Music – A Writer's Daughter

Music to my Ears

The familiar idiom ‘music to my ears’ suggests welcome news, something one is glad to hear, but in my case a theme played on repeat in my head. For the last few weeks, the topic of music circulated around me. First my mind recalled in-home concerts I experienced. Then I read about the benefits of singing in sync with others (Pink, Daniel. When. 2018). More music related hints came from a recent sermon text on singing (Ephesians 5 v 19), a link to register for the “Sing” conference, and a daily verse describing God singing over us. Finally, last week, CeCe Winan’s “(I will sing of) The Goodness of God” music video hit one of my text threads followed by it being one of the worship songs in Sunday’s service. So, on music at home and singing I will write! This composition will not win a Pulitzer, but it will stop the ringing in my ears.

Have you attended a concert in a home? Though rare these days, music in the home was common before TV, radios, stereos, and phonographs. Entertainment was homemade: music and games in the parlor. Whoever could play or sing, did so with family and for guests. There were mansion ballroom dances accompanied by chamber groups and barn dances with fiddles. Simpler days spawned simpler ways.

I experienced an extraordinary concert at my sister’s home. She, an accomplished pianist, and a musician friend on the vibraphone, gave a concert at a graduation party. They far surpassed the level of skill for most in-home recitals, but it retained the warmth of a home setting with an intimate audience. Pictured is her keyboard with music for the opening number.

Today music is piped in and turned on everywhere, like the surprisingly loud easy rock playing in pre-op before my last colonoscopy. We access any artist, any song with a flick on our phone. Our access to music is quite amazing, yet live music, even if amateur, feeds us in a different and unique way. Many years back, I recall a friend’s child played her piano recital piece for our visit. Another time a neighbor invited several of us to her home so she could play a dress rehearsal for an upcoming musical she was accompanying. On a New Year’s Day, a group of us sang “Auld Lang Syne” together as the host strummed it on his guitar. Maybe you recall a hearthside serenade, a parlor performance, or an impromptu campfire concert or sing-along – I hope so! We could all try singing a hymn at mealtime or hum the children a bedtime lullaby. I don’t discount streaming playlists at home which adds cheer or comfort too, especially when our voice joins the chorus.

Music is a gift from our Creator. We get joy from making music, music can praise Him, and God sings over us. Zephaniah 3 v 17 expresses, “The LORD thy God … will joy over thee with singing” (shared in the King James Version as it was shared with me.)

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My Summer Abroad?

I spent one summer of my college years at a science station in the Black Hills of South Dakota. My college required completion of a summer program, and while classmates headed off to Europe and Israel, I signed up for science in South Dakota! Cost was a factor, but I hoped checking off my academic science requirements would be easier at a camp than on campus. I also thought field science courses seemed practical for my future as an elementary teacher.

A good plan had unfolded for my Black Hills summer studies. My college best friend also enrolled in the program. It was reassuring to go with someone, since it was far away and I didn’t know anyone else going. Days before the spring semester ended, my friend met me for dinner and told me that she had decided not to go. Her change of mind stunned me and left me questioning my plans. I only vaguely recall considering my options, but I have a clear memory that confirming my Black Hills program plans was a step of faith that God wanted me to take. It seems trite now, but it was big for me then.

The summer of botany, zoology and geology studies proved rewarding in every way! I saw it then, and still do now, as confirmation that I had followed God’s plan for me. In academic subjects that had proved challenging for me in high school, I made my all-time highest college grades. I developed a growing appreciation for the beauty of nature and the wonder of creation ( All Creatures Great and Small). Hands-on classes were fun and engaging. We travelled throughout the remote and beautiful Black Hills region for field trips, and I camped for the first time with new friends. I experienced a spiritual awakening that summer too. As I spent regular time outdoors alone with God and His Word, a personal real walk developed with Him. Braving the program on my own turned into a time of maturing and happy expansion … yes, just west in South Dakota!

One of the reasons my Black Hills summer comes to mind occasionally is because of a song I hear on one of my regular playlists. It was not that summer’s hit tune, but a hymn sung by a student choir. One of the guys took it upon himself to form a volunteer choir for us. He picked a few hymns that we practiced and performed in Sunday services at one or two local churches. I especially remember singing “How Firm a Foundation” *. The hymn’s lyrics are vivid yet poetic, and the tune is robust, like a national anthem!

I close by sharing the first stanza of the hymn “How Firm a Foundation” because the words align perfectly with the theme of my blog: the foundational value of God’s Word for us.

How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!

What more could He say than to you He hath said,

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

From John Rippon’s “Selection of Hymns,” 1787, Public Domain Based on 1 Peter 3 v 23 & v 25

* ”How Firm a Foundation” is one of several hymns Rev. Tim Keller chose for his memorial service. The worship service in his remembrance was held last week in St. Patrick’s Cathedral (NY). I have added the memorial link to my recent blog about him.

Photo credit of the Black Hills, SD – travelsouthdakota.com

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Music Makes Merry

A couple of Christmases ago, my husband and I found ourselves in a “bah humbug” mood one December weekend. I don’t recall anything that was particularly wrong, but somehow, maybe from loneliness or fatigue, we lacked Christmas joy. That Sunday afternoon I got a call from a long-time friend saying she had just received four tickets to a Michael W. Smith concert that night. She wondered if we would like to go with them. My husband and I conferred; I decided to go to the concert with them and he preferred to stay home to rest.

I had known about the well-advertised show. It was being held at a large university arena nearby. The concert featured Amy Grant as well, so the program promised to be an evening of good oldies among great seasonal pieces. My friends picked me up and we took the short drive together. Our friendship goes back almost three decades but now we don’t see each other regularly. We always have a lot of family news to catch up on.

Vinyl records are popular again. This is my 1980’s original.

Michael W. Smith performs energetic and uplifting shows. He is down to earth and radiates authentic Christian faith. I pretend to know him because he married a friend I knew in college, but of course that’s wishful thinking! With his music colleague Amy Grant on stage too, the duo definitely presented a blast from the past. Most of the audience, including me, relived memorable songs from the 80’s. At intermission when the lights came up, my friends recognized some folks sitting right in front of us. The mother and daughter had known my friends from a time when both of their daughters went through cancer treatment. My friend wept as she reconnected with them. One can only imagine the deep bonds formed through that shared experience.

The concert celebrated the fun and focus of Christmas. The friendship on the stage mirrored the closeness of us listening in the audience. My soul responded as the Christmas songs and message ministered to my sagging spirits. Our friends came inside for a bit as they dropped me off at home. My husband had changed into his bedtime flannels but the four of us hung out together in the kitchen, recapping life. Somehow serenity had descended on us and on our home that night.

I experienced something similar earlier that fall. After a horribly oppressive all-day work meeting, I was scheduled to attend a concert in the evening. Though depleted of energy, I was committed to going with an acquaintance. I didn’t know much about the group performing that night either. I showed up out of obligation. But then “Big Daddy Weave” hit the stage and I sat up! They were large and loud! Eventually I recognized a few songs and could clap and hum along. The lead vocal belted out their story and His (Jesus’) Story with wonderful candor and love. As the evening progressed, my body and mind steadily revived. And in that concert too I ran into a childhood friend who I rarely see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TKAN-nAsu8

Music blesses and renews us. Christmas music is a special genre but all music, and especially music based on Truth, touches our hearts and the world powerfully. The Message Bible paraphrases a passage about music this way:

Sing to God a brand-new song.
He’s made a world of wonders!

⁴Shout your praises to God, everybody!
Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!

⁵Round up an orchestra to play for God,
Add on a hundred-voice choir.

⁶Feature trumpets and big trombones,
Fill the air with praises to King God.

⁷Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
With everything living on earth joining in.

⁸Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!”
And mountains harmonize the finale— Psalm 98: 1, 4-8

The Goodness of Singing

This week at work I received an email about songs and language learning from one of my professional organizations. The report noted that singing makes learning a new language easier and students retain more new vocabulary when it is sung, rather than spoken. This did not surprise me. Early childhood education has always been rich in music, poetry and chants because young children love them and through rhythm, rhyme and melody, kids pick up a lot! It would be reasonable that the same benefits could apply to learning a second language.

Actually, I have heard about other positive results from singing. Singing elevates mood. Participating in singing is known to help depression, whether that is singing in a group or just singing on your own. At work, after the classes recite the Pledge of Allegiance, there is a patriotic song. I try to join the singing whenever I can, knowing that it will boost my spirits at the beginning of that day.

There is also evidence that singing is good for dementia patients. Singing together helps dementia patients connect with others and it exercises an important region of the brain. Singing has cardiovascular benefits and it reduces stress, increases immunity, and improves mood and memory. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3767275/) No wonder nursing homes have so many sing-alongs!

The Bible frequently refers to singing, and usually it is in the context of singing praises to God. There are fifty Biblical directives to sing, including Psalm 96: 1-3:

¹Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. ²Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. ³Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

We’re told to sing. We’re told to sing to God. We’re told it’s praise and we’re given ‘the why’: to share Good News and repeat God’s great works.

Modern hymn writer Keith Getty and his wife, singer Kristyn Getty.

This Sunday, June 25, there will be a worldwide opportunity to sing. In churches around the world, a new hymn entitled “For the Cause” will be introduced and sung, in quite a few languages, I might add! Modern hymn writer Keith Getty, best known for “In Christ Alone,” has composed this new hymn and Sunday is the rollout at participating churches. Here is the link to find out more: https:www.globalhymnsing.com.

As God is our Creator, it doesn’t surprise me that He’s given us something that’s really good for us. Singing is a gift. It’s not about the perfect tune or moving lyrics, nor does it depend on the quality of your voice. Singing is an expressive action, mostly with joy but always with emotion. As Elsa sang, “Let it go” and see how good you feel!

Listen to “In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, sung by Kristyn Getty.