Monday, January 23, 2012

self control: Going somewhere?

An early lesson I teach a new piano student is about movement.  Anyone can plunk out notes on a piano.  Mary had a Little Lamb.  Chopsticks.  But a song should carry the listener to a new place.  Music swells and quiets and drives forward.  Resulting in a tear, a tapping toe, a breath held in anticipation, a racing pulse, a comforted soul.  A listener changed in the space of a few moments.

Acts 17:28 says, “In him we live and move and have our being.”  In relationship with God our lives were meant to drive forward, to go somewhere, to have an effect on everyone with whom we come in contact.

Click your iPod to the song that most stirs your soul.  Listen to the movement forward.  Crescendo.  Decrescendo.  The work of an artist who knows how to control his instrument.  And because he has spent hours and hours and years and years fine-tuning his skill… we are given a tune that transforms who we are and where we are going.

The kick of a bass drum that can be felt through the floor.

The brush of a bow across the strings of a cello.

The call of a trumpet.

We work to control the instrument of our lives… to create such a forward motion that everyone who listens is drawn toward God by our movement.

2 comments:

  1. I well remember learning about making the music GO somewhere...excellent post :)

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    1. Fun memories! Do you have any opportunities to play piano these days?

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