With the Voice of Singing- Part 3
Come, let us praise the LORD! Let us sing for joy to God, who protects us! Let us come before him with thanksgiving and sing joyful songs of praise; Psa. 95:12; ESV.
God is worthy of your praises. Songs are heart felt expression of our desires to God, and it is prayer! With the addition of music to the words, it becomes a song….(la..la..la)… Singing allows you the chance to express how you feel about God.
Simple Definition of song. : a short piece of music with words that are sung. : the act of singing. : a series of musical sounds that are produced by a bird or an animal (such as a whale)[i]
Strong's Hebrew: 2170. זְמָרָא (zemar) -- Song, music
The noun זְמָר appears four times in Daniel 3 (verses 5, 7, 10, 15), each time in the phrase “all kinds of music.” The setting is the plain of Dura, where King Nebuchadnezzar erects a [ii]
For Hebrews, music is primarily vocal
and that is servant of the Word and it is very ideal to say expression from
heart.
For example:
certain portions of their Scriptures like Magnificat, Lord’s Prayer, and Phil
2:5-11, are sung from very early times and it still exists. In the Old
Testament days, Temple instruments were talked about and much less about tunes,
and music. Saddening to know that after the destruction of the Temple Music was
subdued.
Hymns presented the theology and were written to promote Orthodox values and Biblical ideas. Hymns in general were syllabic and that is one note per syllable. This is not melismatic which has many notes per syllable. One syllable for one note is very interesting, and I was excited to see this in an Exhibition in Germany!
Hymn writing was natural in Greek culture, and Ephraim the Syrian, Hilary Poitiers, Jerome, and Ambrose are early Hymn writers. Spiritual songs are generally melismatic and that is having many notes per syllable, and jubilations are songs based on ‘Alleluia’. Vocal music became central to the celebrations of Eucharist and Agape.[iii]
Alleluia melodies became very popular during the time period and ‘church modes’ were catalogued and from the neumes of medieval notations, modern music notations were developed. The point I am making emphatically is that songs are indeed prayers and they flow out of our heart which is the seat of emotions.
[ Testimony! My grand-daughter 5 years old….singing to God with her own words, making music of her own, from her heart for more than 20 minutes, allowing herself to sleep. It is all about God, His love for her, how God is her best, how she loves Him and with emotions…which can break any heart to tears! ….(recorded without her knowledge by her mother). The point is it comes naturally for humanity!]
Songs are inspirations of our heart and
the words are formed, and it can be sung when one is happy or sad. There is a
place for lament as well, and there is a Book called Lamentations in the Bible!
When music is laid the words of our heart becomes a song. In a corporate setting in a church we can
raise our voices together in words or singing and this becomes prayer to God.
Do you know that music is art and science together? There is a tremendous connection and goodness of music to our nervous system, and neuroscience authenticates it.
In the early days usually voices did not accompany instruments; usually trumpets, and shofars are used to bring order in a public place and also to lead a procession. Both for Hebrew music and also for pagan singing, harps were used to enhance worship. They used some other sweet stringed instruments as well. Churches and synagogues shunned the pagan, sensual music, and singing with one voice the Scriptures; and choirs became part of the worship later.
This applies to singing in other cultures too. It was very interesting to witness personally the singing of Solomon Islander’s in my recent visit. Very often they sang Scriptures, worship songs and hours of prayer were observed for different needs, even singing at the Lord’s Table seemed to be the norm.
Music and Neuroscience
[Music provides and provokes a response, which
is universal, ingrained into our evolutionary development, and leads to marked
changes in emotions and movement. Through music we can learn much about our
human origins and the human brain.
Music
is a potential method of therapy and a means of accessing and stimulating
specific cerebral circuits. There is also an association between musical
creativity and psychopathology. Through music we learn much about our human
origins and the human brain and have a potential method of therapy by accessing
and stimulating specific cerebral circuits.
Functional neuroimaging studies of music
and emotion show that music perception engages emotion-related brain net works, and
that music can modulate activity in limbic and paralimbic brain structures such
as the amygdala, NAcc, hypothalamus, hippocampus, insula, cingulate cortex and
orbitofrontal cortex.][iv]
*NAcc, means nucleus accumbens or formerly as the nucleus accumbens septi, (Latin for nucleus adjacent to the septum’)
But how does music affect our brain?
Along with triggering a release of the feel-good hormone dopamine, science has shown that listening to music may boost our cognitive function, potentially relieve symptoms of anxiety and stress, and help us to stay focused. If you want to keep your brain engaged throughout the aging process, listening to or playing music is a great tool. It provides a total brain workout. Research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain as well as improve sleep quality, mood, mental alertness, and memory.[v]
Neuroscience points to the written word of God: we have the Book of Psalms, and mostly they are songs.
The psalms comprised the
ancient hymnal of God's people. The poetry was often set to music—but not always. The
psalms express the emotion of the individual poet to God or about God.
Different types of psalms were written to communicate different feelings and
thoughts regarding a psalmist's situation. Most individual psalms involve and
symbolize the praise of God for His power and beneficence, for his creation of
the world, and for his past acts of deliverance for Israel. They envision a
world in which everyone and everything will praise God, and God in turn will
hear their prayers and respond.[vi]
Listening to gentle music has a calming effect on our nervous system, and on our souls! Praise and worship songs before the sermon in churches has a calming effect on audience. I have known of surgeons who play gentle music in operating theaters. One of my client who plays his violin before his sessions. The common thread here is, they all said that music calms them before a major task!
The most important things is: We can discover the heart of God, as we sing along with the poet! We begin to fathom, that God’s heart is for man and when he is on a stormy, rugged path. God is able to still the situation, calm the storm and bring peace. This is so good for our soul.
Keep on singing!
[i] Song | Definition of Song by Merriam-Webster
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/song
Simple Definition
of song. : a short piece of music with words that are sung. : the act of
singing. : a series of musical sounds that are produced by a bird or an animal
(such as a whale)
Folk Song - Art Song - Fight Song - Part–song
[ii] The noun זְמָר appears four times in Daniel 3
(verses 5, 7, 10, 15), each time in the phrase “all kinds of music.” The
setting is the plain of Dura, where King Nebuchadnezzar erects a
[iv] Music and the brain: the neuroscience ...National Institutes of Health
(NIH) (.gov)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ›
articles › PMC5618809
by M
Trimble · 2017 · Cited by 111 — Through music we
can learn much about our human origins and the human brain. Music is
a potential method of therapy and a means of…
[v] How does
music affect your brain? | Live Science.
[vi] Insight for
Livinghttps://insight.org › resources › bible › the-wisdom-books
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