Music has always been an integral part of my life. My Dad is a piano teacher and my Mum runs a music school. Naturally, I grew up with music all around me. Dad taught at home at first and eventually I ended up spending long days at the music school listening to the sounds around me. I could probably sing most songs from Preliminary to 8th grade of Series 15 AMEB. That's how often I was there.
I started music when I was 18 months old dancing to something I think and officially started piano at around 3 and 9 months or something. I kept officially learning until I was 15 and I started being an accompanist in church activities when I was around 10. I have to say that throughout these years, I had a tumultuous love-hate relationship with music. At times, I would love the freedom it provided me to express myself and have gun and at other times, I would hate the restrictions and regulations it put on me and my life. I wasn't horrible at it, I just lacked the discipline to practise an hour a day. This took its toll in Year 10, when I was set on passing my Associate Diploma of Music (AMus). Let's just say this attempt resulted in a lot of tears and a lot of yelling and not many happy moments.
During these months, I couldn't really figure out what it was that made me dislike practising and music so much. I didn't hate music, I could happily jam at a piano or guitar for hours, I enjoyed being an accompanist. In hindsight, I realised that it wasn't music that I hated. It was the endless hours of perfecting a piece technically and stylistically to impress a listener. While some find this process rewarding and amazing, I found it futile. For me, music was something to enjoy, whether listening or playing. To me, a Chopin Nocturne didn't need to be stylistically and technically correct, as long as it sounded nice to me and I was having a ball playing it. Of course when it is stylistically and technically correct it naturally sound nicer, but this didn't really matter to me.
While growing up, my parents always reminded me of the reason they wanted me to learn piano. No, they didn't want me to be Lang Lang. They wanted me to use my skills to serve God. And so I did, diligently playing the strings on a keyboard for choir in a music ministry before graduating to the grand piano when I was around 13 or so. At this point, the more I practised, I became better at improvising on chords to the style of the song and what the choir wanted.
Tonight, I heard my Dad playing the piano to some Chinese Christian song and went out to join him. He asked me to play for him so he could sing. We sat and played and sung, the two of us with Mum joining in every now and again and Timmy dancing around in the background. This is what I think music should be like. I don't think it should be about perfect sequences and flawless performances. Music should be an enjoyment for those around you, something you can feel comfortable playing, where one mistake isn't the end of the world.
Music was created to worship God.
(lingua franca means 'common language by the way)
Have you ever realised how important music is in worship to God? I heard from a non-Christian friend once that she enjoyed the music at Christian events the best because it was although the whole hall was singing with one voice. That is the case. We are all singing with one voice to one God. How often do we do this? We can pray in unison but how weird is that. When there is music, we sing, in unison, as a people.
For me, music is a crucial part of worship, in a meeting/session/event. Isn't it amazing how music can be manipulated? Sound waves can be organised to be pleasing to listen to. God created chords, scales, keys, melodies, harmonies, different textures. And we can organise these to be nice sounding. Isn't that amazing?! Nice chords and lyrics create nice songs. Songs we sing to praise God.
When the right atmosphere is created, this helps SO SO MUCH in how someone worships. Do you remember a time when you're singing with all your heart and the whole room is singing to God from their hearts, completely awed by Him? I think I really experienced this at Hillsong, when I went. Not that music needs to be corporately produced and amplified well for people worship well, don't get me wrong. What I'm saying is that music creates an atmosphere for people to get pumped up for God and helps them to connect to God on a personal level through song. Music evokes emotion, whether people are singing along or if they're listening. This is why the actual sound of music is so important. The different layers: rhythm, bass, melody, harmony, what voices you use, what each voice sings, what each instrument plays and ultimately, the balance of it all. Change one, and the feel of the song changes and so does the atmosphere of worship for everyone in the crowd: the voices that sing out to our God.
I am so blessed to have been able to serve in music ministry for so long. To have countless mentors that have taught me not only what works best musically but also what my attitude should be towards worship. I am so blessed that God has given me so many opportunities to serve Him in music. I am so blessed that He has given me opportunities to lead teams of my own and pass down wisdom to other brothers and sisters. I pray that in the future, I will have more opportunities to lead teams and create arrangements and contribute to the worship of those listening.
I have so much to say, so much vision for this. But I'll stop now.
"Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!"
Psalm 68:4
