Music

1. Music • What part does it play in your life?

2. Hands up… • If you’ve ever cried at a piece of music?

3. Think about… • whether music is an important part of your religious or spiritual life.

4. Spiritual music • Music in 21st century Western culture tends to be for entertainment primarily, but its roots often lie in much more spiritual origins. • It is supposed by academics that music originated in Africa. • Music is mentioned in holy books such as the Bible and the Vedas (Hinduism).

5. Early Christian music • This originated from the Church and was used as part of the worship.

7. Hinduism • There is more than one devotional music tradition in Hinduism • A key one is Kirtan, which is a call and response style of chanting in worship of a god • This tradition also exists in Sikhism, as well as there being similar traditions in Buddhism

8. Islamic music • Muslim traditions are more mixed. Some Islamic scholars believe that the Holy Q’uran forbids music entirely, but in other traditions music plays a major part. • In South Asian, especially Punjabi, Sufi traditions, music is a devotional activity as in the other religions already seen

9. Qawwali • A Sufi music that aims to take the listener into a trance-like state (wajad) in which they can feel at one with Allah • This was popularised in the West by the late Pakistani Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who worked with Peter Gabriel and Pearl Jam, as well as on film soundtracks like Dead Man Walking and Natural Born Killers

10. Links • It’s interesting that much religious music was based on repetition in order that the listener can gain an almost ecstatic oneness with God.. • ..because some modern Western dance music follows the same route and uses repetition to induce a trance-like state too