Music - Get Inspired

Music on this expedition of understanding God purpose has also played it’s part over the three months. Last night was no exception. At St Mary’s Parish Church there was a concert of Northumbrian Music. Consisting of The Northumbrian smallpipes, Swedish bagpipes, violin, and the little know Swedish instrument called a nyckelharpa dating back to the mid-fourteenth century. The Nyckelharpa has four playable strings, rather like a fiddle with an additional twelve strings that are employ by using keys in a harp-like manner to change the pitch of the sound. This strange looking musical instrument has sixteen strings to tune, before you start to play a note. My understanding is that it takes some time to learn not only how to play it, but to tune it too.

The music was haunting at times, specially if the smallpipes were played on their own equally the nyckelharpa looked like an almost impossible instrument to play, but its sound was perfectly matched by the acoustics of the parish church. Almost seventy people went to hear these two accomplished Northumbrian musicians share their love of this county’s musical heritage. In many ways we often forget that there are regional musical traditions that are synonymous with various places that I have visited so far.

Music is a delicate balance between what is placing to the ear and how we interoperate the sound. If we are able to pick up the melody of any piece of music or even a song and we start humming along of tap, stamp our feet, or clap our hands in time with the beat. Then this music has resonated with us. Music is pleasant or it is not. That might be too simplistic way of ‘looking’ at it, but the we either enjoy music or we do not.

I grow up in a house where classical music was the most favoured listen past-time, especially on a Sunday afternoon. The record player and there were many version from the wind-up gramophone record that played at 78rpm (rotations per minute) to the electrical record-players where you could play records at either 45rpm (mainly popular music) and 33rpm for classical. Some might still say that the best way to listen to music today is to play a record rather than a computer file.

For some people today music has played an important part in how we see the world around us, how we feel about faith, life, emotions, relationships, and in many ways the list is endless. I have probable listen to more music while I have been on Holy Island than any of the places I have visited. My musical tastes in contemporary music has over the years be broaden by my Goddaughter, who has introduced me to bands like Mumford & Sons, Bombay Bicycle Club, Iron & Wine, and many more. In my day the bands that I grow up with were, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Camel, Bad Company, The Kinks, Meat Loaf, Hot Chocolate, and many more besides.Yet, if I think back to those Sunday Afternoon, where television was a minor entertainment, because there was so little on the “box”, then the radio and the BBC Home Service was thee station to listen too. Or you played records and the speaker were huge wooden boxes, that might crackle a bit. Then your playlist would include Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Dvorak, Rossini, Vivaldi, and many more. Their tunes were not over in three or four minutes, but would play for ten, twenty, or more minutes.

Music in some ways is like modern society, it has become a sound bit. Thank goodness my faith is not a sound bit, but I expect these reflection on my day are in effect sound bits. So often we neglect to listen. If a piece of music is not likable within the first thirty seconds then it is forgotten until the next track starts. This evening the music for many people, the sound was something new. I was not complicate, bit simple, with agreeable melodies that struck accord with the hearers. In the space of St Mary’s Parish Church one could not help but be transformed into another age, where music played a central part of society, bringing people together in celebration of either joyous news, or as means to remember someone by.

Today we can appreciate the music of yesteryear through many mediums classical, jazz, blues, pop, they all have many genres. Likewise, church music too, choral societies, hymns and worship songs all have and ever widening repertory of material to chose from. In many ways, I know how difficult it is to hear God speaking, in the modern world, peace and quiet, and solitude is required. However, I do know that I hear him through music, hymns and worship songs, and the word read aloud, or simple prayed into a situation. In seeking and discerning God’s voice, I know that when I hear it, it will not be a sound bit, but it will be like music to my ears in order for me to get inspired.