Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 176 pages
- Published by: WinePress Publishing; Pap/Com edition September 1, 2005
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 1579217656
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-1579217655
-
Book Dimensions:
8 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
- Weighs: 7.2 ounces
Product Description
"Music has power It influences our thinking and not only conveys emotions, it produces genuine emotional states in the body. This power has been speculated about for centuriesand now, these speculations have been substantiated by scientific evidence." Excerpt from chapter four. Music and Morals looks at the effects music has on the listener, putting to rest the myth that music is amoral. You will learn Scientific evidence proving that music has positive or negative effects on the listener. Why immoral music is more powerful than Christian lyrics. The difference between moral and immoral music techniques. The underlying meaning of certain types of rhythms and much more! A mini reference guide to different musical styles and their origins and a CD with example clips of moral and immoral music are included.
About The Author
Kimberly Smith is a working musician with 40+ years of musical experience.
Reader Reviews
As a professional performing CLASSICAL musician, I have to point out that this author's assertions about classical/art music in general are flawed. As the previous reviewers have stated, her premise is that 'immoral' music causes us to act in ways which are 'ungodly', either by making our bodies move, hypnotizing us with rhythm and repetition, or taking our focus off of the sacred text. Part of her argument is supported by examples of the great classical sacred works which she claims are the models of 'moral' music. I'm sure Verdi would be glad to hear it! Or Schubert, or Mozart, or even Schutz. In every age, when musical ideas were pushing listeners' boundaries, new musical devices were labeled as immoral and ungodly (the minor third, the tritone, the saxophone). Much of the music we now consider mainstream sacred music had its origins in something slightly less pristine and pure. I'm not arguing with some of her points (there is no question that I drive faster and more aggressively when listening to ZZTop than to Bach!), but the extremes to which she takes those ideas ('all music with a backbeat is sinful') are just beyond me. It reminded of reviews of some of the greatest works in Western Classical Music ('it has too many notes' about Mozart's opera "The Marriage of Figaro"). So basically, I am just warning readers to take her scholarship with a grain of salt. I have found her bibliography and notes more interesting than the text. For instance, Joshua Leeds book, The Power of Sound: How to Manage Your Personal Soundscape for a Vital, Productive, and Healthy Life printed by Healing Arts Press, is quoted quite extensively. However this is what she writes in a footnote: "This is a very interesting book; however, because it delves into areas such as altering consciousness, and creating trance through music or other rhythmic sounds, caution is greatly advised." So she can read it, but the rest of us shouldn't? Hmmmm... As a Christian musician, I am dismayed at the state of music in our modern worship services. This is why I read the book. I wanted to see what arguments were out there. I am now doubly dismayed - if this is the level of Christian scholarship on music and its function in worship, we are definitely climbing up a very slippery slope. Surely there is something better out there.
Comment | |
(Report this)
Search for books at
