Hammond B-3 Analysis

Music and religion are often intertwined, whether it be religious chanting or hymns used to worship. However, in the case of Islam, the relationship between religion and music is more strained, as Islamic law strictly forbids listening to music. However, there is a very strong religious debate on what constitutes music as diversion and what is acceptable to use in worship and religious purposes. There are two concepts in Islam which are relevant to this conversation: sama and ghina. The ghina is the simpler of the two, referring to music and performance associated with secular art music; this is normally banished. Ghina is the only genre which is referred to as “music”. The sama, on the other hand, is more complex. Sama, which literally means “listening” and thus, includes the music being listened to (as well as dance as performed by mystic societies) is more complex. The abundance of writings about the sama is chiefly due to the debate surrounding the legality of music and dance from a legal, mystical, and religious perspective. Some elements of music have been categorized as acceptable sama by religious authorities, including Koran cantillation, singing of unaccompanied hymns, old Bedouin songs, and simple functional folk songs used to mark events in a community or individual’s life, thus considering them to be “non-music”.

These different mindsets concerning the music caused a division to occur in the church. This example ties in with another point addressed in the Declaration and Address. And that is the point concerning what to do with doctrinal differences that are not based on clear and exact teachings in the New Testament and how that leads to division. There are a lot of things that come about in life that we can clearly read in the Bible is right or is wrong. With that being said it is simple to make definite rules and it is also simple to clear up arguments and disagreements when the answer is clearly seen in the Bible, because it is really hard to argue with a clear answer in the Bible when you are trying to use the Bible to back you up. However, what happens when there is not a clear teaching in the Bible? That is what happened with the

From the beginning of times, music has played an important role in everyone’s life. At first, it started with drum-based and percussion instruments made out of what was available as rocks and sticks. Our ancestors proved that human beings have an innate need of music. Nowadays, no one teaches a baby to follow the beat of a song, he just naturally lets his body get involved with the rhythm. Since the prehistoric era to Christian times, several forms of music have developed leaving a trail to new genres of music. For Christianity, hymns and plainchants were the first forms of music considered as a worship to God. As time passed by, Christian music has evolved giving way to new and fresh sounds.

William Christopher Handy was born in Florence, Alabama, on November 16, 1873, to Elizabeth Brewer and Charles Barnard Handy, a Methodist Minister. Handy grew up loving music in all forms, but his father did not support his son’s love for secular music and only agreed to pay for organ lessons (Biography.com Editors). In St. Louis Blues (1958), Handy played the organ for his father’s church choir, which shows that he grew up playing gospel music. Early on when Handy tried to branch out to other music instruments, such as the trumpet, American religious communities, especially in the South, frowned upon this because the music it was playing was deemed, “secular.” This was a huge controversy in Handy’s life due to the fact that his father was

African American religious music is the foundation of all contemporary forms of so called “black music.” African American religious music has been a fundamental part of the black experience in this country. This common staple of the African American experience can be traced back to the cruel system of slavery. It then evolved into what we refer to today as gospel music. The goal of this paper is to answer three main questions. What are the origins of African American religious music? How did this musical expression develop into a secular form of music? What is the future of African American religious music? These questions will be answered through factual research of African American traditions, artists, and various other sources.

To participate in worship, a person must have a relationship with God. In other words, how can a person worship someone he/she does not know or experienced. To obtain that link an individual must become a part of the body of Christ by accepting Jesus as their personal Savior and surrender their will for God's will and plans for their life. They must also have had an encounter with God as Saul on the Damascus road and David with his many issues. However, music has a multipurpose, it drives away evil spirits, calms the mind, and drives a person toward the love and warmth of Christ.

In the antebellum South of the 1840s, there were three very popular genres of music: stage music, parlor music, and sacred music. Elements of all three of these genres are still emphasized in today’s music curriculum. Although these genres as Dusenbery knew them are no longer popular, they’ve slowly evolved into today’s music. Music theatre has replaced stage music, pop music has replaced parlor music, and sacred music has evolved into modern worship music. Although the average WVU students no longer dance to a fiddle on Friday nights, they do however flock to clubs where different music warrants similar social experiences. Perhaps the only true difference between music then and now is the prominence of religion. As more defining lines were drawn between church and state, the popularity of religious and sacred music greatly diminished. During Dusenbery’s time, religious music like Sacred Harp were incredibly popular in the south. It’s very likely that many students participated in Sacred Harp sings throughout their years at UNC. No religious music holds this level of importance in today’s music

Music is an everyday occurrence for most people. In some way, shape and form, people listen to music. For Christians, specially those at bible college, this can be in chapel day to day. For others it may be in a car or even in the workplace, which can be the case for Christians also. Music for me is an everyday occurrence, not only in chapel but also in other places such as my dorm room and when I get ready for sports.

Although starkly different in dogma, Methodist and Baptist churches were able to evangelize many African Americans due to their common sharing of musical fervor. For example, in “the evangelical movements of popular reverends, John and Charles Wesley, [they] embraced ecstatic expressions; including, “speaking in tongues, fainting, [and] moving with the shakes.”(Walker, 1974). The African adoption of Christianity indelibly changed their views of the universe. However, pre-existing religious practices, particularly in West Africa, lend themselves to eighteenth century protestant denominations, in which both see music as connection to God or gods. Consequently, this legacy of cultural syncretism can be linked to twentieth century gospel music, wherein it has “certainly functioned as a catalyst for similar expressions of religious fervor.” (Wilson,

From about the early 1600s-mid 1800s, African-American spiritual were very popular amongst the black community. They were originally formed to provide comfort and ease the boredom of daily tasks. Also, they were a form of spiritual devotion and a longing for freedom from slavery. You may be surprised to hear that some popular songs, such as “Amazing Grace”, were originally African-American spirituals. Another famous spiritual is “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” by Wallis Willis. The term “spiritual” comes from the Kings James Bible translation of Ephesians 5:19: “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Typically when singing spirituals,

African American religious music is the foundation of all contemporary forms of so called "black music." African American religious music has been a fundamental part of the black experience in this country. This common staple of the African American experience can be traced back to the cruel system of slavery. It then evolved into what we refer to today as gospel music. The goal of this paper is to answer three main questions. What are the origins of African American religious music? How did this musical expression develop into a secular form of music? What is the future of African American religious music? These questions will be answered through factual research of African American traditions, artists, and various other sources.

Hart said, “God is sound.” (Potter, 58) This quote resonated with me because no three words have ever spoken more truth. Coming from a musical, Catholic background, I have always been told that singing is praying twice. Music truly is a gift from God because God gave us the ability to hear.

I believe that it would be difficult for someone to make the argument that Negro spirituals have not been influential in the field of music, much less the realm of gospel music today. However, church members often do not make the time to reflect on the heritage of a hymn or song to realize the meaning that the particular piece has carried with it through the decades, even centuries. With this in mind, I am going to look at the history of the Negro spiritual and then at specific hymns in the 1991 Baptist Hymnal, published by Convention Press, to see just what impact the Negro spiritual has had on today's church music. I believe that we will find that these songs have had a

1. Discuss the use of music in Catholic and Protestant worship practice, from the development of polyphony, through the music of J.S. Bach. In so doing, discuss the shift in responsibility for musical development from the Catholic Church to the Lutheran Church.

Music not only has issues in discrimination and racism but also in religion. In an article by Lake State Publications (2002), the transformation of music started during the early Christian era. It said that only Gregorian Chants were recognized in sacred ceremonies. However, secular and non-religious songs became rampant when the church had an unlikely encounter with the French Nobles called troubadours causing them to write the very first secular songs and ask the ministers to sing them to the public. Secular music continued to gain importance to the masses and vocal music became more important