Week 3 free blog: the evolution of worship music

In this blog I would like to explore the evolution of Christian worship through music. The Psalms, specifically the Davidic Psalms, represented the birth of group worship music. There is much to compare and contrast between these musical Psalms, Christian hymns, modern praise and worship music, and Christian rock/rap.

A major poetic aspect of many of the musical Psalms, and the Psalms in general, is the repetition of ideas. This kind of repetition is also seen in many hymns, which in fact use many of the same lines and phrases. Interestingly, modern Christian praise and worship music features a different kind of repetition. This musical style uses direct repetition of lines heavily (eg. Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord….etc.). The prevalence of repetition in praise and worship music goes far beyond that of both mainstream music (in which it is still common) and the Psalms, suggesting that both could be influences on the development of this tradition.

Another interesting way in which Christian worship music has changed is though content. The Psalms often feature the extensive use of vivid metaphors and very personal pleas or praises to God. We see in Christian hymns that some of the more common metaphors (God as a tower/fortress, thirsting for God) are retained, while the more vivid (and violent) ones are omitted. As we progress towards modern praise and worship music, the content also becomes less personal (references to specific instances, or at least phrasing the lines that way, are replaced by more general statements. Much modern Christian rock and rap use new metaphors which often incorporate modern ideas or cultural phenomena.

A possible reason for this change could be a reflection of the changing use of Christian worship music. The Psalms, though often created for others to use, were used for a more personal nature. Many of the Psalms were likely used in private to better express the situation of the worshipper. As Christian music evolved, group worship came to be nearly the sole musical worship tradition in Christian churches. Te change in content reflects this change in usage. The change seen in moving towards more mainstream Christian music (rock and rap) reflects the increasing interaction between worship music and the secular music culture.