Music to my ears

Luther said, "He who sings, prays twice." He was on to something - music has a special quality to it. People have thought so for a long time. The expression "The music of the spheres" comes for the idea that the stars in the sky were attached to a giant sphere and that the music of the "Prime mover" is what made the sphere move.

During the Reformation, when almost all other arts were denigrated, music remained in a place of acceptance. It was believed that music was "more spiritual" than other art forms.

We really do only see what we want to - because music is a very physical thing. Whether it is produced by violins and cellos, or by a larynx, it takes some physical item to produce it. It takes a physical substance like air to take music (sound) from on place to another. And it takes the physical ear to translate sound waves into something we can hear. (Mozart seems to have been an exception - music for him seemed to be something that "lived in his head." It would be interesting to know more about how he related to the physicality of music)

Turns out that the part of the brain that helps us hear and the part that helps us move are connected. Tapping your foot when you hear music is not just natural, it is the way you were made (so I wonder how we can stand still as we sing many of the hymns at church).

I propose that music is not the most spiritual of the arts, but rather is a place where spirit and matter come together in a sacramental way. We are "embodied souls" and music speaks to us at the very joint between that reality.