Ever since I was a young girl, I have loved music. At the age of three, I was infatuated with the violin and would do the sign language motion for it anytime I heard it being played. At the age of four and a half, I started taking violin lessons, and since then, I’ve also picked up other instruments. Music has been a central part of my life ever since. Even at a young age, I had a staunch position against contemporary music. I didn’t like it, and I thought it was bad. If you would have asked me why I probably would have said, “God says it’s bad,” but if you had questioned further, I wouldn’t have been able to give you an answer. Now I have a backing for what I believe about music.
Some people ask, are there right and wrong types of music? Or is it just taste or preference? Scripture has the answers to these questions. People have contorted God's purpose for music, and we must return to the Biblical standard. Music is very powerful, and so it is vital for Christians to be informed on how it can affect and change them. I will go through the three aspects of music and how God says it affects someone.
To start, I’d like to lay out how music affects us. God created music to affect us in three different ways, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. In 1 Samuel, David used music to help Saul by sending out an evil spirit, affecting him spiritually, resetting him emotionally, and being refreshed physically. Similarly, music is divided into three parts: melody, harmony, and rhythm. Frank Garlock, an expert in music, says that melody affects the spirit, harmony affects the mind, and rhythm affects the body.
The first aspect of music is the melody. In scripture, we find that melody is made in our hearts.
Ephesians 5:19 says, "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." (KJV) God created melody to affect our spirit because it directly correlates to our praise and worship of Christ. It is also supposed to be a sweet sound. Lyrics are also put to the melody, which God outlines are to teach, admonish and build up the saints. We can also use lyrics to tell stories and to speak of things honoring the Lord.
Some contemporary music genres do not follow the melody and lyrics God outlines in the Bible as good. Rock, according to what Allan Bloom, an American philosopher, said, "has one appeal only, a barbaric appeal to sexual desire- not love, not eros, but sexual desire undeveloped and untutored."(Music in the Balance) Rap also has a negative message. According to Kimberly Campista, "Rap culture promotes negative mindsets. Music has changed increasing profanity, drugs, violence, and much sexual slang invoking an influence on modern youth society." (Hip Hop’s Negative Influence on Adolescents). Most rap doesn’t have a melody or harmony but is composed of words following a beat. Country music can sometimes cause suicidal moods because its lyrics focus on problems related to the suicidal population. The melody and lyrics can affect people positively and negatively; Christians must be on guard against music that doesn’t have the right melody.
The second aspect of music is harmony. Harmony is the part of the music that affects the mind. In my opinion, it is the part of music that is kind of brainy. It is a little more technical and has to be exact to sound right. According to the Oxford dictionary, harmony is supposed to have a pleasing effect. It is supposed to be unified, meaning harmony should complement the melody. Harmony, along with the melody, affects emotions. Since a composer can express emotions through music, we must be careful what kind of emotions it gives us. In the book Music in the Balance, the author Frank Garlock says, quote "since music is an emotional language, and since some emotions are wrong for the child of God, then some music is wrong for the Christian." (Music In the Balance) end quote. Since music can create emotions within us, we must understand how different music affects us. This will help us know what styles of music to avoid because it creates the wrong feelings.
Emotions are a big part of music; many people listen to music based on how it makes them feel. Rock music, according to Innovation Entertainment, "is a form of music that is primal, passionate, and rebellious. It expresses the emotions of angst, anger, and lust.” (Going Against the Grain). According to the Department of Political Science, the purpose of blues is to "express feelings of pain and grief." (The Social Significance of Blues Music). Other emotions are empowerment, recklessness, fear, anxiety, and sadness. Even though some of these emotions are not directly wrong, the actions that stem from these emotions can be. Thus, we must be careful that music does not encourage us to have emotions that result in wrong actions.
The last aspect of music is rhythm, which controls our bodies. Simon Frith, from the book Music in the Balance, says, "The sexuality of music is usually referred to in terms of its rhythm- it is the beat that commands a direct physical response." (Music in the Balance) Since our bodies are given to God according to 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, we have to be careful that the rhythm of the music doesn't make our body move in a way that is sexual or inappropriate. When the drums accent the off-beats, it has been shown to make the body move this way. For example, if we are in the 4/4 time signature, where there are four beats per measure, 1-2-3-4, the accented off beats will make the 2nd and 4th beats louder, 1-2-3-4, instead of the 1st and 3rd beats, 1-2-3-4. Also, when the emphasis in music is on the rhythm rather than on the melody, it can cause this same problem. Rhythm must be in the music but not overpower the melody and harmony because the body’s desires shouldn’t be put above the spirit or mind. If the rhythm overpowers the melody, it is out of balance.
Some music genres that include the accented off-beat are Rock/Metal, Rap, Jazz, Blues, and Country. Frank Zappa, a rock artist, said, "Rock music is sex. The big beat matches the body's rhythms." (Harmony at Home). The beat has a direct influence on our bodies. We must be sure that the music we listen to doesn’t make us move inappropriately or draws attention to ourselves.
You might not listen much to these genres of music and may wonder how this affects me. Or the body of believers? I have one last genre to evaluate, Contemporary Christian Music. CCM can vary in style it models after, so this is not an absolute statement about CCM. A part of what makes CCM so appealing to people is the accented off beat in the music. The rhythm causes inappropriate body movement, but the lyrics praise God. Often advocators for CCM or Christian rock/metal/rap will say that because they have changed the words, the meaning of the music also changes. In response to this, the author of Why I left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement, Dan Lucarini, says, "We believe we can handle rock music safely and clean it up because we are saved, and we ask God to use it. Wrong! We cannot separate the style of music from its immoral associations. Rock music inevitably corrupts Christians." (Contemporary Christian Music Movement). Music shouldn't be listened to if it creates the wrong emotions or body language. Since most Contemporary Christian Music uses styles that have these results, we can conclude that the CCM songs, which adopt the world's rhythm, will be contrary to God's desire for music.
As you have seen, contemporary music genres typically do not follow the Biblical guideline for music. This should make us stop and consider what we are listening to and how it shapes us. We must evaluate our music standards. We can ask ourselves these questions. Is the melody uplifting and holy? Does it help us praise and worship God or edify the believer? Do the lyrics of this song promote a godly message? Does the harmony complement the melody? Does it create the right emotions within us? Does the rhythm accent the off beats? Does it encourage the body to move inappropriately or sexually? Maybe the song is fine, but the way it's played is not.
Does it promote sensuality or glorification of the performer rather than God? One can find both Christian and secular music that upholds this standard of biblical music.
As we have seen, music has been twisted to be contrary to God's design. We've looked at the three parts of music which affect our spirit, emotions, and body. I hope you'll consider your perspective on music and assess if the music you listen to genuinely honors God in all aspects. Frank Garlock says, "Music has tremendous power for good and evil. Our prayer ought to be, 'Lord, give me the discernment and the desire to fill my home and church with the music which has the power for good and the discipline to avoid the sound of the world." (Music in the Balance)
Works Cited
Garlock, Frank, Kurt Woetzell. Music in the Balance. Greenville, SC, Majesty Music. 1992
“Going Against the Grain: The True Meaning of Rock’ n’ Roll.” Innovative Entertainment, December 4, 2019. Going Against the Grain: The True Meaning of Rock' n' Roll - Innovative Entertainment
Steinfeld, Susanna. “The Social Significance of Blues Music.” Department of Political Science Major in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, the ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016, The Social Significance of Blues Music
Campista, Kimberly. “Hip Hop’s Negative Influence on Adolescents.” The Spellbinder, May 25, 2022. Hip Hop’s negative influence on adolescents – The Spellbinder
Fisher, Tim. Harmony At Home. Greenville, SC, Sacred Music Services, Inc. 1999.
Lucarini, Dan. Why I Left The Contemporary Christian Music Movement. Auburn, MA, Evangelical Press. 2002
