Music and Joy

“Praise the Lord, because he is good. Praise his name, because it brings such joy!” Psalm 135:3

I think music is one of the great equalizers in the human experience. Certainly we all have our favorite styles, but the underlying appreciation for music transcends age, experience and culture. It is one of the primary ways of expressing our individual and cultural identities.

In the six years we spent on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in New Town, ND, I came to appreciate the drum songs of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara). Some were expressions of honor, some thankfulness for a good harvest and most were songs handed down from one generation to the next. What my western ear heard as “one sound” of drums and chanting were actually a number of varying types of music. After our tenure there, I could pick out a few of the variations.

Those acquainted with Far Eastern music know that it uses and entirely different scale than our 12-tone octaves. Many of their notes are tones that fall between our own half-steps. Again, an unacquainted ear has difficulty understanding the different musical language.

The abundance of variety speaks to the desire to express ourselves in lyric and melody. I think God has created us with this inner desire. It is so much a part of us that we sometimes use melody unawares. I had a pastor who constantly whistled. I was Assistant Pastor at his church and had to get hold of him one afternoon. I knew the Bible book store was on his itinerary, so I called and asked if they would have Pastor B. call me when he arrived. The receptionist asked how she could recognize him. I replied, “He’ll be whistling.”

I know very few people who do not enjoy music. They may not play an instrument, or may say they can’t carry a tune in a bucket, but tone the radio to just the right song and almost automatically they may sway with the music, mouth the words, or, if alone, maybe in the shower, belt it out like a rock god. Put the same person in a sanctuary of 75 other people and suddenly they may become vocally shy.

I understand it completely. We are afraid those who hear us may judge us. Everyone sounds great in the shower, right? But there is something about knowing how good God actually is that can make the shyest discover a melody within. If my understanding is correct, the musical expression of the Psalms was more like chants our shouts of victory. When the Psalms talk about “singing to the Lord” we ought not think “opera” but maybe “lullaby”.

(Or “Moon River”. Seriously its vocal range is just over an octave. Henry Mancini wrote it for Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. Knowing she had a limited range he wrote it with that in mind.)

Ok, enough of the trivia trail. Not only is singing a normal expression of our humanity, it also can influence our mood. My favorite example is the blues. Singing or playing them does not make one sadder. When you sing the blues, it is a way to sing your way out of the emotional basement.

How much more can singing about God’s goodness; it does produce joy. Disposed as I am to depression, I know this is no permanent fix or a simple solution for a melancholy soul. But it does have an effect. There are so many times my heart has been so miserably desperate that I could not talk myself into feeling better. After taking my guitar in hand sitting at the piano, immersed in music, I nearly always find the mood lifting. And, the higher the subject of my song, the higher my heart rises from its darkness.

I sing because I’m happy, but when I am not happy, I sing because God is good!