I’ve had so many profound thoughts recently, but they escape me too quickly. I’ve resolved to, at the very least, record the thoughts in my phone as soon as they come to me. Then, if I feel inspired enough by the thought later on, then I can expound upon it in a public blog. Therefore it is you, O reader, that catches the first glimpse of these bits of wisdom. Congratulations.
I can make no promise that they will all be as profound as the subtitle of my homepage claims; rather, they may be quite trivial at times. Sometimes, it’s the trivial ideas that occupy the most time in our brain—and perhaps that says something about their significance.
For a foretaste of what is to come in this blog, look into Christopher Small’s Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening. Small challenges the commonly accepted “norms” of modern classical music performance and what they mean for composers, performers, and listeners. I’m eager to apply some of his proposals to the Christian worship setting. What poor musical habits have we fallen into in worship? Are we stuck in a 16th century style of worship, just as the typical concert hall performance is stuck in a 19th ritual? These are some questions (among several others) that I’d like to consider. Stay tuned.
Joel Stoppenhagen 