Serving Assorted Preferences and Future Generations in Our Songwriting

On Worship Matters, Bob Kauflin posts Reviewing Awesome God Children's CD Reviews. Near the end, he quotes one reviewer's critique of their musical style:

While it is true that there are many different 'tastes' in music, I cannot but think that there are some elements of the way an instrument is played that accentuate the fleshly nature of our fallen self. What do I mean? Well it is fairly obvious that romantic music is designed to create a certain 'mood' in the listener. Other music such as heavy metal causes the listener to feel intensely powerful and invincible.

Bob posts his reply:

Our understanding of how music works in worshipping God is probably more similar than you'd think. We, too, never want the music to overpower the lyrics, but rather serve them. Probably the main area we see things differently is what music "causes" us to do. Music moves us emotionally, but there is a powerful associative effect that can be trained and/or changed. Heavy music doesn't automatically cause someone to "feel intensely powerful and invincible," although that kind of music is often used to voice those attitudes.

I like Bob's last line, "that kind of music is often used to voice those attitudes." That is a good summary of how I feel the music should serve the text. Music should allow us to express the attitude of the text. When I sing Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” I do feel invincible, as I should. The song text teaches me that because of who God is for me in Christ and his Kingdom, I can let everything go and yet suffer no ultimate harm. I should feel invincible, because my God is a mighty fortress and I am in Him. That “feeling” is the proper result of this right theological perception. The tune must help me express that “feeling.” In this case, a “soft” tune would do violence to the text. Luther’s tune complements his text so that, by the end of the fourth verse, I am ready to charge into hell exclaiming, “Do your worst! God has willed his truth to triumph through me; His kingdom is forever!”

Luther’s tune was not designed mindlessly, as notes thrown on a page simply so a text could be sung in obedience to the command to sing. The tune was “designed to create a certain ‘mood’ in the listener.” Is this wrong? No, it is absolutely right. It is right, because mood created by the tune is appropriate to the mood demanded by the text.

Would it ever be wrong to use music to create a mood? Certainly. It would be wrong when there is no substance to the text. If the “mood” is all there is, with no understood theological truth producing the mood in our souls, then it would be wrong. It would also be wrong if the “mood” affirmed something theologically false or celebrated something sinful. (For example, the heavy metal classic “Highway to Hell” makes the listener feel invincible as they celebrate the fact that they are on a highway to hell. Certainly, this is not how our depravity should make us feel.) Bob goes on in his response to write:

Having said that, we aren't married to a particular style, and encourage singing songs in different ways, to reinforce the principle that there is no music that God prefers above all others. Rather, it's our job to use music wisely and responsibly, and to find ways to glorify God in various genres, rather than just a few.

He concludes:

We have no illusions that we’ll ever produce a project that will be acceptable to every musical preference or theological perspective. But in the mean time, we’ll continue to seek to write and promote music that will serve churches and parents in proclaiming the glories of God and the Savior to future generations.

I appreciate these comments. I think it is healthy to vary in our styles and to “encourage singing songs in different ways.” I also appreciate the desire to “serve churches and parents in proclaiming the glories of God and the Savior to future generations.” I think it is important to write for the coming generations, as well as for our own.

One of ways that I like to “encourage singings songs in different ways” and to serve future generations is by writing texts in standard meters. I have a heart for “traditional churches” and for my own generation. They often like different styles. Yet, they should be embracing the same God and the same theology. I would like them to sing (at least some of) the same texts.

Writing in standard meters allows for singing of texts in a variety of styles. This way, David may compose a modern tune (and sometimes make needed metrical adjustments), yet a more “traditional” church can chose a well-known tune of appropriate meter to set it to, if they so prefer.

I’m not proposing that all songs should be written in meter. I’ve written in irregular meter and will continue to do so. Some of my favorite songs are in irregular meter. Yet, I wonder if some quality texts are so tied to their contemporary tunes that the text will be lost when the tune goes out of style. I believe the church would profit from more metered songs. Might disciplining ourselves with meter not only result in more texts that are poetically artistic but also help to preserve them for the coming generations? Might such discipline make our texts more useful to the assortment of musical tastes in the body of Christ?