I started learning music from a very young age. At the age of 6 my mother ferried me to and from piano lessons where I was taught by a young lady who was still in highschool. My parents had bought me a piano so I could practise at home. It was a very old wooden upright piano of a dull brown colour. The wooden panels were chipped in some places, the keys were a bit stained, the pedals creaked, and when I opened the top lid I was immediately met with a waft of mustiness. Let's just say that this piano had character.
The mellow yet slightly ringy sound of hammers striking rusty strings would often fill our home. Almost every day I would sit at my piano and practise what I had learnt – scales, finger exercises, some songs. However, this daily routine soon became a chore which I did reluctantly. My mother encouraged me by setting up a system where for each hour I practised I would be able to draw a star on a sheet of paper, and thirty stars meant a reward of ten dollars. So with this bit of help I persevered.
In all my time of studying piano throughout primary school and high school the thought that music was a gift from God never crossed my mind. Only within the last couple of years have I truly come to appreciate this fact. To say the least, these last couple of years have been an emotional rollercoaster ride. Periods of joy would suddenly be met by periods of intense sadness and feelings of loneliness; this cycle would repeat itself every couple of months. Through this experience I've come to some realisations and appreciation for this gift of music.
I've encountered firsthand the way in which music is a means of expression within the context of the human experience. Particularly in times of emotional hardship, I would often just sit in front of my keyboard or piano and play away – random songs sometimes, but often hymns and praises to God. In doing so, I've been astounded by the way music (especially in being able to play it) can bring comfort to a broken soul.
I think the comfort comes from the expression. Emotions naturally flow out through what I'm playing, and I privately declare that "Yes, this is what I'm feeling right now," whether it may be joy, thankfulness, guilt, despair, distance, or helplessness. In light of these fallible emotions, through hymns and songs of praise, I simultaneously express realities – my trust and dependence in a loving God, that God is near and understands, that He listens and delivers (and has already delivered in Christ). Through its role as a means of expression, music has served to help me acknowledge my situation and to ground the situation in the realities of God.
More than expression
I've also observed that rather than being solely a means of expression, music also serves to evoke and stimulate sentiments – emotions, feelings, thoughts, and memories. For instance, I've often heard people say that they listen to music to relax, and a walk through a university library reveals many students with headphones on listening to music to help them study. It seems to me that music is a language which almost everyone understands, but with only some being able to decipher the grammar.
What I mean by this is that most people (I say most because I recognise the deaf and the handicapped) can follow a rhythm and melody and be able to experience the sentiments which that particular work of music evokes. Of course not everyone is formerly trained in music to be able to understand music sheets, theory, and terminology, which is why I say that only some are able to decipher the grammar. The way in which music serves to stimulate the human mind has no doubt had a major impact on many individual lives including my own. Its ability to evoke feelings of empowerment, joy, and cheer have often been therapeutic for me in times of emotional hardship.
The fact that music is a language which almost all people understand is of paramount significance when considering congregational worship through song at church. Music helps to instil gospel truths in a memorable way. Rhythm and melody combined with meaningful lyrics help to relate human experience and sentiments to the realities of God. This relationship comes in two forms – the human expressing through the music, and the music evoking within the human. As such, I think it is important to have a song selection at church which attempts to encompass the entire spectrum of human experience with God.
Congregational worship through song is also an expression of unity under the truths that we sing, and of course feelings of togetherness are evoked as well. This unity which I'm talking about is explained by Paul in Ephesians 4 verses 4-6, "There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
Lastly, I'd like to briefly discuss the intrinsic beauty which I've observed in music. I've found it very intriguing that particular arrangements of particular sound frequencies at particular time intervals can have the ability to relate so well to the human mind.
To me, the progression of musical notes being separated by very specific time interval as they follow a rhythm is a reflection of the beauty and order of time. It is also interesting to note how seemingly ordinary physical phenomena such as simple harmonic motion in stringed instruments have the ability to produce such beauty in the form of auditory art. It seems to me that music declares the creativity of God and is a gift from Him.
Anton Zhang is studyingaviation at the University of New South Wales, he is part of a family of four, his hobbies include music, hiking and fencing. He is an active part of the Christian youth work at the Padstow Chinese Congregational Church.
Anton Zhang's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/anton-zhang.html