Music Matters

February 2007

Silence? But I’m a Musician!

Sometimes I think we read Psalm 46:10 and think that it applies to everyone else but us—after all, we’re musicians, and we’re supposed to make music!

In that psalm, David says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Be still...

We don’t do silence well, especially in our worship services. We hurry from one piece in our prelude to another. We fill every gap with something, even if it’s just “noodling” for 30 seconds. The offering, serving of the Lord’s Supper...everything has to be accompanied by music.

What would happen if we interspersed our music with silence? with time to focus/meditate on what we have just heard/done/experienced? What if we didn’t panic if the music we had prepared wasn’t quite long enough?

Yes, we might hear some rustling...we might be slightly uncomfortable.... But we might also discover that there is value in listening to silence—to giving the Spirit an opportunity to help us gain new insights into our worship experience.

Silence doesn’t have to be long. Playing a hymn (or other piece) for meditation—and then allowing 20 seconds of silence before beginning the next one...allowing a portion of the Lord’s Supper to be served in silence...not panicking if there’s a short period of silence (and thinking we have to fill it with music)... All of these provide an opportunity for us to learn that music and silence are not opposites—but they enhance each other.

“Be still and know that I am God.”
 

If you have suggestions or ideas for future columns, please contact:
Jan Kraybill
Principal Organist and Director of Music
Community of Christ Headquarters
Independence, MO, USA

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