Poseur to Composer

A quote from the book Music Through the Eyes of Faith by Harold Best:

Best goes on to ask if all art forms carry meaning the same way, or is music particularly suited for evangelizing the gospel of Christ. I don't have a ready answer for that, but I do agree with Marshall McLuhan that the medium is the message: it's how that particular song, painting or poem makes you think and feel. Does your encounter with it help you feel closer to Christ or does it bring out the natural man? Do you experience feelings of peace and joy or does it drive away the Holy Spirit?

Also, music is mentioned as being around before the world was made. In Job 38:7, it says "the morning stars [angels] sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" . I'm sure we could find other references in scripture as well.

All this talk of dark and light has me second-guessing the name of the new subgenre I'm creating called dhymn. Dhymn is the meshing of the words "djent" and "hymn" and it's pronounced dim.

Dim, as a verb, is defined by Google as to "make or become less bright or distinct". That's not what I'm trying to accomplish. I want to expose more people to Christian hymns.I want more people to join in praising and worshiping Christ, who is the source of all light.

I am the light of the world, Jesus said in John 8:12, Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Besides, dim isn't darkness. It's the presence of light in darkness. According to Google (again), it's "a light, color, or illuminated object not shining brightly or clearly". Dim could imply encroaching darkness or it could be the light of a new day, as in the "dim Nantucket dawn", to borrow a phrase from Moby Dick.

I'm probably overthinking this. Dhymn is an experimental form of music, and experimental form of worshipful art. There are traditionalists who reject the "contemporization" of sacred hymn, and I sympathize with their reasoning to a point, but we are also to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord... to make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise" (Psalm 98:4). The Dhymn is my contribution to this cause.

One thing I didn't mention in the Down Memory Lame post was what happened after I listened to Skinny Puppy. It was around midnight and I noticed something strange about my apartment: It was noticeably gloomy. The lights in the living room seemed almost feeble against the darkness. Outside the window it was inky black. All I could see was the faint glow of an electrical tower in the distance.

I'm sure the screams and menacing sounds of Skinny Puppy had somehow affected my visual perception. It made my world darker, literally.

It may be chromesthesia, a perceptual phenomenon in which heard sounds automatically and involuntarily evoke an experience of color. We all have at least a touch of chromesthesia, in that we associate high pitched sounds with lighter or brighter colors and low pitched sounds with darker colors. With more acute versions, people will see (either with their eyes or mind's eye) colors that are triggered by words or individual musical notes.

Alternatively, positive mood broadens visual attention. Broadening, as defined in the study, is "having a wider array of perceptions, thoughts, and actions, with the consequences of broadening being flexible, creative and unusual thinking." If that's the case, then listening to music that promotes joy, hope, love, gratitude and other positive emotions will improve your capacity to see the world better.

Next time you're feeling limited or blocked in some way, try listening to uplifting music. It may help you "see" more possibilities.