Music

Music -- questions from Friday Five:

1. Do you like to sing/listen to others sing? In worship, or on your own (or not at all?) I like to sing; I like to listen to other people sing. Singing is not my talent (I may have mentioned that before), but it is a way God speaks to me. I love to sing in worship and alone in the car -- I'm probably louder in the car when I'm alone!
2. Did you grow up with music in worship, or come to it later in life? Tell us about it, and how that has changed in your experience. I started attending the church where I am now a member when I was in high school. Almost every hymn was new to me; I've had to learn them all. Because of that, I love to explore new (to me) hymns and songs. I love that they are new (to me). I make it a game to figure out the tune before the end of the singing. Our youth group went on "tour" each summer, and singing was a big part of that, so music played a large role in my association with the United Methodist Church.
3. Some people find worship incomplete without music; others would just as soon not have it. Where do you fall? I love music in worship. What I don't love is music during prayer -- I find my mind distracted by the words. I can't put my own words together in prayer if I am listening to someone else's words. Other than that, music is an important part of worship for me.
4. Do you prefer traditional music in worship, or contemporary? That can mean many different things! I like words. I like to hear the message of the music through the words. Because of that, instrumental music is less appealing to me than vocal music, and vocal music with words I cannot understand (like Latin words or words sung in such as way as to be hard to understand) are less worshipful to me.
5. What's your go-to music ... when you need solace or want to express joy? A video/recording will garner bonus points! My go to music for worship is probably contemporary music -- music I can sing to is best.