My family has been going to the same church for a very long time. As a child I was baptized there and so was my brother. The only problem I had with going to church was the fact that I had to get up early. I despised it. But despite that, my brother and I stayed up late anyways and we ended up drifting off in the middle of the service a lot of the time. When I got older I figured it was disrespectful to fall asleep while my pastor was speaking, so I took it upon myself to hit my brother repeatedly so he'd stay awake. The only part of the service I really enjoyed was the singing. I love our choir. I always try and make my family sit on the far left side because it was directly behind the drummer. Whenever he'd play the bass you could feel it vibrate through your chest and I always imagined it as a second heartbeat. We always used a lot of instruments. We’ve had the same guitarist for a long time, along with a bass player, an organ, and some brass players. The drum is still my favorite though.
My parents made my brother and I participate in the children's choir, but we didn't like it very much. I'm not much of a singer and since I was in the choir, I had to get up even earlier. I thought my parents were trying to torture me. I didn't really understand what or why I was singing. I just did it because I was told to. I did love the songs though, and sometimes I'll just start humming them without realizing it. When I started high school I didn’t sing anymore, and religion just kind of went on the backburner. I wasn’t religious at all. To me, music and religion had nothing to do with each other, even though I still loved to hear my church choir. It was only until recently that I’ve sort of begun to realize that I don’t have to believe in God in the same way my parents do. I haven’t been to church in a while, but now I understand what I didn’t when I was younger. Music was a way to communicate with God. The choir loves God, and what better way is there to show love than with music? They’re passionate about what they’re singing and who they’re singing it for, and I think that’s what spoke to me, even as a kid. I think all of this ties in with the Native Americans and how they see music and religion. I was very surprised at how they closely they link the two. I had no idea they valued their voice so much, going so far as to call it sacred. It was a real eye opener for me and I’m glad I know that about their culture now.
I’m still trying to work through what I believe, but I do know that religion is a powerful thing and music can only strengthen it.
You know, I find it really interesting how you mentioned not being religious, but still liking the music that was played in church. If you think about it, a lot of the popular music we listen to has lyrics that we either can't relate to (I've yet to meet someone who wakes up in the morning feelin' like P. Diddy) or are just plain dumb (really, Black Eyed Peas.. you couldn't have come up with something better than "imma be"?) Yet we still listen to and enjoy this music! I guess if the melody, rhythms, and instrumentation is nice, then it doesn't matter what the text/meaning is, but I definitely think this deserves a bit more pondering..
ReplyDeleteFrom my own personal experience of singing in the choir at my own church, I always try to connect to the music. I agree with Sarah, in that we do tend to like songs, not for the meaning of the words, but for the catchy tune and/or rhythm. I do, on the otherhand, think that we should take the time to think about what it is we are singing along with on the radio. For example, if you do not usually include foul words in your vocabulary, you probably do not want to start singing along with a song with fowl words in it.
ReplyDeleteThis is very good, Lauren. Thank you for sharing your recent revelations concerning religion, music, and music+religion. You've made some very important realizations--it will be interesting to see where they lead you.
ReplyDeleteI experienced a similar situation in dealing with religion and music. I have been a church pianist since my sophomore year in high school, and it honestly wasn't until this year that I finally realized that playing the piano for God was still worshipping him. Music is like the ultimate praise for Him so why shouldn't we enjoy it too?
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you and your brother kept each other awake during church. When I went to church with my siblings when I was younger their company helped me stay awake. I like how you pointed out that the vibrations from the beat of a drum really feels like a pulse. I feel the same way. I feel like music has a life of its own! That's a great realization. I believe new perspectives really enrich life.
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