Interesting reformed church visit today, a report card.

[Ransom]

Much to my shame and admitted ignorance, I don’t have a clue about reading notes, chords, or arrangements. My argument is about the inability to discern authorial meaning or intent. I think the passage that biscuit referred to earlier from Corinthians about an “uncertain sound” carries weight towards that end.

I suspect this is true of many music activists, even the ones claiming expertise: they can talk a good story about chords, instrumentation, rhythm, etc. having moral significance--but when asked to interpret those things, they'll come up dry. Needless to say, I've never seen it done, practically.

Even biscuit's assertion comes down to him not liking extreme metal. Well, neither do I. I'm just not willing to call it wrong or evil without concrete evidence.

 

[biscuit1953]

“You were trying to make it sound stupid. You emphasized the repeated lyrics more than the song itself does. That was disingenuous.”

Down,down,down was growled out 36 times. You can at least be honest about it.

 

[Ransom]

Down,down,down was growled out 36 times. You can at least be honest about it.

Sure, if you want. Honestly, you deliberately omitted most of the lyrics that weren't "down, down, down."

As I said ... disingenuous. Trying to paint the song in a poorer light than it actually was. Intellectually dishonest.

Feel free to "agree to disagree." That's what you do when you can't admit you've been cornered and defeated.

 

[abcaines]

Chords don’t provide meaning without composition and intent of the composer. When that process happens it enters the realm of morality, as subjective as that may be in making a determination about the nature of the composition.

Chords convey emotion. A major chord is going to convey a light springy feel while a minor chord is going to convey a more somber feeling. The other chords listed are variations of the minor or major chords; some are smooth and take the listener to a safe place while others introduce a bit of dissonance like the tang of vinegar or leave the listener hung out waiting for resolution.

I haven't even gotten into modes. I don't understand them completely; I've heard them described and can relate to the feeling they give music.

I have heard various preeechers yammer on about the power of music to stir up emotions and how ungodly it is to let ourselves be swayed by various music, whether it makes us want to praise God or go out and sin up a storm.