This is an ongoing dialogue I am having with myself as I discover how music was made to move us and God.  This page will change from time to time or morph into a much bigger organized discussion.  Enjoy my musings for now.  I claim no perfection on this page.  Just thinking out loud. 

How does music effect you?  What part does it play in your life?  Can you remember how it has helped you through many hard times?   Have you ever been connected to God through it?  I ask these questions and could ask many more as a way to move you to ponder the gift of music that God has given us humans.   Why do we like it so much?  Why is every event we attend seem to have music involved in some way.  Even the worlds biggest event, the Super Bowl has a halftime music show that is so important to the event.  Of all the things they could do at half time why music?  Why does your church start with music?  Why do you have it on all the time in your home or in your car?  If your a teenager you probably spend lots of time in your room listening to it.  And lastly if your a musician you spend hours and hours struggling and learning to play music because you love how it makes you feel when you play it. 

Think about it.  Arenas all over the earth are packed with people clapping their hands and dancing, lifting their hands and pondering the music and words that are moving them.  Why?  We humans, in all cultures have listened to it and played it throughout our existence to tell stories and celebrate, inventing different forms of instruments all from a desire to express it.  How many different instruments have been fashioned from wood and other materials to express its amazing power.  People from every culture have tinkered and experimented with new instruments so they could find the best tools to dance, tell stories, march and define their cultures.  The funny thing is they are all using the same pool of notes and rhythms that are available but yet the music sounds different. In other words there is a finite number of notes, scales, chords and rhythms available and no one is inventing any new notes.  Yet all cultures have distinctive musical expressions based on the way they use new instruments they have striven to invent, the way they accent rhythms and use the notes and scales that are available. 

Yes, there are no new notes, chords or rhythms to be invented because God made it to work perfectly and musicians from every culture have been playing hard, so they can figure out how to bend and twist it to make it their own tool to use for their vision of music. They asked the question, "what makes a song move you to tears"?  "Sure the words of songs are emotional but there is also something about the music that creates that feeling".  "How do I know how to do that"?  They have that same conversation over and over about different emotions they want to create.  Well in short the music tells them?  What I mean is, the music tells you as a musician what it wants, and needs to make you sad, happy, hopeful or excited. That is how they figured it out.  Musicians have been excellent musicians without having to go to school. How? They just worked at it until it sounded the way they wanted it to. 

Have you ever heard anyone say "man that guy or girl really knows how to play that style of music"?  Of course you have.  What that person is saying is that they are masters at making you feel a certain way with a certain type of music. In other words they know what makes that music sound its best.  That's why certain music cultures have their top players they call master musicians.  We musicians are always working on how to use emotions in the music to move people in the style we are playing.  The biggest task of musicians in every culture seems to be  "how do I get people to pay attention when I play"?  You see people will only come see a musician or band play if they are moved by the music.  So musicians have to figure out how to make people come back and the music itself tells you if you are playing it well by their reaction  That is simply how God made it.  If you want a happy song you have to figure how to make it so people are happy and the same is true for all emotions.   

Now In today's world, many more songs are being written then ever before each year and yet none of them sound exactly the same.  How does that happen? I say it is the DNA, the musical instrument being used and the skill level and experience of the writer.  Can that writer use the instruments he plays and bend the music into something uniquely him.  Then can he do it on many songs to where people hearing his songs know it's him? If so than he is a master. 

For me God is the master musician. He knows how it all works and could out play and sing anyone!!! Think about that?  Since He is the master musician, can we move Him with our music?   What does He think about our music since He invented it?  Have you ever thought about that?  If we love it so much does God?  To be continued soon. 

Kurt Coble