music and religion.

My family and I stopped going to church when I was about eight or nine years old. Before that time, we frequently attended a Baptist church in Columbia, SC. Though it has been a long time since I’ve been to church, I can remember singing hymns in church. We would sing two or three hymns each service. Sometimes a person would sing a solo with piano accompaniment. I don’t remember any of the songs being accompanied by anything other than the piano, nor do I remember any other instruments being involved in the services. I think we had an organ in the church, but I don’t remember it ever being played. The music was a way of communicating with God, but I never felt a strong connection while singing. As a child, I often didn’t know exactly what I was singing about, and I was always more concerned about getting out for lunch.

When I was in high school, I had a completely different experience with music and church. A friend of mine had asked me to play a flute duet for her church’s Christmas service. It was an African-American church, so I felt a little out of place. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the flute duet. The interesting part was the gospel choir. My friend was a part of the choir, and she felt bad that I had to sit by myself while the choir performed. Her solution was simple; as she and the gospel choir got up to perform, she grabbed my hand and pulled me on stage with her. I looked at her in terror, and she smiled and whispered, “fake it.”

The way the music affected the choir was like nothing I had seen before. They sang loudly and soulfully while the music consumed them and radiated through their bodies in the form of dancing. What I was most surprised about was how the music affected me. Though I had absolutely no idea what they were singing, I felt joyful because of the music. It was like the music wanted me to dance.

Playing at my friend’s church was a completely new religious experience. It was rather different from my familiar white Baptist church. My friend’s church involved many different instruments in their service. The people let the music take a hold of them, and they expressed themselves through their dancing. They knew what the songs meant, and they weren’t afraid to get completely involved. Though my church was on the opposite side of the spectrum, music held the same purpose in both churches - to celebrate and praise God. It’s interesting to me that the purpose of the music was the same, though the music and the people’s reaction to the music were very different. Through this, we know that music is versatile and appealing to all, which may be why it is so important in religion. Music, like religion, brings people together and is something we can all relate to and participate in.