by David E. Knauss
Ph.D. in Music Education
Doc. Humane Letters, Honoris Causa
Introduction. Music! Where did it come from? Why does it exist? Is it a universal language? Does music have effects? Why do humans have an affinity for it? Do animals have anything to do with music? Does it have anything to do with God? What does the Bible say about music?
Music is an amazing subject to explore.
God and Music. Concerning God, did you know singing happened during creation (Job 38:4-7)? Did you know music will be played at the end of the ages (Revelation 5:5-10)? Did you know music will announce God’s coronation (Revelation 11:15)? Did you know God Himself sings (Zephaniah 3:17), and God Himself plays a trumpet (Zechariah 9:14)? Did you know God gives harps as gifts (Revelation 15:2)?
Animals and Music. Concerning animals, did you know that if you record elongated whale song and speed up the playback, you have notes from the seven-note diatonic scale? Did you know that birds sing notes from the twelve-note chromatic scale? Did you know that bird song in Spring actually causes leaves on trees to burst open? Bird song at dawn dilates the stomata (van Dalen). From British musician David Hindley slowing bird song, did you know there is a parallel between the skylark’s blizzard of notes and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony? Also from Hindley, did you know there is a parallel between the woodlark’s complex song and J.S. Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues? Did you know the woodlark changes its tune to the rules of classical sonata form (Davies)? Did you know Minneapolis music teacher Michael Holtz concluded that God created bird song for greatly increasing seed germination and plant growth (van Dalen)? (Check out Holtz’s research with the use of music and growing plants.) Just think of that—music may create and stimulate life.
Humans and Music. Did you know God gives songs as gifts (Job 35:10)? Did you know He loves His songs prayed back to Him (Psalm 42:8)? Playing and praying only has one letter different between the two words. Does that make them the same when you intentionally do both? Revelation 5:8 speaks of harps and golden bowls. Did you know the harp represents playing and the golden bowl represents praying?
Did you know music brings God’s presence (2 Kings 3:15; 2 Chronicles 20:21-22; Psalm 22:3)? Did you know God’s presence inspires spontaneous music (Psalm 98:4)?
Did you know the human body is considered to be a musical instrument, and that speech and song are considered to be similar musical expressions? Did you know the creation of musical instruments is said to be modeled on the human frame (van Dalen)?
The Harp. There are many instruments listed across the pages of Scripture that represent all four families of instruments—winds, brass, strings, and percussion. But one particular instrument seems to have preeminence above all the rest—the harp. Why the harp? We mentioned before that God gives harps as gifts (Revelation 15:2). Did you know Estes concluded the harp produces a full complement of harmonics, that the graphed wave-form of a plucked harp approximates that of a human voice, and that this wave special wave shape is the “sound equivalent of white light” (p. 7)? If this is so, just consider the extensiveness and the depth of these spiritual implications!
What’s the Point? The point at this point is not a statement, but a series of questions to be explored in the next several presentations. What else does the Bible say about music? Why do we always associate the harp with Heaven, God’s home? Is there an intelligent mathematical design underlying all of creation? Why do humans universally have a natural affinity for musical expression? Are there any musical institutions mentioned in ancient Scripture? Were the original Scriptures of the Old Testament spoken or sung? Does the mysterious Melchizedek priesthood, of which David and Jesus are in, have anything to do with music? We will explore these subjects in future sessions.
References
2 Chronicles 20:21-22 (KJV), “21. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth for ever. 22. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.”
2 Kings 3:15 (KJV & Reformation Study Bible), “But now bring me a minstrel [harpist]. And it came to pass, when the minstrel [harpist] played, that the hand [power and prophetic inspiration] of the Lord came upon him [Elisha].”
Davies, Gareth H. (n.d.). Bird songs. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/songs/. Accessed 10/09/2013, 8:50 AM EST.
Estes, D. (Fall, 1998). The harp as a divine communication tool. The Harp Therapy Journal, 3(3), 6-8, 11.
Job 35:10 (Amplified Bible), “But no one says, Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs of rejoicing in the night,”
Job 38:4-7 (New Living Translation), “4.Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? 6. What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone 7. as the morning stars sang together and all the angels [Hebrew sons of God] shouted for joy?”
Psalm 22:3 (KJV), “But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”
Psalm 42:8 (NIV), “Yet the Lord will command His loving kindness in the day time, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.”
Psalm 98:4 (NIV), “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;”
Revelation 5:5-10 (KJV), “5. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. 8. And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou was slain, and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10. And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
Revelation 11:15 (Wycliffe Bible & KJV), “And the seventh angel trumpeted [And the seventh angel sang in trump], and great voices were made in heaven, and said, The realm of this world is made of our Lord, and of Christ, His Son [saying, The realm of this world is made our Lord’s, and of Christ’s, His Son]; and He shall reign for ever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 15:2 (New Living Translation), “I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them.”
Van Dalen, Cornelis. (n.d.). The dawn chorus and life forces. Retrieved from http://www.newphysis.com/dawnchorus.html. Accessed 10/09/2013, 9:21 AM EST.
Zechariah 9:14 (KJV), “And the Lord shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (KJV), “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.”
David E. Knauss
Ph.D. in Music Education.
www.classroom-music.info
Dr. Knauss mentors student teachers and regular teachers into teaching excellence. He taught for 3 decades in inner-city public schools, winning over street kids into being like family, became one of the principle curriculum writers for an award-winning, internationally-recognized music department. He retired from public schools, completed a Ph.D. in Music Education, and presently is an adjunct music education professor at Baptist Bible College.
Ph.D. in Music Education
Doc. Humane Letters, Honoris Causa
Introduction. Music! Where did it come from? Why does it exist? Is it a universal language? Does music have effects? Why do humans have an affinity for it? Do animals have anything to do with music? Does it have anything to do with God? What does the Bible say about music?
Music is an amazing subject to explore.
God and Music. Concerning God, did you know singing happened during creation (Job 38:4-7)? Did you know music will be played at the end of the ages (Revelation 5:5-10)? Did you know music will announce God’s coronation (Revelation 11:15)? Did you know God Himself sings (Zephaniah 3:17), and God Himself plays a trumpet (Zechariah 9:14)? Did you know God gives harps as gifts (Revelation 15:2)?
Animals and Music. Concerning animals, did you know that if you record elongated whale song and speed up the playback, you have notes from the seven-note diatonic scale? Did you know that birds sing notes from the twelve-note chromatic scale? Did you know that bird song in Spring actually causes leaves on trees to burst open? Bird song at dawn dilates the stomata (van Dalen). From British musician David Hindley slowing bird song, did you know there is a parallel between the skylark’s blizzard of notes and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony? Also from Hindley, did you know there is a parallel between the woodlark’s complex song and J.S. Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues? Did you know the woodlark changes its tune to the rules of classical sonata form (Davies)? Did you know Minneapolis music teacher Michael Holtz concluded that God created bird song for greatly increasing seed germination and plant growth (van Dalen)? (Check out Holtz’s research with the use of music and growing plants.) Just think of that—music may create and stimulate life.Humans and Music. Did you know God gives songs as gifts (Job 35:10)? Did you know He loves His songs prayed back to Him (Psalm 42:8)? Playing and praying only has one letter different between the two words. Does that make them the same when you intentionally do both? Revelation 5:8 speaks of harps and golden bowls. Did you know the harp represents playing and the golden bowl represents praying?
Did you know music brings God’s presence (2 Kings 3:15; 2 Chronicles 20:21-22; Psalm 22:3)? Did you know God’s presence inspires spontaneous music (Psalm 98:4)?
Did you know the human body is considered to be a musical instrument, and that speech and song are considered to be similar musical expressions? Did you know the creation of musical instruments is said to be modeled on the human frame (van Dalen)?
The Harp. There are many instruments listed across the pages of Scripture that represent all four families of instruments—winds, brass, strings, and percussion. But one particular instrument seems to have preeminence above all the rest—the harp. Why the harp? We mentioned before that God gives harps as gifts (Revelation 15:2). Did you know Estes concluded the harp produces a full complement of harmonics, that the graphed wave-form of a plucked harp approximates that of a human voice, and that this wave special wave shape is the “sound equivalent of white light” (p. 7)? If this is so, just consider the extensiveness and the depth of these spiritual implications!
What’s the Point? The point at this point is not a statement, but a series of questions to be explored in the next several presentations. What else does the Bible say about music? Why do we always associate the harp with Heaven, God’s home? Is there an intelligent mathematical design underlying all of creation? Why do humans universally have a natural affinity for musical expression? Are there any musical institutions mentioned in ancient Scripture? Were the original Scriptures of the Old Testament spoken or sung? Does the mysterious Melchizedek priesthood, of which David and Jesus are in, have anything to do with music? We will explore these subjects in future sessions.
References
2 Chronicles 20:21-22 (KJV), “21. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth for ever. 22. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.”
2 Kings 3:15 (KJV & Reformation Study Bible), “But now bring me a minstrel [harpist]. And it came to pass, when the minstrel [harpist] played, that the hand [power and prophetic inspiration] of the Lord came upon him [Elisha].”
Davies, Gareth H. (n.d.). Bird songs. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/songs/. Accessed 10/09/2013, 8:50 AM EST.
Estes, D. (Fall, 1998). The harp as a divine communication tool. The Harp Therapy Journal, 3(3), 6-8, 11.
Job 35:10 (Amplified Bible), “But no one says, Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs of rejoicing in the night,”
Job 38:4-7 (New Living Translation), “4.Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? 6. What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone 7. as the morning stars sang together and all the angels [Hebrew sons of God] shouted for joy?”
Psalm 22:3 (KJV), “But Thou art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.”
Psalm 42:8 (NIV), “Yet the Lord will command His loving kindness in the day time, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.”
Psalm 98:4 (NIV), “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;”
Revelation 5:5-10 (KJV), “5. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. 8. And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou was slain, and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10. And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
Revelation 11:15 (Wycliffe Bible & KJV), “And the seventh angel trumpeted [And the seventh angel sang in trump], and great voices were made in heaven, and said, The realm of this world is made of our Lord, and of Christ, His Son [saying, The realm of this world is made our Lord’s, and of Christ’s, His Son]; and He shall reign for ever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 15:2 (New Living Translation), “I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them.”
Van Dalen, Cornelis. (n.d.). The dawn chorus and life forces. Retrieved from http://www.newphysis.com/dawnchorus.html. Accessed 10/09/2013, 9:21 AM EST.
Zechariah 9:14 (KJV), “And the Lord shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (KJV), “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.”
David E. Knauss
Ph.D. in Music Education.
www.classroom-music.info
Dr. Knauss mentors student teachers and regular teachers into teaching excellence. He taught for 3 decades in inner-city public schools, winning over street kids into being like family, became one of the principle curriculum writers for an award-winning, internationally-recognized music department. He retired from public schools, completed a Ph.D. in Music Education, and presently is an adjunct music education professor at Baptist Bible College.
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