195 lines
8.9 KiB
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195 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
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Copyright 1993 by the Christian Research Institute.
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COPYRIGHT/REPRODUCTION LIMITATIONS:
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This data file is the sole property of the Christian Research
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Institute. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may
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be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware,"
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without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain
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the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright 1993 by the Christian
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Research Institute"). This data file may not be used without the
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permission of the Christian Research Institute for resale or the
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enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its
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content with the exception of a few brief quotations not to
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exceed more than 500 words.
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If you desire to reproduce less than 500 words of this data file
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for resale or the enhancement of any other product for resale,
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please give the following source credit: Copyright 1993 by the
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Christian Research Institute, P.O. Box 500-TC, San Juan
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Capistrano, CA 92693.
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"How 'New Age' is New Age Music?" (an article from the
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Christian Research Newsletter, Volume 2: Number 1, 1989)
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by Elliot Miller.
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The editor of the Christian Research Newsletter is Ron
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Rhodes.
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From the RESEARCH NOTES column:
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There can be no disputing that the increasingly popular
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and profitable "New Age music" has roots in the New Age
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movement -- the identical names are not a coincidence.
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The trend began with jazz luminaries like Paul Horn and
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John Fahey seeking to create music especially conducive to
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New Age spirituality. Then, as recounted by New Age
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seminar leader and entrepreneur Dick Sutphen,in the latter
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1970s Steven Halpern created a "soothing music that
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was...great for visualization. Structured on a pentatonic
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scale, there was no tension, no resolve, and it inspired
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without distracting." ("The Emergence of New Age Music,"
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_Self-Help Update_, issue 29, 14.) Halpern, who holds a
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Master's degree in the psychology of music, was
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deliberately attempting to facilitate the development of
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"higher" levels of consciousness.
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This has remained a central goal for many New Age
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musicians today. Even Swiss harpist Andreas Vollenweider,
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whose records have sold in the millions, explains that the
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purpose of the tranquil sound is to "build a bridge
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between the conscious and the subconscious. We have to
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somehow excite our spirituality." (Bill Barol with Mark D.
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Uehling and George Raine, "Muzak for a New Age,"
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_Newsweek_, 13 May 1985, 68.)
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For many involved in this burgeoning field, however,
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the primary incentives appear to be artistic expression
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and/or financial gain. Windham Hill, the leading New Age
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label, has in 10 years grown into a $21 million record
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company. Its artists include such popular names as George
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Winston and Shadowfax. While strongly expressing their
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commitment to creative over monetary values, they
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explicitly deny any commitment to the New Age movement.
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Correspondingly, they do not pursue the more "hard-core"
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New Age music (which Sutphen calls "Inner Harmony New Age
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Music") that is used as background for meditation and
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healing sessions. Instead, they have become associated
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with "New Age jazz," a progressive blend of jazz, rock,
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folk, and other influen- ces.
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It is this jazz-oriented form of New Age music, along
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with the electronic sound associated with names like
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Vangelis (_Chariots of Fire_) and Tangerine Dream, that is
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played on most "New Age" radio stations. Prominent among
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these is KTWV, Los Angeles ("The Wave"), which is syndicating
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its programming nationwide.
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The common thread that unites these otherwise diverse
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forms of New Age music is supposed to be _feeling_ --
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listening to them generates a peaceful and uplifting mood.
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How dangerous is New Age music, if at all? The
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primary means for conveying spiritual influences through
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music is words. Since most New Age music is nonverbal,
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except for song titles, this opportunity rarely exists.
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When it comes to melodies and rhythms, there is much
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greater possibility than with words for the original
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intention to become diffused in the medium. Thus, while
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the composer may intend to elicit a particular mystical
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mood, the noninitiate listener simply becomes more
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relaxed. I believe this would be the case with most
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"inner harmony" New Age music.
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After all, even when New Agers are specifically
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attempting to induce altered states of consciousness
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through their music, much of their applied theory is based
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on New Age presuppositions which Christians would not be
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inclined to accept. These include belief in the
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correspondence of particular sound frequencies with more
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or less mystical levels of consciousness, and an equation
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of certain relaxed or emotional states with mystical
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states. In any case, by and large only the inner harmony
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school appears to be seriously attempting such an effect.
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The strongest potential for a truly _New Age_ musician
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to use his music for the New Age cause would lie in live
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performances. He could evangelize between tunes, or lead
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the group in a medita- tion or visualization. For
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example, Hawaiian New Age musician Robert Aeolus Myers
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likes to share the spiritual basis behind his music with
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his audiences. "I just feel like there's a personal
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responsibility to allow people the opportunity for
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awakening," he explains. (Mike Gordon, "The New Age of
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Music," _Honolulu Star-Bulletin_, 5 Nov. 1987.)
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Additionally, some New Age melodies are so obviously
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patterned after familiar mystical or meditative rhythms
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(e.g., the mystical refrain "om") that their pagan
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associations are inescapable. Listening to such music for
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entertainment or relaxation could easily result in someone
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being stumbled -- either the listener or another believer
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(see 1 Cor. 8).
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Although these are valid concerns, I must say that I
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have listened extensively to the Southern California New
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Age stations, and have found almost nothing objectionable
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(though this does not exonerate _all_ New Age stations
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_everywhere_. Some are clearly New Age in every sense of
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the word). It would seem to me that if the discerning
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Christian remains alert to the possibility of undesirable
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influences occasionally coming through, he or she could
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listen to the progressive varieties of New Age music, in
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moderation, without ill effect.
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Given the heavily mystical orientation of inner harmony
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New Age music, I would advise against the Christian going
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out of his or her way to listen to it. As a general
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practice, it is not wise to passively submit to the
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influences of one who is seeking by those influences to
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produce an unchristian effect. But if such music happens
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to be playing within earshot (e.g., a relative or fellow
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worker is listening to it), the likelihood of being
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adversely affected is slight. And even then it would
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probably have more to do with the Christian's _perception_
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of the music (e.g., associating it with his or her past as
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a New Ager) than any hypnotic or occultic power in the
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music itself.
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End of document, CRN0006A.TXT (original CRI file name),
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"How 'New Age' is New Age Music?"
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release A, May 28, 1993
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R. Poll, CRI
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(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in
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the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
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