You've heard of the Mozart effect right? Studies have shown that classical music has a quantitative effect on us intellectually and emotionally. According to the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Mozart music affects the electrical impulses in the brain. 23 out of 29 patients with severe epilepsy, in one study, showed reduced epileptic activity while listening to Mozart. And numerous studies have shown a similar effect.
Musicologist, Alfred Tomatis, says music is "sonic vitamin C." According to Dr. Raymond Bahr, director of the coronary care unit at Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore: "Half an hour of music produced the same effects as ten milligrams of Valium." And in case you care, there are even monasteries in Britain that play music to the animals in their care. They claim that cows serenaded with Mozart produce more milk.
Because music is so pervasive I think we take it for granted. Especially in the iPod age. But think about all the ways we use music. They range from putting babies to sleep to going to war. Almost every special occasion involves music. And that music sets the mood. We're surrounded by music all the time. Whether we're shopping or dining or stuck in an elevator, we're being serenaded by music.
The power of music should not surprise us. And it certainly didn't originate with Mozart. Long before the Mozart Effect there was the David Effect. I Samuel 16 says that when a harpist named David played his harp, it brought emotional relief to Saul. It also had a spiritual effect. The evil spirit that was tormenting Saul would leave. That is the power of music. For good or for evil, I think music is spiritual in nature. It's not a human construct. It dates all the way back to time before time. The angels, including a fallen angel named Lucifer, worshiped God with singing before the creation of man. And according to Revelation 4, there is perpetual singing on the other side of the space-time continuum.
Here is an awesome thought: you are part of an eternal chorus that is being sung to the Creator of the Universe. And no one else can take your part. No one can sing like you or for you. Maybe that is why each of us have an absolutely unique voiceprint?
Musicologist, Alfred Tomatis, says music is "sonic vitamin C." According to Dr. Raymond Bahr, director of the coronary care unit at Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore: "Half an hour of music produced the same effects as ten milligrams of Valium." And in case you care, there are even monasteries in Britain that play music to the animals in their care. They claim that cows serenaded with Mozart produce more milk.
Because music is so pervasive I think we take it for granted. Especially in the iPod age. But think about all the ways we use music. They range from putting babies to sleep to going to war. Almost every special occasion involves music. And that music sets the mood. We're surrounded by music all the time. Whether we're shopping or dining or stuck in an elevator, we're being serenaded by music.
The power of music should not surprise us. And it certainly didn't originate with Mozart. Long before the Mozart Effect there was the David Effect. I Samuel 16 says that when a harpist named David played his harp, it brought emotional relief to Saul. It also had a spiritual effect. The evil spirit that was tormenting Saul would leave. That is the power of music. For good or for evil, I think music is spiritual in nature. It's not a human construct. It dates all the way back to time before time. The angels, including a fallen angel named Lucifer, worshiped God with singing before the creation of man. And according to Revelation 4, there is perpetual singing on the other side of the space-time continuum.
Here is an awesome thought: you are part of an eternal chorus that is being sung to the Creator of the Universe. And no one else can take your part. No one can sing like you or for you. Maybe that is why each of us have an absolutely unique voiceprint?
3 Comments:
Mark,
I love your application at the end, however, this puts me aback a little for it's the same argument that some in our church would use against the use of contemporary forms of music in worship.
In the passage you mentioned with David, no doubt that Saul was often relieved by David's playing. Also, though, a couple chapters later, David does the same thing as he had done before and Saul tries to kill him! Is it the music itself, or the ascribed power that we willingly give to it?
I'm not saying that in our contexts and cultures that there aren't powerful associations that music can carry and that music's existence in time has no effect on our emotions. However, I am saying that we may need to be careful as to how much "power" we give something that we are commanded to "subdue" and have power over (1 Cor. 6:12).
With all that said, it doesn't negate the powerful application of your conclusion. That is an awesome thought. I just disagree slightly with how you got there.
I love your books and have benefitted in a great way from your ministry. You have challenged me in so many ways. I continue in prayer for you and your ministry in DC and around the world.
Blessings,
Jason
You are on to something here.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I'm sure they're from the throne room.
Music is God's invention and very powerful. Like His Word, it will accomplish that for which He sent it.
Mark, I wrote a blog entry a few days ago very similar to yours. I have pasted it below. I figured it might be worth the read to anyone interested in cows and Mozart.
Why did God Give us Music?
I have to find purpose in everything I do, or else it appears useless. Even though I'm interacting with and creating music everyday, I consider it Godly to always focus on purpose, to make sure our motives are pure. So I ask myself the question, why did God give us such a seemingly intangible thing, that affects us in such a powerful way? There are probably many reasons we could come up with. The Psalms certainly give many exhortations to use music especially in worship. But, why music?
For me, music washes away distractions. My mind is often going in a thousand different directions. Someone told me last night that there's probably too much on my mind. Probably right! But music, and I'm specifically refering to music that glorifies God (but, not necessarily worship music), lines up my thoughts and reminds me of God, His greatness, and my purpose in Him. And, you don't have to be a musician to recognize it. It's a gift to all of us.
God has created something that begins with acoustic sonority, resonating through space, and interacting with our aural reflexes to activate our minds, and emotions, and eventually our spirits. It literally tunes our minds to a wavelength. And our spirits are pushed by that wave. Saul asked David to play the harp to chase his deamons away. That's powerful stuff!
Find a way to intentionally use this gift in your life. Gifts are no good unless they are opened. How do you use music in your daily life to propel your spirit forward?
www.bearingchrist.com
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