I asked this question on social media last night and got some interesting responses. But I wasn’t surprised. Things like fanbase, money, work ethic, among others were mentioned. But one person said something that was exactly the direction I wanted to go with this question.
“The ability to connect”
This semester in school, I am taking an analysis class that involves a lot of study about the relationship between music and the brain. Most importantly, our emotions. Already I am seeing how simple little waves coming from speakers or instruments can affect a life-form in ways I’ve never imagined. Think about it. We all have those songs that we play when we are driving (which involves drumming on the steering wheel), when we are excited, sad, in need of relaxation, etc. And it’s not just a certain type of lyric that fits each mood. There is something more. There is something sonically happening that is affecting the listening. There is a reason I pump up music to
As a worship leader, David recognized this. He was to play before Saul (who was demonized at the time) and used music as a tool to cast out the demon. In Revelation, there is talk of music, as the angels are said to be singing. This leads me to believe that music has divine power and is a weapon we can use. I think this is why we are so affected by music.
Popular artists have the power to use their music to move us. There are many different brilliant songwriters who keep listeners “coming back” because of this. Especially in music, there isn’t a physical product being sold. (okay, some people buy physical CDs/vinyl). In physical art, a piece of canvas and a bunch of paint isn’t really worth a lot of money, but if you are moved by the painting, you will pay money to purchase it to experience it over again. The thing that sells a song and keeps us coming back isn’t what type of gear was used to create the song (although they are tools to help bring out different emotions). The selling point is the emotion of the song and how the listener feels afterwards.
A worship leader who’s blog I frequently visit, Vicky Beeching, wrote an extremely challenging post about worship songwriting this week. It seems that we manufacture our worship songs and just want to pump out quantity. I believe that we need to be coming to God with honesty and our best. Saying that He is good just because it fits in a line well isn’t probably the best idea. I really hope that when we all put “pen to paper”, “fingers to piano/keyboard” etc, that we come with a heart to respond to what God has done in our lives and the unique story that He is “penning” in us. When I think about God and who He is, I think of many emotions that I experience during different seasons. I try to capture one of those specific emotions and lay it at His feet through musical worship. Sometimes this results in a song, sometimes it’s me praying while strumming away on my guitar. Either way, the heart is the worship and not a mechanical song that “works”.
While successful recording artists might not all be writing for the glory of God, they all recognize the power of music to lead us to a different place. It’s time that we as Sons & Daughters of the King recognized that and saw the “comfortable weight” that songwriting for worship actually has. It’s a really unique and exciting opportunity, but not one to be taken lightly.
What do you think? In my own mind, this post created more questions. I’d love to banter more about it.
