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The world knows John Bunyan as the author of Pilgrim's Progress. And indeed, this is his most famous work. But like King David of old, John Bunyan was a man of many talents. He was a tinker, which in England in the 1600's meant that he traveled from village to village, repairing metal pots and pans. In other words, he was an itinerant blacksmith. The John Bunyan Museum notes he was a tall man, a strong man, and too poor to own a horse - so he had to carry the anvil from place

Were harmonic intervals invented by man, or were they merely discovered? The truth is freeing and empowering. When we realize that the basic laws of harmony are built into God's creation, we are freed to use those basic building blocks to produce beautiful music. Rejection of the fundamental ideas embodied in the harmonic series leads to chaos and dissonance. It is no coincidence that the greatest musicians in history also had a great respect for musical rules that would help

Lessons from Bach's Time: Seek God's will about the music program  - ask Him what He wants done. Study God's Word  to make sure the music program is in line with what God tells us about music. Have someone learn  the rules of music - known, historical rules for stable music. Teach music  - the fundamentals Teach music  - music history Value worship  - the importance, precious heritage, and uniqueness of singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs as a congregation and in the h

Birdsong Heralds the Return of Spring! How astonishing to find that bird song is very controversial! Here are debates raging right now in the scientific community: Is it song? Is it language? Is it a survival tool? Is it learned? Is it spontaneous? How/when did dinosaurs evolve feathers,  turn into birds, and start singing? Starting from a Biblical foundation, we can quickly understand many things about bird song that might escape our attention if we are busy chasing the wron

To God Be the Glory: William Doane

Sacred music = Holy music. The God we sing to is "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty." The music of a saved, called-out body of believers must reflect the holy character of God. We expect God to bless us; we love Him for the very fact that He does bless us; it is time for us to be a blessing to Him and offer up praise and worship in a way that is pleasing to Him. Let us offer up an offering of sweet savour to God in everything we are and all that we do. Let us hold to th

If sacred music is the aim, we must know what sacred means. The person who begins to search this topic in God's Word will find it is one of the most important and vast topics God has given us to understand. And extremely short summary of the meaning of "sacred" is: "Holy.....set apart for God's use on God's terms.....different from ordinary......sanctified, ready for God's use.....clean....pure.....undefiled......not profane......reserved for God......a sanctuary.....intri

At first glance, the word timbre looks like a word Paul Bunyan the lumberjack might have shouted as he plunged through the forests of Minnesota, swinging his ax. "TIMBRE!" he shouted, misspelling all the way to Canada...... But timbre isn't really a lumberjack word at all. Every song leader, of course (of course, right?) knows this is a musical word. Orchestra conductors, as well, enjoy the realities of timbre. This is a fancy word. Fancy words don't sound like what