Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => Catholic Living in the Modern World => Topic started by: DeMaistre on July 02, 2009, 07:20:19 PM
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A spin of spouseofJesus's thread about books.
What have the saints told us about playing/performing music? St. Alphonsus called all those long hours practising the harpsichord a waste of time. Is this the general vibe? (I ask because I'm planning on going to college to major in music, organ and harpsichord)
I think its important for laypeople to have a hobby that is not an occasion of sin for them (like playing the harpsichord, etc).
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The NeoTrad board I used to post on had entire threads devoted to video clips of various metal, death metal, heavy metal & hard rock bands, all approved of by the mod.
Needless to say we can cross any sort of rock and roll off our list.
The best types of music have melody, harmony, and rythym in their proper order. Folk, cultural, classical are edifying in my opinion.
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The NeoTrad board I used to post on had entire threads devoted to video clips of various metal, death metal, heavy metal & hard rock bands, all approved of by the mod.
Needless to say we can cross any sort of rock and roll off our list.
The best types of music have melody, harmony, and rythym in their proper order. Folk, cultural, classical are edifying in my opinion.
No, the best type of music is contrapunctal. :)
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The thing to remember about music is that it's a type of art.
And art is beautiful insofar as it reflects the truth.
Beauty is NOT in the eye of the beholder; it never was. There is an objective norm for beauty.
Gregorian Chant is beautiful; Rock and Roll is not. You might be familiar with the latter, it might get you going, it might remind you of your first date, etc. but it's not OBJECTIVELY beautiful.
So music should be judged on its melody, harmony, rhythm, and lyrics (content).
If you like something that is objectively more base (such as Thriller by Michael Jackson), then at least admit it -- the same way you admit you like soda or something else that's bad for you.
Matthew
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A spin of spouseofJesus's thread about books.
What have the saints told us about playing/performing music? St. Alphonsus called all those long hours practising the harpsichord a waste of time. Is this the general vibe? (I ask because I'm planning on going to college to major in music, organ and harpsichord)
I think its important for laypeople to have a hobby that is not an occasion of sin for them (like playing the harpsichord, etc).
My guess is that St. Alphonsus was perhaps referring to the orchestral concerts of his time that were simply for the entertainment of royalty and nobility. It was up until the early 1600s, or about the time of the composer Claudio Monteverdi, that music in the West, imho, had more of a Christocentric character. Not that much of Western classical music since the 1600s is evil, but it took on more of a secular focus in general.
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A spin of spouseofJesus's thread about books.
What have the saints told us about playing/performing music? St. Alphonsus called all those long hours practising the harpsichord a waste of time. Is this the general vibe? (I ask because I'm planning on going to college to major in music, organ and harpsichord)
I think its important for laypeople to have a hobby that is not an occasion of sin for them (like playing the harpsichord, etc).
My guess is that St. Alphonsus was perhaps referring to the orchestral concerts of his time that were simply for the entertainment of royalty and nobility. It was up until the early 1600s, or about the time of the composer Claudio Monteverdi, that music in the West, imho, had more of a Christocentric character. Not that much of Western classical music since the 1600s is evil, but it took on more of a secular focus in general.
Hmm..thats the music I generally like (German Baroque to be exact). Maybe I can change that...I'm an aspiring neo-baroque composer!! (or soon to be!!)
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Does anybody else like to listen to "Thriller" once in a while?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkMBVbEUd7o
Hahahahaha
Hahahahaha
"And whosoever shall be found without the soul for getting down..."
"Girl, I can thrill you more than any ghoul could ever dare try..."
It's very catchy, and I think it's funny because it's 100% 70's disco.
I also like it because I can sing the same range as Michael Jackson (but I can't dance like him, so I'll never make money at it)
Matthew
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I also like it because I can sing the same range as Michael Jackson ...
I think a lot of us would pay good money to hear that, Matthew!
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How quickly it seems that some in the Trad/Neo-Trad world are willing to throw out Neo-platonic(Scotus, Augustine) and Thomistic philosophy and psychology when it comes to music and the arts. These views hold that music as well as other arts can effect the human spirit as well as his external actions. Therefore music can bring out certain emotions in an individual and only music that is beneficial and brings out virtue or does not entice to vice should be allowed. True beauty in the arts is to be equated with moral harmony. Thus anything destructive(lacking harmony/melody) to the human spirit in the arts should be turned away from as it has potential to do damage.
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For some people music is a trade.
For others, it is a diversion.
So if it's merely a diversion, one must use moderation.
Off the top of my head.
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Yes, we have to be careful what we listen to.
I have an intense dislike of music without a good melody/harmony. I also hate any songs without substance (repeat the same thing over and over). I call those "bubblegum songs" because they chew the same phrase over and over.
I do listen to some non-chant/classical music, only because I have a lot of energy and I need to listen to something exciting to reflect the excitement and energy inside me. But not just anything "exciting" -- it has to have a regular, soothing beat, and it has to have a good melody as well -- that's probably something not everyone's going to understand.
I do seek out songs that are more or less harmless.
Matthew
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This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7z8NRUFyN0) is a pop masterpiece, IMHO!