Babies are born with an innate affinity for music. This is why singing lullabies calms a crying infant. I love watching my grandchildren respond to music. Little Willow grins with delight as she wiggles with the Wiggles on the TV screen, but when she is distraught and tired she has her favorite songs that calm her and help her go to sleep. I have another granddaughter who had a more “mature” taste in lullaby music. She found comfort in the voice of Johnny Cash. She was barely four when she became enthralled with Bruce Springsteen. (That took some parental supervision!)
My daughter sings with a local community chorale. I recently attended one of their concerts and enjoyed listening to their voices singing in harmony. I sat with a smile on my face. However, one of the songs they sang featured only the bass and tenor sections of the choir. And as they sang, my eyes filled with tears and my heart plummeted in sorrow. I was hit again with grief! The sound of those male voices reminded me of my husband’s love of singing and the loss of never hearing him sing again. This is the magic of music. It touches our emotions.
| Music acts like the magic key to which the most tightly closed hearts will open. –Maria Von Trapp |
Music can provoke passions, inspire unity, and move people to action. An example of this can be found in the 1912 workers’ strike against the abusive textile mill owners in Lawrence, MA. Included among those refusing to work were a large number of immigrant women. Many credited the success of the strike to the solidarity of these women. But Katherine Paterson, author of “Bread and Roses, Too” makes this comment: Others said it was the songs that brought the strikers to victory. Little red books containing union songs were passed out. Although most of the women couldn’t read English, somehow they learned to sing in a way that made the police and militia tremble. ‘Beware that movement,’ one observing journalist said, ‘that generates its own songs.‘
Then there is the story of the young musician who took his talent and an old upright piano into the underground world of the New York City subway. As he began to play and sing the well-known Beatles song “Hey Jude”, something magical happened! John Colapinto describes it this way: In the course of two minutes, the potentially dangerous netherworld of the New York City subway… where eye contact is assiduously avoided, was transformed into a place of joy, camaraderie, connection…everyone on both platforms –male and female, Black and white, young and old– was singing, clapping, smiling at one another. The transformation was miraculous. This is what music can do!
| There is all of this potential for music to improve lives. –Neuroscientist Jolene Johnson |
Music has the ability to comfort and soothe, to encourage and inspire, to give joy and bring peace and hope. It has been found to be an instrument of healing for the hurting and the aged and even those suffering from dementia. Because music touches the soul, it lingers and provides solace when nothing else will. Carol Rosenstein whose husband struggles with dementia put it this way in an article written by Hannah Chenoweth: Music helps people find hope and joy, even in their darkest hour of suffering!
When my husband passed away a few years ago, my sorrow was deep. I hurt. But as I struggled to sleep at night, God ministered to me. Not through Scripture or prayer, but through song. As I lay alone and awake at night, a song would come to my mind, and the words and the melody would speak to my heart. Often I would listen to these songs in the night and they would bring me the comfort and the peace that I needed. I will never forget those precious times of God reaching out to me through music.
| In the night His song shall be with me –Psalm 42:8 |
Music is God’s gift to us. It is a blessing that reaches deep inside of us and can connect us to God Himself. This is why music is an integral part of our worship. It speaks to our needs, prepares our hearts to receive, and leads us to praising Him.
| Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, [offering praise by] singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. –Ephesians 5:19 (AMP) |
Music does not just touch our emotions; it affects and influences are very inner well-being. Whether you’re singing the blues or worshipping God with songs of praise, whether you’re playing classical piano or listening to classic rock, whether you’re crooning a country ballad or just enjoying some jazz, your life is made better by that music. It’s not a cure-all or an emotional panacea, but it is a blessing. Music can express abundant joy and celebrate life! It can also soothe a troubled soul. Music can lift us out of depression and transport us to other places. What an amazing gift God has given us!
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