeking value in the wrong person and in the wrong way. Your value
67 Werner, 73. 68 Ibid. 69 Werner, 73.
as a created being is directly dependent on the Creator who created you; you were created in His image (Genesis 1:26). How much greater is your value in that, not only did He create you, but He chose you and called you, and sacrificed His Son for you! God did not do this for the angels that fell into darkness and will remain there eternally (2 Peter 2:4), but He did this for those who would believe on and trust in Him. If you have been called as melodists of the Majesty, then you have been chosen and commissioned already, your brilliance is irrelevant! In fact, He is already well aware of what you are capable of, not only because He knows everything, but also because the capacity you have to create is who you are, and it is who He created you to be (Genesis 1:26). You have no requirement to be brilliant, only a responsibility and divine command to be truthful. Finally, it must be said that the tuned in musician should write biblically, which is to say that he or she must constantly be seeking to address and test every thought, every truth claim, and every expression against the revealed truth of scripture. The responsibility of being a royal priesthood requires an everyday constant reform to the scriptures. Writing biblically means that the tuned in musician is diligent in both meditative scripture reading and disciplined study reading. The tuned in musician is more than just a melodist, but a preacher who preaches through song. Clowney offers some excellent practical advice for implementing this into your writing:
Begin the practice of keeping a daily diary of your meditations. There is great value in drawing together every day your reflections on scripture and on your life in light of scripture. Even brief notes will often serve to give clarity to your
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN emerging insights. Perhaps the key to this practice is overcoming your own inhibitions. You must write candidly-and without seeking to create great literature!70
Afterwards you can and should always go back and if necessary reform, refine, and revise, and who is to say that everything you write is intended for an extended audience? Perhaps some of your reflection and writings would be meant only for you and the Lord. Remember the power that your voice has, and see that it is always faithful to scripture. When scripture convicts you of faults within your own perceptions, reform them according to the Word.
70 Clowney, 94.
Tune in: Meditate on This
You are a chosen race (a chosen people) with a special and unique calling for God's own purpose and possession (1 Peter 2:9a).
Along with that calling, you have a distinct commission to make music that speaks of the splendor of our Creator, music that sings songs of redemption and tells the story of how you have been captured by grace and raised from the pit of complete and total darkness. You have been called out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9b).
Regardless of your past, regardless of any rejection (by anyone), if you are in Christ you are now a part of God's adopted people.71 God chose you as His own and has shown you a mercy that is worth singing and playing about- every day! (1 Peter 2:10).
Finally, creation (Genesis 1:26) and calling (1 Peter 2:9-10) confirm your purpose and position before the Creator. You have no requirement to be brilliant, only a responsibility and divine command to be truthful and faithful.
71 It is important to know as you consider and meditate on this truth that God's people are not bound together by ethnicity, but by the blood of Christ. In fact, God's plan from eternity past has been to choose, call, and set apart a people of every ethnicity; every tribe, nation, and tongue (Ephesians 4:4-6, Revelation 5:9- 10).
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Chapter 6 Tune in to Genuine Love: What the World Needs Now is Not another Love Song Music is just a medium—it never loved you in the first place— and it won't ever love you back.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Spike Lee might have said it best through his character Bleeke in Mo Better Blues when he proclaimed quite powerfully through song: what the world needs now is NOT anther love song! He is absolutely right! In fact, based on the ridiculous, selfish, and unholy definition of love that most of the world believes in, the last thing the world needs is more of such garbage! Lee's song Pop Top 40 is a running commentary on the music scene of the day (1990), but it hasn't changed much. Listen to what he has to say:
Every song is about love, love, love. L-O-V-E. What the world needs now is NOT another love song. The love that’s professed in these songs is sick anyway. Its a lustful, selfish, end-of-the world kind of love. And the lyrics, have you tried to listen to the lyrics?! You've heard em all before!72
The song continues and is quite prophetic in that it is truth telling, perhaps painfully more so than most music on the radio today and certainly more than the music that Lee is commenting on. This song is an indictment against songwriters! We can't blame the customer, record labels, radio stations, or fans—it is the musicians who write these songs! Now, before diving into the depths of what genuine love is, it might be helpful to describe a little more of what genuine love is not. Genuine love is not an “ooey-gooey,” giddy feeling based only on emotion, nor is it purely physical feeling—genuine love is not the kind of love like you hear portrayed in music (even in some popular Christian music). In fact, this is exactly what is so right about Lee's statement, what the world needs now is NOT another love song, if it describes love like this! The world most definitely does not need
72 Pop Top 40, Mo Better Blues, Spike Lee
another love song that portrays love as any of these frivolous, untruthful, unholy, and ungodly forms of emotionalism or lust that masquerade as love. What the world does need is genuine love, people that genuinely love their spouse, children, neighbor, and community. Musically speaking, the world does need love songs, but songs that profess genuine love. Lee's commentary on the love professed in most music today provides a helpful point upon which to see the stark contrast between genuine love and this sick and lustful love that is far from genuine. Genuine love is not a lustful love or a capricious love; it is not without a standard. In fact, genuine love is a holy and certain love as unchangeable and immutable as God Himself; hating everything that is evil as much as it loves everything that is good (Heb 1:10-12, Psalm 102:25- 27, Mal 3:6, Romans 12:9, Amos 5:21-24, Psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5-6). The reason that genuine love is this way is because the standard and source of genuine love is not mankind, nor was it defined by the greatest scholars in this world—the standard of genuine love is God Himself. God's character is both holy and just, and those who genuinely worship Him will ultimately be transformed according to His standard and likeness; their lives reflecting His holiness, justice, and righteousness. One of the ways that this will be demonstrated is in the love (genuine love) that His people display. We need to love genuinely first, and if we do make music that speaks of love, or if we serenade in song, it must be tuned in to genuine love. Now, don't be mistaken, and don't get me wrong, genuine love is not by any means some kind of distant love that is not concerned with, not intimate with, or not involved with others. Quite the opposite is true; in fact genuine love always places the ultimate priority on being
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN personally present in humanity—embracing in a face-to face kind of way; but we must begin with the holy, just, and righteous nature of love to avoid the putrid and poisoning professions that romanticize the love of Pop Top 40. God's love is both tender and merciful (Luke 1:78). Have you ever really stopped to meditate on the person of God, not just as holy, but also as both tender and merciful? Mary certainly did this. In the Magnificat, a consummate example of a beautiful hymn of reflection on the person and work of God, Mary tells of God who is both mighty and powerful (pummeling the proud), yet lifting the lowly (Luke 1:49, 50-51). “God is merciful,” Mary sings! Perhaps the most beautiful proclamation of the entire hymn is when Mary points out that God's mercy is not capricious, it is not a matter of chance. God's mercy is specific, and it is specifically intended for those who fear Him (Luke 1:50). God is all-powerful and almighty, but also tenderhearted and merciful to those who fear Him. For this reason, it is right to start with His holiness and power, but never forget His tender mercy. God's mercy and tenderheartedness are what caused Him to send His Son into this world. What could be more tender than a little baby? It is this side of God's love that reveals a totally contrary definition of love to Pop Top 40 love (and what so many people think is love). Genuine love is unselfish, and even more, it is self-sacrificing (John 3:16)! Just because John 3:16 is the most commonly quoted scripture does not make it any less important, no less profound, and no less truthful. God's love, and all genuine love, is not only unselfish, but self-sacrificing, humanity embracing, and physically present in a face-to-face kind of way. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
This sending of Christ into the world (the second person of the Trinity) was an act of selflessness, which demonstrates another key truth about genuine love: Genuine love is more than mere emotion. Genuine love always moves beyond heart, mind, and self! Dan Phillips writes beautifully:
His love is never a mere emotion, a cheap greeting-card sentiment that spurs no action. Nor is it a frustrated longing that lacks the will or power to deliver. God’s love is a bursting, robust, dynamic rushing river. It moves Him to act, it overwhelms barriers, it smashes obstacles, it topples powers. It throws a vivid, gorgeous, delicious universe onto a blank canvas as a love- gift for His image bearers.73
Scripture offers perhaps the most comprehensive and clear teaching on the marks of a true Christian in Romans 12:9-21. The primary mark, the foundation of these marks is what scripture calls "genuine love" (Rom 12:9-21) and so beginning here, tuning in to genuine love would be an excellent place to camp out for a while.
Tune in to Genuine Love of Creator and Community Music is a medium, and as such, it expresses truths about worldviews, love, pain, suffering, and everything we've discussed and more about the world. We must consider the Creator and community first as we seek to tune in to genuine love. For us to love the medium (to love music
73 Dan Phillips. The World-Tilting Gospel: Embracing a Biblical Worldview & Hanging on Tight. (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2011), p.87.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN itself) more than the Creator or the community is to make the music itself god and more valuable than people and God Himself! To do this is to devalue and dishonor both Creator and community; it robs the music of all validity. On a practical level, just as looking to ourselves as our source of inspiration and abilities, loving our music, or even loving ourselves above all else is not only wrong, but will always lead to an empty and unsatisfying love. Music is just a medium—it never loved you in the first place, and it won't ever love you back. Perhaps two of the most high profile and depressing tragedies of the music world in this decade were the tragic deaths of both Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. Another tragedy is that many people were unsurprised by their deaths. Surely, both Michael and Whitney realized the empty and unsatisfying nature of what is not the greatest love of all, self. The Greatest Love of All made popular by Houston is itself quite possibly one of the greatest serenades to the love of self ever written:
The greatest love of all is happening to me. I found the greatest love of all inside of me. The greatest love of all is easy to achieve. Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all.74
Hear me out please, the last thing that I want for you, for me, or for any musician is to wind up in deep depression, or worse! As we've discussed so many times already, we must get over ourselves. Self-loathing and self- love (if loving self over others as a greatest kind of love) are equally dangerous. Instead, we need to tune in to genuine love, of Creator, and community.
74 Michael Masser and Linda Creed, Greatest Love
Singing in Truth about Love Do not think that I am suggesting by any means that you should not sing or write songs about love, either of God, or of genuine love in or for people. On the contrary, I beg that you would! I beg that you would sing and play of the love of God; lavishly lyricizing the proud pummeling, tender and merciful, self-sacrificing, obstacle smashing, ever-present covenant loving and faithful God! Serenade the One you love, serenade your husband or wife; so long as it is clear you are in fact serenading your husband or wife in a pure and genuine love kind of way (remember that genuine love is a love just like God's love, and it hates evil). This is an issue worth mentioning; however, we will address concerns for teaching music in Tune in to Teaching, but there are some important considerations when singing love songs or serenades. Who are we to serenade? We should serenade those who we can and do love genuinely. I don't intend to spend too much time on this, but there are some worthwhile points for consideration on who should not be singing or playing such a serenade, as well as whom we should not to be serenading. Young boys and girls who have never been in a serious, genuine, loving marriage clearly ought not to be serenading anyone in the way that is only intended for their husband or wife. Married men and women obviously don't need to be serenading anyone other than their husband or wife, and even then, it is worth considering whether it has validity and appropriateness in sharing, performing, or for the listening of anyone else other than his or her husband or wife. Another important warning: while Christ often demonstrated love in a real physical way, even touching the leper; Christ's glorified body is now risen and present with the Father (and the Father has no body). Because of this it can be confusing and even untruthful to portray God's love
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN today in anthropomorphic terms in song, describing God's love with human physical characteristics (God is holding me in His arms, He touches me in the morning, etc). Of course the Psalmist did tell of feeling the hand of God upon Him, so please don't think that I deny that or realize that God's presence is very real—but the language the Psalmist used made it clear he was speaking metaphorically about what God was doing spiritually. Songwriters and musicians certainly can and should use metaphors, we just need to be careful that our metaphors will in fact be perceived as metaphors, or perhaps in some cases it may be best for us not to use them at all. Tune in to genuine love.
The Call to Love Genuinely Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his
head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. -Romans 12:9-21 This text offers such richness and important truths about God and His character, as well as how it is to be revealed in us (how we are to love) that this just might be one of the most important passages of scripture to be meditated on and discussed in this book. By no means is this intended to be exhaustive, but my hope is that this would start a fire in your heart to love genuinely through life and lyric in ways that you never have before. For an in-depth study of Romans 12:9-21, please see the suggested resources in the back of the book. In this chapter, we will focus on genuine love itself. An application for loving community will be addressed in Tune in to the Community. To begin with (vs.9), genuine love is described as a love that is just like God's love. This is significant because we can only love in such a way if we have first been changed by God’s love and are therefore indwelt with it. A love that is like God's love actually includes hatred of evil. This may be striking for you if you've never heard or read this before, but it is in fact quite true. God's love is perfect, which means that God's love hates everything that is evil, but holds on to and cherishes all that is good. This means that if we are to love genuinely we do not have the option of tolerating that which is evil or that which God hates. I realize that tolerance is wildly popular and even demanded today. 'Be tolerant, we must all be tolerant' many will say. You and I may in fact be tolerant on some issues, but the reality is that if we are tolerant of evil it is not out of love. If we love Creator and community genuinely, we will absolutely abhor and hate all that is evil. The implications of this in regard to music can be far-reaching. I would urge you as you tune in to genuine love to let evil that might be tolerated in your life be revealed by the light of truth—and
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN to abhor it (remove it, and hold fast instead to what is good). Genuine love is a kind of deep and affectionate love in which we see each other not as strangers, not as people of different ethnicities, socioeconomic classes, political parties, or any other man-made divisions that you can think of. Genuine love sees each other as we are, brothers and sisters, connected through our humanity, and if in Christ then genuine brothers and sisters through adoption as sons and daughters of God. Genuine love serves. Genuine love of course begins with God. All who love God genuinely do so because God has been gracious to them and filled them with His love. To love genuinely is to serve God well and passionately (vs. 11). In this kind of love we are to hope fully in God, trusting God through any kind of suffering that would come our way (vs.12), praying to God for strength and the grace to trust and hope in Him. Trusting God in this genuinely loving kind of way includes trusting in all our circumstances, relationships, physical and emotional suffering, and even in our daily life, which includes our relationship with music. The tuned in musician should love with a kind of genuine and sincere love that does not tolerate evil, but rather includes a genuine hatred or abhorring of evil and a clinging or holding close to what is good. This love should be demonstrated in your heart, life, voice, and music in serving Creator and community if you are filled by and genuinely tuned in to it. “Love never stands aloof from other people's joys or pains. Love identifies with them, sings with them and suffers with them. Love enters deeply into their experiences
and their emotions, their laughter and their tears, and feels solidarity with them, whatever their mood.”75
75 John Stott. The Message of Romans: God's Good News for the World. (Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 333.
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Tune in: Meditate on this
Genuine love hates every evil as much as it loves every good (Romans 12:9, Amos 5:21-24, Psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5-6).
Genuine love is truthful (1 Cor 13:6). Music that speaks of or serenades in love must be tuned in to genuine love in truth and validity.
God's love is both tender and merciful (Luke 1:78, and so then is genuine love. We should love like the God who has loved us.
Genuine love is unselfish and self- sacrificing (John 3:16).
Genuine love is deep and affectionate towards all peoples as brothers and sisters (Rom 12:10).
Genuine love serves God well and passionately (vs. 11).
Genuine love trusts in God in all things and all circumstances (vs.12).
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Chapter 7 Tune In to the Community: Priests of the People, Composers for the Community A story can re-frame frustration, suffering, or extra effort as meaningful.-Annette Simmons
We've all seen the guitarist or saxophone player who locks himself in his practice room or apartment, or maybe like Sonny Rollins, they position themselves on a bridge and hone their craft all day long, late into the early hours of the morning. Maybe they don't even have a life outside of the practice room. Such discipline and tireless efforts to achieve excellence are admirable in many ways. Maybe you wish you had their discipline, maybe you wish you had the time to devote to such a practice routine! I know, selfishly, I have found myself wishing that sometimes. Unfortunately, wherever there is such a drastic discipline of practice there often lies a dangerous problem elsewhere. When the musician is in the shed all the time, he often loses sight of and connection with the community outside its walls (and this could be just as true whether we are practicing in our home, a studio, or on the bridge). I wonder, however (and would love to have conversations about this), what if some musicians with the time and the ability were to do more shedding outside, somewhere in the community, and intentionally make efforts to make significant contact and interaction with the people around them? This would certainly be one way to make individual practice a more community-minded investment. Even as I write this I have been wondering, while I know that there are musicians in cities all across the world that are out there busking every day, maybe we should all consider busking if we have the time. Could busking be an important way of being in the midst of the community? I think on many levels busking could be healthy and beneficial both to the community and the musicians. There is certainly a real validity and honesty to playing on the street, the subway, or in some other public area of the community for tips, for charity, or just to make music for
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN the people; especially if we do it unaccompanied (talk about vulnerable)! See, the problem is that while we're in the practice room, the world still goes on outside all around us. People are sick, people are poor, people are at war, people are suffering, and people are dying. What value does our music, our practice, and our life have if it isn't tuned in to community and genuine love for them? David Butrrick has beautifully captured and expressed this essential truth of the Gospel: the Gospel cannot be lived out in solitude, as a lone ranger, or apart from community. God-love and neighbor-love are inexorably bound together. Not only is this the command of God (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27), but it is also an essential ethic that the musician ought to live by and test his or her life and art by. Either every note, every lyric, and every song a musician sings, writes or plays, expresses and is consistent with the love of God and neighbor, or it isn't. You cannot truly be tuned in to the Creator and not care about the community. To be tuned in to the community is a natural outward expression of being tuned in to the Creator; loving and obeying God in Christ. God-love and neighbor-love express the heart of the Creator who has given us our life and ability to create. How is this care for community to play a role in the life of a musician? Are there direct implications of the command to love neighbor that should permeate the life and music of every musician? There are many, but on a musical level alone, there is something to be learned from the blues, not just as a musical art form, but also as a vehicle to give voice to the community in a way that loves, serves, and ministers to the needs of the people.
Taking a Cue from the Blues
Perhaps no other musicians (apart from the hymn writers and the psalmists of the Bible) have ever been so tuned in to a community as to go beyond mere emotion and express love in action by giving people a voice as the blues singers. Although the blues have often, rightly been called seculars by way of their intellectual content and purpose, they by no means must be. Let all things be redeemed, especially music! The tuned in musician can take a cue from the blues because in the blues lyric, what was often voiced was a practical application of neighbor-love, enabling the blues singer-songwriter to better serve and better tune in to community. Sometimes blues singers would even give a voice to the voiceless, speaking through song of the painful oppression, injustice, and suffering of a people. The classic blues singers and writers were more than just musicians and far more than just entertainers; they had a purpose and a message. While there were blues singers that wrote about trivial things and were less community minded, many of the blues singers were tuned in to a unique call to speak up about their people. These musicians were concerned primarily with the truth, and while the blues historically have been seculars in that they were not expressions of the Gospel and the truth about God, they have often still been expressions of truth. Truth, any way you slice it, is a step in the right direction. The blues were tuned in to the truth about the struggles of their community. The blues expressed the reality of life for a people and a community. This required the musician to be tuned in and aware of that community. The blues singer was, in a sense, serving the community through music, often expressing the deep concerns, hurts, and worries of the people as a whole (the community, the slaves, etc.). While many of the blues were written from a worldview that didn't recognize the Gospel or the truth of scripture, there
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN is no reason the genuine believer can't express the same realities of a community, and in fact—I would suggest that we should. Sadly, if you were to watch any of the current television programs that take viewers into the life of musicians or that take you behind the music of the major recording artists today, you might be shocked at what you would hear, or, maybe you wouldn't be so surprised—many people are already aware. Hopefully, you would at least recognize a genuine problem. There is no genuine love for community or people behind most of the music! If songwriters today write about the human experience at all, most often they are writing of their own personal experiences with little to no regard for neighbor or community. Even then, consider the musician who spends all their time in the shed practicing, or even in the studio recording; what experiences do they really have besides oiling their valves, stringing a guitar, or fixing a reed? There are exceptions of course (and this is not to suggest that writing about our own personal experiences as a musician is wrong), but if all of our music is about ourselves, exactly how are we loving anyone but ourselves though our music? What if musicians were to be at once tuned in to the community, the reality of life within that community, and the Creator? What if musicians were to give voice to the voiceless, to both minster to and to speak up for the community; to voice the needs of a people, and to weep with and for the community both in spirit and in song? A musician who is tuned in to the Creator and called to His purpose is much more than just a musician, but a priest to the people, and a composer for the community. The call to be a musician, to seek and create music to His purpose is a unique and important call—a call to be tuned in to the community, to genuinely love the community, and by extension
of that love, to create and make music that gives voice to, intercedes for, and ministers to the reality of the lives of those in the community, including the joy, love, life, troubles, death, and suffering within the community. My hope is that this chapter will cause you to begin brainstorming, dreaming, and reflecting on how you might better get to know the people and the community in which you live, work, and make music and consider how you might love and serve them better both in life and song.
Who are My People? Who is My Community? All of those in your community, your country, and all of creation are truly your neighbors according to God's standards (the only standard that matters). Musicians should be serving their community and tuning in to the church as the garden in which they are planted, but who else is included in the musician’s community? Fortunately, Jesus has already answered this question. The simple answer is that everyone is our neighbor, but it is both necessary and helpful to address some specifics. When it comes to tuning in to the community, the first focus of your time and energy should be your geographical neighbors, those that live in your direct vicinity. Certainly, musicians should to be tuned in to the needs of those around them, but they should also love those around them. Jesus really turned some religiously and ethnically arrogant Jewish people’s worlds upside down when He went beyond the normal bounds of close proximity (and ethnicity) when He was asked, "Who is my neighbor" (Luke 10:29). Any discussion of loving and tuning in to our neighbors without considering Christ's answer would be both incomplete and false! Jesus response to this question in the familiar Parable of The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) makes it clear that those
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN who live in areas we like to avoid, our enemies,76 and those whom are ethnically different from us (and even hated for their differences) are all our neighbors.77 In fact, while some may think this radical, or even a teaching that originated with Jesus in the Gospels, even the Old Testament law to love neighbor (Leviticus 19) included loving both enemy and resident alien.78 What this means practically is that we are to love those who hate us, those who look nothing like us (those of a different ethnic and cultural background and heritage), resident aliens, and those in parts of town, the city, or the world that we are afraid of.
Genuine Love As seen in our previous chapter, scripture has given a clear teaching on genuine love, and genuine love has been described in practical terms as some of the marks of a true Christian in Romans 12:9-21. As you consider what scripture has called genuine love, consider tuning in to the community (your neighbors) in such a way that you can genuinely love them. This should be a part of your meditation and tuning in just as much as tuning in to the call should. The tuned in musician is one not just called to be melodists of the Majestic Glory, but also to be priests to the people and composers for the community! As with all of the meditations in this text, they should never stop at the score, or with the sound that comes out of your instrument—genuine love should be the primary concern of every note you pen or play, every place you go, and everything your put
76 John Day. Crying for justice: What the Psalms Teach us about Mercy and Vengeance in an Age of Terrorism. (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2005), 87. 77 J. Daniel Hays. From Every People and Nation: a Biblical Theology of Race. (Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter Varsity Press ; 2003), 167. 78 Day, 89.
your mind, heart, and efforts to. In fact, on so many levels, I think we should realize and constantly remind ourselves that the more time we spend befriending, listening to, and loving the people in our community, the more richly we will be able to tune in to it and create music that is tuned in to community. The blues were powerful because they were prophetic, in that they spoke the truth of the people in song. To know and be able to speak or sing the people's stories requires first knowing the people. Remember that God's love is an active, sending, self- sacrificing love, purposed for His glory and the salvation of all those who would believe (John 3:16). This means that in a real way, reading and meditating on genuine love and considering how you can better tune in to community sets you up to go and live it out! The musician who never loves beyond himself with his music or life is living short of this call, and regardless of how our music may sound, there is a real possibility that it is hated and rejected by the audience that truly matters most: God Himself(Amos 5:18-24). Living the life of a musician tuned in to the community means breaking down the walls between the practice room and the people. Practice your craft and tune in to excellence but don't lock yourself away from the presence of the people we were created to love and serve as priests of the people and composers of the community.
The Call to Love Genuinely Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. -Romans 12:9-21 The tuned in musician will love with a genuine love that includes a holy hatred (or abhorring) of evil and a strong focus on what is good. This love should be demonstrated in your heart, life, voice, and music if you are genuinely tuned in to your neighbors, or community.
Living it Out There are several action-oriented commands that flow out of this genuine love. Tuning in to the community involves being present with the community in such a way that these commands are lived out in a meaningful way to your community—neighbor, enemy, and even in our Samaria (practically this could mean whatever areas and peoples frighten you or those places in town you avoid intentionally). Revealed as characteristics of genuine love and commanded in this scripture are blessing, rejoicing, weeping, and living in harmony. How can you rejoice and weep with, or live in harmony with people if you aren't close enough to them to support them through both their joy and pain? You are a musician after all, what better artistic expression is there with which to celebrate or mourn than music? Do you love your neighbor? I mean genuinely love your neighbor? Do you know them well enough to love them? Genuine love
means getting to know them. I know I could do a better job of this! Genuine love also includes living in harmony with others and associating with the lowly (vs.16). This is an important distinction, especially in considering all of what genuine love includes. If we choose who we hang out with and refuse to hang out with certain peoples, especially making distinctions of race or socio-economic class (a wrong in itself and in defiance of the royal law, James 2:8- 11), we are far from genuinely loving our neighbor! Worse yet, if we avoid people in this way, we miss a major point of the Gospel—the Gospel breaks down every barrier and every division that man has built up with his own pride, prejudice, and prima donna-like arrogance. Jesus came and condescended; He left the glory of Heaven and came to earth to live amongst, love, and ultimately lay down His life for His friends. In the process, He shattered each one of those barriers. The tuned in musician will be one who answers the call to love genuinely and who will love in the same manner that Jesus loved in His earthly ministry. “If we emulate Jesus, we will move as freely among the 'up and out' as among the 'down and out.' We will not hesitate to eat with non- Christian friends in their homes, in restaurants and pubs, or in other places of meaningful festivity."79 This is the call of genuine love, to "associate with the lowly" (vs. 16). Considering this command in the light of a true understanding of neighbor, and in the light of how the consummate example of a friend, Jesus, loved brings a more graphic understanding of what it means to love genuinely, including and especially in associating with the lowly. This is the
79 Craig Blomberg. Contagious Holiness: Jesus' Meals with Sinners. (Leicester, England: Apollos), 2005.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN kind of love that you won’t usually see in Hollywood movies or hear songs sing of on the radio, but this is the standard; this is genuine love. This command also calls us to love generously and genuinely,80 to be honorable (vs.10), and to live peaceably with all, if possible (vs.18). Verse18 is where this call becomes increasingly challenging; I know, live peaceably with all? Living out genuine love most definitely includes leaving vengeance in the hands and will of God—even to the point of loving our enemies—in fact, the call specifically commands us to care for the needs of enemies (vs.19-21). This world is filled with unthinkable evils; I'm sure we would all agree on that. Every day the news is filled with despicable stories of all kinds of destructive behavior: hate, murder, war, and both musicians and artists, at least most of the ones I have the privilege of knowing are some of the most sensitive to these evils of anyone I have ever met! But we have also been given a creative ability and gift, a God given asset to help give voice to some of the world’s most desperate needs; even the need to grieve and mourn over such evil. Musicians have a special and unique ability and call to help people deal with such evil, and we can tune in to God who is perfectly just in dealing with evil ourselves. Dealing with grief, anger, and the desire for vengeance, crying for justice—these are crucial issues for the musician and these issues need to be dealt with more fully than this chapter will permit, so this will be addressed in a later chapter, Tune in to Justice. For now, the focus will be on applying genuine love to the most powerful asset that most artists have: the voice.
80 Remember that genuine love will always be completely consistent with God's character and holiness, if not then it isn't genuine love at all; it is most likely just a masquerade.
Give a Voice to the Voiceless One of the commands and characteristics of genuine love seems almost tailor made for people like musicians and communicative artists. Genuine love shows hospitality to and fills the needs of those in your community (first the community of the saints, the church), but also in filling the needs of everyone else, even your enemies, because they too are your neighbors (vs.13, 20). Everyone has needs, and practically speaking, the possibilities of showing hospitality and caring for the needs of the saints, (those made new, who are regenerate, and are faithful followers of Jesus Christ) are endless. We could also spend pages upon pages discussing different ways of caring for the needs of enemies, but when we consider the needs of others and the assets that most musicians have to offer, perhaps the most appropriate one to focus our attention on would be the musicians most powerful asset: the voice. In Tune in to the Call we established the call of 1 Peter 2 that includes a direct and specific command to use our musical voice to proclaim the Gospel and the excellencies of God who has given life and salvation to all He has brought to regeneration and faith. Scripture is also clear, however, that God's covenant people are to use their voice to speak to the needs of the community; the tuned in musician should be a voice of truth, a composer of the community, a priest to the people—giving voice to the voiceless. Tune in to the needs of the community and even your enemies: where is there injustice? Where is there hunger, suffering, fatherless children, and mothers in need of support or adoptive families? Hear the call of God to give voice to these needs. "Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN righteously; defend the rights of the poor and needy" (Proverbs 31:8-9). Genuine love includes caring for the needs of neighbors. Sometimes, and especially for any musician with a voice that is heard by a sizable audience, meeting that need includes being a voice for the voiceless. In Psalm 72 the psalmist prayed a prayer on behalf of a new king, but in many ways the prayer clearly looks beyond the earthly king of the day. It looks to the King (Jesus) who has come and reigns in the hearts of His people today, and will one day usher in a literal kingdom reign over all of His redeemed creation. As priests of the people and musicians of the Majestic Glory, King Jesus, those called according to His purpose have a divine command and responsibility to live out the reality of His kingdom here and now on earth.
Tune in: Meditate on this
The life of a musician isn't intended to be lived out in solitude, as a lone ranger, or apart from community. Genuine love includes loving neighbor; God's definition of neighbor, not ours (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27). Pray that God would make every note, every lyric, and every song that we sing, write, or play, express and be consistent with His love for our neighbor and community.
Neighbor should be correctly defined. (Luke 10:25-37). This includes those that hate us, that look nothing like us (those of a different ethnic and cultural background and heritage), resident aliens, and those in parts of town, the city, or the world of which we are afraid.
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Chapter 8 Tune In to the Blues Tuning into the blues is all about being honest with yourself and being real: crying, emoting, writing, and playing with realness and validity.
I love the blues; I really do. Sure, there are some particular blues artists and works I don't identify with as much as others, but for the most part, I really do enjoy listening to and experiencing the blues. This is one of those points where I must reveal my own weakness. The blues are an art form and a spiritual form of worship (the lament), which I am, sadly, not as comfortable or intimate with as I should be. I have no excuse; I must do better in tuning in to the blues, both musically and in what lies at the heart beneath them (mental, emotional, and spiritual state). My hope is that you too will embark on the challenge to tune in to the blues with me. There really is a problem in the world of music today, both secular and sacred. The problem is far worse in the sacred side of music I am afraid, but not much less a problem in the world of secular music either. The Grammy's of 2012 immediately followed the death of long- standing pop vocalist sensation and icon Whitney Houston, and the evening offered an excellent opportunity for—I am sure what many musicians had hoped would be—a time for reflection, weeping, and mourning through song. Many, I think were sadly disappointed. We have a major lack of validity in music today, and at least one gaping hole, left wide open and unfilled by musicians and songwriters. The blues are a musical art form that has been lost on the music world both sacred and secular. The legitimate lament or blues offers a musical opportunity for people to weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. Tragically, both are often missing. There are likely many reasons that people aren't writing or playing the blues today, both musical and deeper, spiritual and emotional reasons. On a basic level, the average listener today (aside from blues fans) has little clue what is or isn't the blues, so education is in order because
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN understanding is lacking. As I began writing this chapter, I took to Facebook and Twitter searching and asking my friends, students, fellow musicians and music lovers for their favorite blues songs and artists. Many people responded with R&B or folk songs, perhaps a few country tunes, and a scant number of what could rightly be classified as blues songs. A basic lack of understanding for what the blues really are is a problem, and many of us could do far better at tuning in to the blues as musicians and teaching this knowledge to other musicians and music lovers. Speakability, validity, and form and function are all incredibly important in tuning in to the blues because the blues are a language, a musical art form, and a platform for stories, weeping, and mourning in community. The blues are a cultural and musical art form which should be valued, learned (historically and musically), and respected, because all kinds of culture should be understood and brought under the reign of its original purpose. The blues should be tuned in to and should point to the Creator who has given us the ability to develop and express the blues in a way that is both loving and encouraging to the community for which the they were made to be shared. In order to speak musically in the blues, understanding them as a musical language is essential. This requires, as you know, heartfelt listening, musical study, practice, and discipline. As musicians we have a responsibility to put forth that effort, and when we don't, the music may suffer in speakability. More than just technical understanding and command of the language of the blues, however, we also must be tuned in to the blues of the heart, or we just won't be truly speaking the blues. You know you can tell the difference; when you're playing and when you're listening, if it’s real you know it. And if we're honest with ourselves, even the non-musician or the untrained listener might be able to tell. It is a slippery slope
by the way, because if we don't have the speakability or the heart, then we have no validity either—and I'm not sure the blues can remain the blues if they have no validity!
Identify With Being Blue My wife and I like to visit different churches sometimes when traveling or if our home church isn’t meeting for corporate worship at that hour. One church we visited has an excellent expositional preacher that we enjoy and benefit from, and the corporate worship music is often reverent, worshipful, and inviting. We love reverent and worshipful music that invites the whole body to corporate worship. Occasionally however, as with us all, the music director will pull out something that they are not quite as familiar with. I say this not as a condemnation against this man, as like I said, we all fail in this area on occasion, but it is a worthwhile example, especially since I know this man genuinely leads faithful, beautiful, and reverent worship music. One particular Sunday the choir began to sing a blues with a solo vocalist. The blues presented was an unfortunate let down on more than one level. The most obvious and distracting component of the music in this case was that the blues as a language and art form were misunderstood or mishandled; therefore, speakability was lost tremendously. This is not only unfortunate in that the music itself suffered, but also, so did the people who had to listen to it and were to be experiencing the blues and worship through it. Remember when we discussed the composer’s original intent? Clearly, this composition was written to be a vehicle for people to experience and engage in the blues. Unfortunately, due to what probably amounts to a lack of familiarity with the language and style of the blues, the music failed as a vehicle for lamenting in song.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN If only he would have tuned in to the blues, I thought, it could have been wonderful! Again, I say this realizing all too well that I myself am just as much in need of tuning in to the blues, which is one of the many reasons I knew I needed to write this chapter. Werner's advice would be worthy of noting here, (know what you can master and stick to what you have until you can add to it).81 While this is important advice for any musician, I am afraid that we can't afford to excuse the blues away. We must tune in to the blues for the sake of our own soul and relationship with the Creator, for the sake of our neighbor, and for the sake of community. Validity, the second step of the four-step scale, deals with how honest we are in relationship to who we are and the music we write, sing, or play. One of the reasons that many people identify with the blues as a genre is that people identify with being blue; I know I do! Certainly, we all know that it is possible to play the blues, at least in a basic form and style sense, regardless of your emotional state. Think about some of the most powerful, most memorable, or most genuine sounding blues you have ever heard though, and likely, there is far more than just music there; most likely, there is realness, and validity behind the music that is somehow, uniquely tied to the speakability of the blues. Tuning in to the blues is all about being honest with yourself and others, being real: crying, emoting, writing, and playing with realness and validity.
An Invitation to Write, Sing, and Play the Blues Is it possible that sometimes, what might be lacking in our music is also lacking in our life? We have spent a solid amount of this book covering the need to tune in to the Creator, and we need to do that here as well. The blues, for
81 Werner.
the tuned in musician, are much deeper than simply a musical art form or genre. As we saw in the beginning of this book, the Bible records beautiful examples of hymnody and song written in reflection upon God and His works. Scripture also offers a powerful look, and I would suggest even an invitation to this kind of realness with Creator and an invitation and model to share it with community through song! What we have in the Bible (specifically in the Psalms of lament), is permission from the One who stands before the Holy God of Heaven, to come to Him in our grief, our pain, and even our anger, and to lay it all out before Him in total honesty. All of this only by genuine faith and trust in Christ, however, who stands before the holy God of Heaven and earth on our behalf. More than that, as if that were not enough, scripture records an invitation from the Creator to lay everything before Him in naked honesty. Isn't that what most musicians (most people) are looking for—someone we can be totally honest with about what's really going on inside? For musicians, what a beautiful beckoning: that we can come with a heavy heart and leave with a song that offers others an opportunity to find community in pain, suffering, and anger. We can even walk away after singing the blues and sing a new song, a song of joy and gladness! Before I get ahead of myself though, let's stay back here on the blues and reflect on the blues and community together. Remember in chapter one when we discussed the importance of community? We don't exist in isolation, and most people don't want to suffer in isolation either! Emotional, physical, and mental suffering is horribly real in this life, and adding isolation in to the mix only salts those wounds. As musicians, we are uniquely prepared to create environments that shatter isolation and disunity. Genuine love necessitates
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN that we weep with, not ignore and isolate (Romans 12:15), so let's create music that incorporates this. Clearly, there is a need for us to tune in to the blues and the lament in order to genuinely tune in to the community. Aside from the communal need, however, which is incredibly important, there is also a need for us as individuals to tune in to the blues. We need to tune in to the reality of who we are, our own messed up self, our own emotions, and the imperfect world we live in. Tuning in to the blues is about being real, laying that realness before the mercy of God, and then singing songs rich with validity. From this informed and tuned in position then, we should provide an opportunity for the community to weep and mourn together in way that is both loving and inviting. One of the stumbling blocks that stands in our way as musicians is our own pride and dishonesty about where and who we are in our life, heart, and mind. “We sometimes hold back too much from God, conceal our true feelings in prayer, and create a false image of ourselves at the heavenly throne of grace. What would happen to us and to our relationship with God if we were truly honest with Him and with ourselves?”82 Sure, many musicians have no problem writing when they are emotional, but remember what we’ve learned so far: music ought to be a reflection on God, His person, His mercy, love, attributes, and works. Therefore, this is the challenge: to be honest first before God, and then with our instrument. To take up our instrument and begin to write without first coming before God would leave us no different from the one who writes with complete disregard for God. Please, hear me out. In no way am I suggesting that musicians hold back from writing, only that we never write
82 Bullock, 138.
what we would not, or have not first humbly cried out in honesty to God. In the Psalms of lament, we have a biblical model of just this kind of honesty and realness.83
Begin by Tuning In to the Blueness Within God commands His people as individuals to do something so humbling, yet at the same time so merciful, and it is also beneficial to the community as well. This command and promise frees us up to be real with God so we can get over ourselves and consider community: consider others more!84 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV). Before you begin to practice, play, or write, always—especially when you are emotionally drained, affected, depressed, or anguished—be humble and honest before God. Throw at Christ's feet every concern, every care, every anxiety, whatever it is that at that time that is keeping you from singing and smiling in joy, and lay it out before the One who came that you might have joy (John 15:11). Then, after responding to the invitation, write, play, and sing freely, honestly, and with realistic validity about who you are, where you are, and also the realities of the community in which you seek to minister. Tune in to the blueness within and in the community, and let it sing!
Create Music that Incorporates Companionship and Community The Psalms of Lament are themselves worthy of a lengthy study which we don't have the time nor space for
83 Ibid. 84 Consider others more is the essence of Phil 2:3
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN here; however, we would be missing out if we didn't meditate on some fundamental matters of form that occur in the Psalms of lament.85 Form is important in music; I don't have to tell you that. The Psalms of Lament are beautiful expressions of the heart of hurt man, broken and in all kinds of pain before God. What these Psalms have in common can teach us much about a healthy way of being real before God and community, being real in a way that incorporates others instead of isolating them. Invite others to mourn along with or even weep beside you. This kind of honesty communication with God still brings him glory. The Psalms of lament were the blues of a people not hope-less, but hope-filled. Not only should we weep, mourn, and suffer within community both in life and song, but also the tuned in musician has a message of hope that needs to be heard. Those who suffer do not need to be alone, the Incarnate Sufferer suffers with them, and their suffering is not the end of the story or the song (Hebrews 2:8b-12)! We do not need to suffer alone, and we should not write, sing, or play music that creates such an atmosphere. Rather, we should seek to create music that empathizes with others; our blues should offer companionship with their cry. In fact, Jesus Christ, the Son of God suffered on earth, and those who believe are able to look to Him as both the One who suffers with them, and the One who will ultimately deliver them. While Christ rules over everything, we don't always see and experience that in our lives (Heb 2:8b). I realize how incredibly difficult this can be sometimes; especially if we
85 There just isn't enough space to get into the Psalms in detail in this book. But I would encourage you to check out some of the references at the end of the book that I’ve listed on the Psalms and spend some time in the future getting to know the Psalms, and especially for tuning in to the blues, the Psalms of lament.
have our eyes open and are aware of the tragic state of this world. We see sickness, poverty, war, and evil. We see death, we see suffering, and we see pain. All of this is the tragic reality of the fallen world we live in, and the writer of Hebrews is well aware of it. He knows what it is like to be blue! Suffering is not all we see though, and it by no means should be our point of focus—that is why the next sentence from this passage begins with “but,” as if to say 'yes we see tragedy, pain, and suffering—but by faith we can see Him who finally and triumphantly overshadows any dark cloud- the Son.' But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone (vs.9). In looking to Jesus, the Incarnate Sufferer, the One who suffers with His people, we can write, sing, and play the blues not just reflecting our own personal and isolated misery, but we can truly sing the blues in community, because Christ suffers with us. It doesn't stop there though, it gets even better. Not only can we look to Christ for companionship in suffering and create music that incorporates and invites others to suffer with us, but we can also sing and shout with gladness that the story doesn't end in defeat or suffering. There is hope for all those whom Christ calls brothers, all who have been adopted as sons and daughters of God, because in His suffering and death He was made the perfect Savior (vs.10c), and He will bring many sons to glory (vs.10b). By “bringing many sons to glory,” scripture reveals that not just men, but also all those who believe will be brought to glory. Glory in this case means eternal sonship in the Kingdom of God. The word son here implies the legal status of sonship and inheritance by the way; it in no way
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN excludes women who have communion and fellowship with Christ through covenant and faith. Finally, there is community in suffering. In this text we see community in mind clearly, “that is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise” (Hebrews 2:8-12 ESV). Music that incorporates community and shines the light of hope cries out to the Creator, lays out the lament itself, confesses trust in the One who hears every song, petitions or begs for His mercy, and ideally should promise to praise and serve Him on the back side of the blues or lament.86 Perhaps one reason the lament and the blues are neglected today is out of an ignorance and a lie that many believe; the lie that we are to be happy all the time and only sing and play happy songs. Ironically, the constant efforts of many seeker sensitive churches to make the church or Christianity more attractive can also hinder true Christian worship, which is not about seekers but the Savior. Sadly, the same instinct that may cause churches to avoid such lament in corporate worship is what both followers of Christ and the community outside of the church need as well in any particular city: music that gives expression to reality and truth.
86 Claus Westermann. Paraphrased in C. Hassell Bullock, "My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?." In Encountering the Book of Psalms: a Literary and Theological Introduction. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2001), 136.
Tune in: Meditate on This:
The Creator of the universe, the all-powerful God of Heaven and earth invites you to cast every concern you have directly on Him, because He cares for you. The community piece in this is that being honest with God in this way frees you up to be humble before others and care for them (1 Peter 5:6-7). You can be real with God, real with others, and you can be real in your music, but be real with God first (1 Peter 5:7). You do not have to be alone in your suffering, the Incarnate Sufferer suffers with His people (Hebrews 2:10-12).
Especially when you are emotionally or spiritually drained, frustrated, angry, depressed; don't avoid making music. The world needs such music. Instead, be honest first before God, and then with our instrument, paper and pen, or both.
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN
Chapter 9 Tune in to Justice Destruction is not usually most conducive to creativity, but that doesn't mean that new life can't come in its wake.
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN As I am writing this chapter, America has just remembered the anniversary of September 11th. Unfortunately, the anniversary was marked this year by even more horrific attacks and violence. Musicians called to minister to the people and the community through song must determine how we will respond to situations like this. Will we clam up? Will the music stop? Will we raise our voices, shake our fists, and rally the troops for the taking of revenge? Please understand that by no means am I making any sort of political statement. I wouldn’t dream of it. That is neither the purpose of this book nor our primary place as musicians, but we do need to question ourselves honestly: how can we respond in times of darkness and tragedy and especially when it isn't natural disaster, but injustice? How can we respond with our music in a way that tunes in to both the Creator and community? As with many other deep emotional issues, hurts, and frustrations that we face, what happens to us mentally when evil rages in the world can be a terribly staggering stumbling block. We need to look beyond ourselves, to gather our thoughts, and break through the block. The Creator is holy and just, and He hates murder of all kinds. The community weeps, mourns, hurts, and is rightfully outraged when her people are attacked like this. Certainly, musicians that seek to be tuned in should not sit in silence, but there are responses that we should be weary of, avoid, and even possibly condemn as outright wrong. Let us start by looking at the response we should avoid, because it just isn’t loving, and it isn’t helpful in any way. When the 9/11 attack happened I was in Basic Training at the US Army base in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I can assure you that it was quite an interesting place to be. In fact, most of the trainees had no idea what was going on, and when we were told what happened many of us thought the Drill Sergeants were simply trying to scare us with some
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN kind of drill. I’m not sure what I thought to tell you the truth, I think I was just in shock. It wasn’t but a few weeks down the road until we were finally able to see a newspaper. It didn’t take long for musicians to react to 9/11 in song. At least one recording hit the US radio airways shortly afterward and became wildly popular, and it was a hit video as well, putting footage of military action to music. The song raised up a voice of vengeance, shaking its musical fists and threatening a boot in the butt to those who brought the attacks. The song vowed vengeance on behalf of a nation outraged at the injustice and terror that befell them. This is real stuff! No doubt, those who wrote this song were burning with anger, and probably many of us felt the same way! Anger is not an unreasonable response to evil; in fact, in many ways, it is more right than we may even realize. Vengeance on the other hand is a different story altogether, and it is something we should discuss, be aware of, and probably condemn as outright wrong. This anger, this hunger for vengeance, this is the kind of stuff that musicians should wrestle with. Are people wrong to be outraged when attacked like this? No, not at all, but we have to wrestle with how we can respond from a tuned in perspective. I'm afraid that apart from perhaps a select few, these are the kinds of issues not generally dealt with in college, conservatory, or university music programs, or even in private music education. I hope that Tune in to Teaching will begin a work in you toward changing that. Because we are called to be ministers to people through music, we must find a way to deal with anger, outrage, and even a desire for vengeance. We must learn to cry out for justice, but justice and vengeance are not one in the same. Just as how in the blues we cry out to the Creator over our pain, so we can and should tune in to Him in times of outrage as well. These are
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN crucial issues for the tuned in musician. We are called to be priests of the people, yes, but not deacons of destruction or composers of conflict. Everyone responds to these kinds of situations differently. Some people will just lock up and kind of sit still in a stupor of silence until they muster up the energy or the confidence to create again. Others may let their furor boil to a point of complete and crippling frustration. These are obstacles that we must not stop us from our mission. Often, the graphically displayed realities of the death and destruction that are so real in this world stop musicians and artists dead in their tracks. This is the last thing any of us want or need, and it certainly isn't helpful to the people who need music that gives a voice and a vehicle to their grief, or an answer to their wrath and rage. There are other responses as well. Some people become angry, even to the point of wanting vengeance. They become blood hungry and want revenge; that is a dangerous position to be in.
Cry Out to the Creator When Evil Strikes I realize when things like this happen it can be incredibly difficult, anguishing, and simply gut wrenching to read about and see on the news. It is for me too! I can only imagine those that witness it firsthand. In no way am I suggesting that we say or do nothing. In fact, we must do something. To sit and do nothing is neither tuned in to the Creator nor the Community. God prohibits violence and vengeance as a response, and creating music or using our voice in any way that would incite violence would be just as insensitive and wrong. Vengeance belongs to the Creator, so tuning in to Him means crying out for Him to act, maybe even in vengeance, if that is His will. Jesus warns strictly against acting in a violent response, or in a way that would give rise to vengeance
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN (Matthew 26:52). There are many reasons that we are not to take vengeance and why we should not rally others to it either. We are not to take vengeance because life is precious and valuable. The value of human life comes not from mankind himself, but from the Creator, so tuning in to Him also includes respecting and valuing the life of all community as precious as well. In addition, violence simply is not the way the Kingdom of Heaven and peace are to expand. Jesus says it like this, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36). Bible scholar D.A. Carson sums up Jesus’ point like this, "the kingships of this world preserve themselves by force and violence; if Jesus' kingship finds its origin elsewhere, it will not be defended by the world's means."87 So we know that if we are tuned in, we won't act in violence or in a way that would give rise to it, but we can cry out to the Creator who is just, who also gets angry and hates injustice, and who sometimes takes vengeance on behalf of His people. One way we can respond when things like this happen, just as with when we become blue, is to tune in to the Creator in the Psalms. In this case, we can seek God's justice. Looking at how the people of God cried out for justice in the Imprecatory Psalms88 could be an excellent model for how to pray for our enemies and ask God for justice at the same time.
87 D. A. Carson. The Gospel According to John. (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1991), p. 594. 88 The Imprecatory Psalms is a label given to a specific group of Psalms by scholars. The name itself is a little unfortunate as it means Psalms, prayers, or songs of cursing, and that is not always the clearest expression of what they are. They are however, songs that cry out to God for justice. For further reading if you are interested in pursuing this subject in detail, please see Suggested Readings in the back of this book.
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN I have fought with myself and prayed for quite some time as to whether I would include this chapter in the book or not, but I am convinced that for genuine believers who trust completely in Christ and realize that all vengeance belongs to God, the Imprecatory Psalms and other prayers like them in scripture are both important and helpful. In this case, I think they can really help us process our emotional exasperation and frustration over violence and wickedness like this. Please do realize there might be many godly people who will disagree with me on some of the suggestions I make in this chapter. At the same time, there are many who would agree with me as well. This is something I think we have to be honest about upfront. Some people just will not accept such prayers as a model for today, even though they are straight from scripture. My hope is simply to start a dialogue with musicians about these topics, but we cannot ignore the difficult issues associated with death and destruction at the hands of injustice. Here I offer one possibility for you to ponder, that you can cry out to God in times of injustice by tuning in to the Imprecatory prayers and Psalms of scripture. Because the imprecatory prayers in scripture are the word of God and included in the ALL of scripture, which is good for teaching and training in righteousness, we most definitely should study them. I would also suggest that by their inclusion in scripture and as they have been modeled as prayers by the Apostle Paul, David, and Christ Himself, that followers of Christ also have God's invitation to pray them (Psalm 19:7, 2 Tim 3:16). All scripture is good for training in righteousness and there is value in the imprecatory prayers of scripture in training us to righteousness for sure (to being more like Jesus) in the area of prayer. Even if these prayers contain harsh judgments upon our enemies (which they often do), there is good that God is able to work in the hearts of His people as they pray
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN such prayers. There is a place in the Christian life for prayers that call for God to act in judgment against His enemies, the enemies of His people, and the doers of injustice. In a world where vengeance and retaliation are commonplace and where war and the threat of war has become woven into the fabric of our lives, these kinds of prayers offer an alternative understanding of justice. Prayers like this focus on and ask for God’s justice, not man’s justice. Justice according to God's standards is not man- centered, but God-centered. Crying out to the Creator for justice rather than the country or an army is not based on retaliation or revenge, but justice—the kind of justice based on God’s understanding of justice, not our own. God is perfectly just, and the reality is that those who reject a perfect, merciful, and loving God and work merciless evil are simply deserving of justice for their actions. We can find peace in trusting in God and knowing that He also acts in judgment of those who do injustice. This can help us when it comes to dealing with the idea of justice because we can know that praying the Imprecatory prayers of scripture, or with them as a model, is simply asking God to act on His own will and character instead of ours. God is sovereign over justice, which is to say that He is in control, not us. In fact, even if God brings destruction and judgment on our enemies by human hands (like another country's Army for example); it is still by His will that it happened, not ours.89
What’s the Problem? Your anger itself is most likely not the problem. The problem (if we run into it) usually comes from our response
89 Ibid.
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN to anger. In fact, if we do not get angry inside when something like this happens we may actually have a bigger problem within ourselves!90 Seriously, what is wrong with us if we do not get angered over horrendous evil and injustice in the world? If we truly love our neighbors, if we truly love our community, and if we truly love all the communities around the world and value all human life as precious, we would be outraged inside any time we see anyone suffer injustice. In fact, for those of you reading this who may still be unbelievers of God, I should point out that your anger and hunger for justice and even vengeance is actually a sign that a God who is holy and just created you. If you think you are angry, be encouraged by this truth: His anger burns infinitely hotter, and it is perfect (unlike yours and mine). Genuine love includes leaving vengeance to God (Romans 12:19).
A Model: Crying for Community and Crying out to the Creator The best example of someone boiling with a holy and righteous anger over injustice yet crying out to the Creator rather than taking to vengeance is Christ Himself. Jesus' response is one that we have to reckon with. The Jesus that many people love to think of and portray as the Good Shepherd of love and mercy (and He is), is also the holy and righteous Son of the Father with more than just a perfect view of justice—He is justice incarnate. Jesus may have come first in grace and not judgment, but even still, He upheld the judgment of God. In fact, Jesus even stood up and called it like it was, saying that God's judgment of the wicked (even in a violent and bloody fashion) was God's perfect will. At the same time however, and this is what we
90 Ibid.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN should pay special attention to; Jesus wept over those whom the Father would judge, and so should we. This is what Christ modeled in such a prayer: Jesus loved the people, Jesus wept for the people, Jesus cried out to the Creator in prayer, and He warned them that judgment was coming. And when He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation (Luke 19:41-44, ESV). In doing this, Christ gave genuine believers a fairly clear and simple model, I think. Love people (all people), pray and weep for them (even enemies) openly before God; and tell it like it is regarding the judgment of God. Jesus stated the judgment of God because He knew it was coming. We may ask God to bring judgment (John 14:14) on His enemies and the enemies of His people if we are led to it.
Look in the Mirror Before You Pray Before ever praying such prayers and crying out for God to act in judgment and vengeance on our enemies, we need to first, look in the mirror. Jesus is perfect. His sense of justice is perfect because He himself is the perfect embodiment of justice. Because we suffer from sin, so does our sense of justice. We simply must admit that sometimes we are just messed up, so before ever begging God to act we should beg that He put us in check on this. We should never ask God to respond how we want Him to respond; instead, we should always ask that His will be done. We
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN should beg that His Kingdom would come by His power and will, not by ours (Matthew 6:10). Before we pray that God would judge and bring down the hammer on the wicked, we should pray that He would bring them to Himself and bring them to conviction over their wickedness, that He would have mercy on them, and that He might make them children of God. The reason is that what we really should be praying for ultimately is for the establishment of peace, which only comes through Christ. Prayers like the one above help us put both the judgment of God and the cause of Christ in perspective. “We pray for the conversion of our enemies, but it is also legitimate that we pray for the destruction of those who violently oppose the kingdom of Christ. In this way, it is appropriate for God's people to use the psalms of imprecation, not for personal revenge, but as part of our prayer for the establishment of the cause of Christ. We need the imprecatory psalms to remind us of how serious it is to reject Christ and how awful the nature of God's judgment will be.”91 Prayers like this will likely lead us, just as the promise of judgment did with our Lord, to weep for our enemies (and they really should). Coming face to face with the judgment of God to the point of weeping for our enemies, truly loving and weeping for them is not only right, but it is one of the ways that God works in the heart of the believers to make them more like Christ. I think this is one part of what God intends by training His people with righteousness to become more like Jesus (2 Tim 3:16). This is just one way I might suggest processing tragedy and wickedness. Take it to the One who is holy, just, and has the authority and the ability to exact justice on the wicked.
91 Belcher, 83.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Tune in: Meditate on this
Genuine love includes leaving vengeance to God (Romans 12:19) Cry for the community. Cry out to the Creator. Ask God to grant you a deep and undying love of people (all people), a love like Jesus has for them (Luke 19:41) If we don't love those we would ask God to bring judgment on, we should probably camp out here and beg that God would fill us with a love for them which would truly cause us to care deeply about their salvation, even to the point of weeping! Jesus wept before He spoke the pending doom of the people! Pray and weep for the wicked, even our enemies (Luke 19:41-44). Then, meditate, either as you sit at the piano or with your instrument, before or even while you write. As led, tell it like it is regarding the judgment of God (that He hates injustice and will take vengeance at His will). If led, we may after all of this ask God to bring judgment on the enemies of God and His people, workers of great injustice and evil (John 14:14).
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN
Chapter 10 Tune in to Teaching There is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is.- William P. Merrill
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN I love that my wife teaches voice and piano lessons out of our home studio. Besides music making all week long, right in our home by many different musicians young and old, it also provides wonderful and important opportunities for table-time discussions over meals with our children. As you come to the end of this book, my hope really is that this wouldn't be a book that you have simply read and put back on the shelf. My hope is not that you just read and pass this on to somebody else, but that this book would start a serious ongoing conversation among musicians, among families, among families of musicians, and among music educators, conservatories, faculty and directors of college music programs, and their students. By the way, I must be honest in telling you that this is also kind of a setup, because if you do not currently teach in any way my hope is that after reading this chapter you will be challenged to re-evaluate your position on that. Recently as we sat at the dinner table, my daughters brought up one of the songs they had overheard one of my wife's voice students singing earlier that day. My children are young, but as you can imagine, living in our home we really do talk about these kinds of things. The immediate response of my girls to the song was based on what the song was saying, which is common for so many people, and therefore something to consider always as a musician and writer. Listeners will often reflect on and talk first about lyric content over and above all else, especially if it is speaks to something they strongly appreciate or something they are incredibly irritated by. The particulars of the song and songwriter are not really our primary concern here, but just know that the intellectual content really was inappropriate for this young lady to be singing. The song happened to be a bit of a serenade and story that portrays love untruthfully and cheaply. Perhaps
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN even more importantly though, a young girl of this age has no reason to be singing such a song whatsoever, and my girls realized that! Unfortunately, my girls did not really spend much time considering or appreciating the music on any other level, or against any of the other steps of the four-step scale. In their defense though, my girls are quite young and have not yet read Schaeffer's text (or this book)! This brings up a crucial point for your consideration though: If the intellectual content is striking, controversial, or offensive it may be so overbearing in a listeners mind that all other aspects of the art are forgotten or neglected. Is that what musicians want when their music is heard? I hope not! Right or wrong, this is a real possibility and worth considering with every song you sing, write, or play. The song really did spark an important conversation, especially for a household of music makers and music lovers. One of the many reasons that I needed to write this book was for issues just like this. My wife and I have discussed intellectual content quite often. We had previously spent time analyzing and discussing songs when it comes to what we listen to and what we may or may not sing and cover. We had even discussed how we should consider intellectual content in teaching music, but we had perhaps not yet implemented it fully and made it entirely clear to our students and parents of younger children. Every tuned in musician should engage in this discussion. If you teach music and you teach musicians, to what extent is your validity impacted by how you teach? Having come now to the end of this book, I am sure you can guess how I would respond to my daughters regarding the music that this student was learning, but what about how we should respond as musicians who teach? To what extent should we be concerned about the music and the musical worldview of those we teach? I sincerely hope that you have already come
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN to the same conclusion as I. We should be just as concerned about the musical worldview of those we teach as we should be of our own! Teaching music is a direct extension of the call we discussed in Tune in to the Call (the call to be a special people who make music for the purpose and glory of God). If convicted of this call, should we not then be ultimately concerned with urging every musician we know to consider it also? We are to create music for the glory of the Creator and the love of community. By extension, everything we ought to be concerned about as musicians we should also be concerned about in teaching musicians. Validity in teaching music means teaching musicians to tune in. Most musicians have at least some musical standards that they adhere to when teaching music in how they select tunes whether they are direct about them or not. You may look for certain form, style, technical ease or difficulty, melodic or harmonic qualities, or perhaps you seek to equip your students with a certain repertoire. Maybe you lean towards a certain lyrical content and focus. Considering everything we have discussed in this book, my hope is that your selection standards will now include even more thought and purpose.
Suggested Guidelines Here are some suggested guidelines as you consider the four-step scale as well as Creator & Community in teaching music. If you are an educator in a conservatory, college, or other institution, begin conversations now with your chair or department and seek approval to bring these considerations into the curriculum and classroom. If you are a private music educator, make all of your students (current or new) aware of your desire and responsibility to be the called musician you are, up front. Explain how all of this affects song selection, specifically concerning intellectual content of original or covered material, its form,
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN function, and validity. It would be wise to put all of this in writing and make this a part of the materials that you hand out to new students and parents if applicable. I would suggest the same for worship leaders, pastors, and ministers of music; consider your responsibility in teaching musicians to live out their calling. Some parents of younger children think that the naivety of a child is acceptable and a child can remain innocent and naive singing or playing whatever they wish. The problem with such a thought is three-fold:
As long as your child is under your house, care, and parental leadership, you are still responsible for what you are allowing your child to learn and sing. As a teacher and educator, we become responsible the moment we begin to teach something, responsible for what we are teaching or even validating as acceptable by teaching it. Perhaps most importantly, a child will not remain in naivety forever. If a child does not understand what a song means, they should not be singing it. More importantly, if they do not understand the meaning they will learn it from someone else whether right or wrong, balanced against truth or not!
In all of this, please hear me out. In no way do we ever want to come off as judgmental in our discussion, teaching, or application of the four-step scale or of Creator and community. Remember the story about the pastor who would have us think that Ella Fitzgerald's music is of the Devil, this is the last thing we want. No, in fact, my hope is that we can even cultivate in our own heart and in the hearts of our students and their parents an even deeper love and appreciation for all music. All the while however, remaining tuned in, loving Creator,
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN neighbor, and truth. There is a fundamental difference between loving and valuing Creator and community, and evaluating art on that basis, and just plain judgment.
Consider Content and Teach Content Consideration Intellectual Content is probably the area in which you will need to be most concerned and cautious about as you teach music. I will suggest the same direction that I suggested to my wife in this area, which is the same that I myself hope to do my best to employ in my teaching. We most certainly do not want to error on the side of legalism, and the last thing we want is to teach such a dangerous response to music to our students. No, our goal in teaching musicians should be the same as our goal in being musicians: we should teach musicians to begin thinking about these things and we should plead with them to be concerned about these things. We should also teach them why we should be concerned about these things. My suggestion regarding intellectual content is to tell your students that the intellectual content of music can be incredibly significant and far-reaching in impact, even if it seems insignificant on the surface. Explain that you will offer students at least a starting point, a framework from which to analyze music. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, explain that you as the teacher will analyze the intellectual content of any song that they bring to you (original or cover), and therefore need the music at least a week or two prior to when they would like to begin working on it so that you can evaluate it.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Most of us probably didn't wind up living the life of a musician or a music educator because we love analyzing stuff, but let's face it, if a song is not worth the time and mental energy you would spend in analyzing it, it likely isn't worth practicing, learning, singing, or playing either! Analyzing music like this will be an important part of your growth as a musician. By the way, analyzing music like this also will not ultimately be a chore or a bore. My hunch is that you will eventually find it both fun and fruitful. I hope that you will begin doing this on your own, and by beginning this on your own you will soon be able to guesstimate how much time you will need to analyze the music your students hope to work on. You may even find yourself soon analyzing some music just for the fun of it! Tell your students that you reserve the right to suggest an alteration of lyrics or even if necessary to dismiss a song based on intellectual content. Tell them that you will always be more than happy to walk through your analysis with them. Finally, if necessary, tell them why you have chosen to alter or dismiss a song. If your students are youth or children, you must approach the parent first about such a decision. As you do this you are teaching students both the importance of and how to be a tuned in musician concerned with the message they speak through every song. As you consider altering lyrics, often warranted, consider the ethical implications we have discussed earlier as with the Imagine alteration. Whatever lyrics you change in a song may have far-reaching implications in changing what the original author's intended message was, in the perceived message of the song, and in reaction to it. If you are convicted that a change can be a healthy and positive change resulting in a lyric that is more tuned in to Creator and Community; go for it, and always be ready to give a defense as to why (1 Peter 3:15).
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN Analyze and Teach Analysis Think about making this analysis process a part of your teaching time and process for those students who are mature enough. For students who are able, why not block out some time to teach them how you would analyze the intellectual content of a song, and then perhaps walk them through a song as you analyze it against the four-step scale, Creator and Community? Perhaps you could teach through an analysis that you have already worked through yourself. Again, realize that you are simply equipping them with the tools to do the same. For advanced students, and I would love to see this sort of analysis put in to curriculum and practice in the conservatories and college music programs: why not block out time to supervise them and create a conversation around a song that they bring in for walking through an analysis like this?
Creator, Community, and Music in the Home Those of us that have children should be teaching music in the home to our children. We can begin as early as they can hear and understand, by teaching music as a gift of the Creator, a reflection of His character, and a gift for community. Maybe you do not teach music, perhaps you never have. You might think teaching isn’t for you, or that if you are music education is not for you. This is where the set-up that I warned you about comes in to play. I am going to challenge you to consider this: the tuned in musician doesn’t just create and make music, but also teaches and trains; he or she passes on what they have learned and their passion to others in love. Think back on the call to the royal priesthood, the call to be a special people making melodies about, to, and for the King of Glory. Think back on what it means to be called, chosen, and part of a ministering people (1 Peter 2:9). This is not a call to isolationism; this is a call to be a part of something magnificent! The call of the tuned in musician is
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN a call to be a part of a multi-generational, multi-ethnic people that includes musicians. This is a call to a movement of God that is crossing and will cross every cultural, socio- economic, geographical, and ethnic barrier that exists. How will all these people assimilate or become one people? Where will this people come from, specifically the musicians who will rise up and sing a song for those who can't speak for themselves, to be a voice for the voiceless? Somewhere a community cries in the wake of a tragedy, waiting for a modern day blues musician to pen a lament that will put words and music to their tears, and that will give their heart's cry a voice through song. Local churches everywhere are in need of someone like a modern day Charles Wesley or perhaps a duo like Keith and Kristyn Getty, convinced of the need for original hymnody that gives the community of believers a new song to sing to the Lord. The Creator Whom we have spent much time reading about and seeking to tune in to in this book has a plan for bring all of these people together, and even for the training of this people. He just might be calling you to be a part of this plan. My prayer is that you answer the call. Long before Peter recorded the call we looked at from 1 Peter, God spoke to His people about His plan for this people He was making.
Teach Your Children “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ESV).
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN God was commanding His people to teach their children, to educate His people; and the plan began in the home with the children. This was and is the Creator's command and commission of His people for the gathering, building, and teaching of His people, beginning with families. God was commanding His people and making clear that everything He has commanded them and taught them was not just for their information, but it is to consume their hearts and minds and spill over in to their life and actions! Because we now have the whole of scripture though, we don’t just have these commands of Deuteronomy 5 that God is speaking of here, but we have the whole of scripture. We should be tuning in to the Creator and His words of life (all of scripture) in our hearts; this should consume us even more than music. The music should give the soundtrack to what consumes us. As you read these words (vs.6), realize that all the truths that we have discussed from scripture in this book (and all of scripture) are God's words, and by extension each of them then is included in "these words" that should be on our hearts. This command implies meditation on the Creator and His words specifically, that is why we read, “these words that I command you today shall be on your heart” (vs.6). If we consider the whole of scripture, and of course we should, then we realize that not only should the Creator and His commands be on our heart, but also community (Matthew 22:37-40). The call of Deut 6:6-7 and Matthew 22:37-40 are a call to tune in to Creator and community, but also to so much more. The command is also to teach, in a deeply personal way; and this is not just classroom teaching! This is a command to teach our children, but also, it is a command to teach in a real-life kind of, as you are going kind of way. Teaching is to happen when you “sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (vs.7). That is pretty much all the time. Now these commands that
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN God gave His people were not to be some kind of legalistic religion, no, not at all! These were given that God's people would have life and live in God's promise. The people were to take these words of God the Creator, and to begin growing together as God's people and community, right in the home; shaped by scripture. This has been coined quite correctly, a multi-generational plan. Multi-generational teaching of Creator and community for life is exactly what this call is to. So what does this have to do with musicians? Obviously, the primary thrust of God's command here is that He should be on our heart. His words should be on our heart. His people (remember what we went over on neighbor and enemy) should be on our heart. We have discussed in detail that some of the most beautiful music ever made was created while reflecting upon the Creator, and we have discussed that it is the Creator who gives us our ability to create, and it is He Who is the source of all that is good, including music. Everyone who is included in the family of God is responsible for having received these commands and commission. Be consumed with; mediate on the truths and commands of God. Teach your children every bit of it! This is not a once-in-a-while kind of deal (like just during Sunday school or once a week) by the way. Teach intentionally: in life, through life, and for life. We are undeniably to be intentionally teaching (vs.7a), which certainly implies intentional time and energy spent teaching ALL of these truths. While we should and will have set aside times to teach these things though, this call to teaching is never part time, it does not end in the classroom or after teaching time. Teach ALL of these truths, ALL of the time. Creator and community discussion should not stop by any means at the end of a specifically planned lesson, class, or set aside time.
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN This is to be an ongoing discussion, “and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (vs.7b-d). As people, we all think about and talk about what or whom we love. Chances are there have been periods of your life when you could not stop talking about a particular musician or band. I can imagine if you are like me, you may even have several musicians that you feel this way about and maybe you have even spent hours and hours on end listening to the music of such an artist or band, because you love that music so much. You have tuned in to that music and that musician or band, and could probably talk about it all day long. In fact, you may even sound a little like that musician you have listened to it so much. As musicians who seek to be tuned in to both our Creator and our community, have been given the gift of music, and created with the ability to make it, shouldn’t we also be consumed with teaching our children about the Creator and how we ought to love Him and the community; and why? My hope is that you respond with a thundering yes! I do hope that at the least, that you would begin your consideration of tuning in to teaching with teaching your children, if you have them. You may already teach your children music in the home, but whether you do or do not, how will that change now after considering all that we have discussed, most importantly Creator and Community? I would challenge you to consider the call to teach the love of Creator, community, and music in everything you do with your children. Of course, my hope is that you would also rise to the challenge not just to teach your children, but in teaching everyone else who would listen.
Teach All People The first commission we looked at is God's plan to create and assimilate His people from the home, through
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN multigenerational education. How beautiful would it be to see multigenerational musical families (of tuned in musicians) popping up all over? The commission of Deuteronomy 6:6- 7 is not the only plan however. Not only should we be teaching Creator, community, and music in our homes to our children, but we should also be seeking to take each of them to every nation, tribe, and tongue! When Jesus was about to leave the disciples He commissioned them in what most Christians are familiar with as the Great Commission. One of the most beautiful components of this commission and plan is that it is a commission to teach (just as we are commanded in Deut 6:6-7), but this is a plan to teach not just our children in our homes, but ALL people everywhere. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV). In this commission Jesus was quite clear, He was commissioning the disciples (which includes you if you are a Christian) to make disciples, that is to make friends with all peoples, with no discrimination to gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, language, or culture; all peoples. Now Jesus is specifically speaking here of making disciples, which means if we trace the way that He made disciples, these relationships will usually begin as friendships, but will lead to teaching about Christ and all off scripture. Of course, this is God's plan to make disciples. God Himself will make the disciple; He will bring people to repentance and faith. Our responsibility is to make these relationships with all people and to teach them all that Christ has commanded. Baptism of course will take place in the local church.
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN So again, how does this apply to us as musicians? Well, obviously for Christians the call to make disciples applies to you directly already. As musicians however, you can make musical disciples. Is that not what God has called and created you to do? Not every music student that you teach will repent and believe, just as not everyone reading this book will repent and believe. I hope that many do of course, but I trust in the God who convicts and brings His people to repentance. My goal is simply to challenge you with the truth. I want to challenge you with this thought: being a truly tuned in musician means being tuned in to the call to teach, both in your home and to all peoples. You can teach music in a way that sees, appreciates, and teaches it for what it truly is, not just a song. You can teach music as a glorious gift from God, a gift that reveals how wonderful and majestic He is; a gift that can bring joy to the hearts of people, a gift that creates and provides opportunity for weeping and mourning in community. My hope is that you will rise to the call.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Tune in: Meditate on This
The call of the tuned in musician is to be part of a ministering people (1 Peter 2:9). Part of your ministry is to teach others to make music about, to, and for the King and His people. The call of the tuned in musician is to tune in to both the Creator and community, and to teach others to do same, especially musicians as we teach them to (Deut 6:6-7 and Matthew 22:37-40). If you are convicted that a change is necessary to a song, and it can be a healthy and positive change resulting in a lyric that is more tuned in to Creator and Community; go for it, and always be ready to give a defense as to why (1 Peter 3:15). The call to teach is two-fold (in our homes and to our children), and to the whole world (Matthew 28:18-20).
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Recommended Reading
Art and the Bible. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2006. Francis A. Schaeffer.
Christian meditation. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980. Edmund Clowney.
Crying for justice: What the Psalms Teach us About Mercy and Vengeance in an Age of Terrorism. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2005. John Day.
The Message of Romans: God's Good News for the World. Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2001. John Stott.
The Messiah and the Psalms: Preaching Christ from all the Psalms. Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2006. Richard P. Belcher Jr.
Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: a Theology of Worship for this Urgent Time. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 1995. Marva J. Dawn
Why Johnny can't sing hymns: how pop culture rewrote the hymnal. Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub., 2010. T. David Gordon.
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN
References
Beeke, Joel R.. Puritan Reformed Spirituality. Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2004.
Blomberg, Craig. Contagious Holiness: Jesus' Meals with Sinners. Leicester: Apollos, 2005.
Bullock, C. Hassell. "My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?." In Encountering the Book of Psalms: a Literary and Theological Introduction. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.
Cheney, Alexandra. "Cee Lo Green Defends His 'Imagine' Lyrics As Controversy Continues - Speakeasy - WSJ." WSJ Blogs - WSJ. http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/01/04/cee-lo-green- defends-his-imagine-lyrics-then-erases-tweets.
Clowney, Edmund P. Christian Meditation. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980.
Day, John. Crying for justice: What the Psalms Teach us about Mercy and Vengeance in an Age of Terrorism. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2005.
Gordon, T. David. Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns: How Pop Culture Rewrote the Hymnal. Phillipsburg: P & R Pub., 2010.
Green, Barry. The Mastery of Music: Ten Pathways to True Artistry. New York: Broadway Books, 2005. Kindle Edition.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN Hays, J. Daniel. From Every People and Nation: a Biblical Theology of Race. Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press ; 2003.
Hughes, R. Kent. Disciplines of a Godly Man. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1991.Kindle Edition.
Kelly, J.N.D.. A Commentary on the Epistles of Peter and of Jude. New York: Harper & Row, 1969.
Phillips, Dan. The World-Tilting Gospel: Embracing a Biblical Worldview & Hanging on Tight. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2011.
Stott, John. The Message of Romans: God's Good News for the World. Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2001.
Werner, Kenny. Effortless Mastery. Scotch Plains: Jamey Abersold, 1996. Wooten, Victor. The Music Lesson: a Spiritual Search for Growth through Music. New York: Berkley Books, 2008.
Schaeffer, Francis A. Art and the Bible. Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2006.
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN About this Book: Tuned In explores meditation as a means to far more than just better music (but it does that too). Readers will engage important concerns such as how to handle grief, anger, and injustice as a musician. It provides a meditative approach to practice, composition, and making music that focuses on what is true.
“Every creative artist will learn how to tune in to the source of creativity, direction, and inspiration in the pages of this great book.” -Joanne Whitaker, Vocalist, and Associate Chief of Staff/Board Liaison at Berklee College of Music.
“As we strive for excellence in music, Sean-David’s Tuned In goes beyond the notes and explores the deeper nature of music and its connection to our heart.” -Daniel Bowerly, Saxophonist, Band Director.
“Every pastor would do well in encouraging those who love music to invest themselves within the pages of Sean-David’s promising work—The Tuned In Musician; which delineates how any musician can tune in their soul to the Truth of Scripture for their message in song, and especially their mission in transforming their local ministry and reaching their global community toward Christlikeness”- Rand Michael Muender; Pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church with over 20 years of pastoral ministry experience, and adjunct faculty in the College of Theology at Grand Canyon University.
THE TUNED IN MUSICIAN About the Author
Sean-David McGoran is a husband, and father of three, two girls and one boy. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, SD holds degrees in music, worship, and theology. He teaches Bible and religion courses to college students and is the Principal Instrumental Musician-Educator at The Tuned In Academy which he and his wife founded.
SEAN-DAVID MCGORAN About Tuned In Press
Tuned In Press is an Olympia/Lacey-based artisan publisher. Tuned In was formed to publish Creator and community centered books that focus on the arts and their engagement with the truth, community, and culture regularly through TIP. All of our books are and forever will be written by Tuned In faculty and community partners, people who share our values. Those who either work directly with us or partner with us also do all the editing and graphic design work. Most of them are volunteers. We are always looking for people who share our values, people with experience, skills, passion, and a heart for the community to help partner with us on this mission. If you think you might be a fit for this kind of publishing, drop us a line. All proceeds from Tuned In publication go directly to the support of the academy’s mission, training people young and old in the art of music through scholarships.