Meditations of God and Music

I have noted that I am a member of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod.  You may know that Martin Luther was the first "successful" reformer of the Church.  He was not the first, but he was the first that wasn't killed before managing to actually reform anything.  And indeed, Martin Luther did not intend to start a protestant reformation of the Church, but merely to return it to its Biblical roots.

On a side note, you may or may not know that Martin Luther was also a talented musician, composing many hymns, encouraging singing in the Church, and the teaching of singing and music in his schools, and that he played the lute.  Now, guitar builders are called "luthiers," and while the origins of the guitar are somewhat clouded in the mists of time, the lute, the mandolin, and the guitar all have common features.  Indeed, in bluegrass music, the mandolin is still a major instrument.  A picture of Martin Luther and his family can be seen on Martin Luther And His Music, where Luther is shown playing the lute.

I thought about all this today as I was practicing my lesson on the guitar. I take guitar lessons from a man who has been playing for at least 50 years, and has thought much about the guitar as it is used in rock, jazz, country, and classical music.  He is also a humble man and has thought long and hard about music itself. One of the things he says is that all instruments are really just substitutes for the human voice, the vox humana, (which, by the way is a stop on the organ.  Vox Humana makes a sound very much like a chorus of singers, thus the name.)  A guitarist must understand himself to be an accompaniment to the singer, and not the star of the production. I suspect this was the way that Luther understood his instrument.

I have also noted that one of the evidences for God, and evidence that he specifically created us, is the propensity for the making and appreciating of music. No other creature does this.  Now, birds do indeed make calls that man interprets as music, but bird calls are exactly that; calls from one bird to another indicating various things such as danger, or are a part of mating rituals. Their calls do not vary, nor do birds improvise on a theme.  It is such a human thing to do, that nearly every automobile manufactured has a radio, and radio is usually tuned to a music station.  One of the people I work with has over 3,000 songs on his playlist in his cell phone.  He doesn't play any instrument, but he appreciates listening to songs.  Others I know are in gospel bands or play gigs at local coffee houses.

The ability to sing well is so widespread, that nearly every Church congregation has a choir and usually an instrumental accompaniment.  It is indeed so widespread that for someone to actually make a living at it requires a certain...something... Such people are fairly rare, but for everyone else, they can be taught to sing if they have enough patience and practice. The voice is like any other instrument, and it requires daily practice to become, and stay in shape.

One last thing, I thought readers might be interested in what guitar I play. The world can be divided into acoustic guitars and electric guitars. I play electric because I find it to be the more versatile instrument. Now, a lot of electric guitar players choose a Fender Telecaster or a Fender Statocaster because these guitars can, with the right amplifier make any sound you might want. Still others choose a Gibson Les Paul because of the gritty growl of the humbucker pickups. Myself, I like to play my Gretsch G5420T. Gretsch guitars have a sound unlike any other electric, at least to my ears.  And when I get it right, the sound coming out of the Gretsch is beautiful.

My lessons are sometimes boring, and sometimes it is a chore to get through all of the movable major scales and other exercises each day, but this guitar calls me to play it. Life sometimes gets in the way, but I strive to practice daily.  When I do, I feel it is something God wants me to do, as if it is a prayer in music.