Just… singing any lyrics is something that’s possibly going to interfere with reverence more than just… singing. You have to agree with lyrics. You don’t have to agree with music.
A lot of this comes down to different aesthetic preferences about things. There probably SHOULD be a point where people sing a wordless song together, either at the Solstice or another event. (Actually, I may have just solve a problem for next year’s Solstice. Stay tuned. For, like, a year, because I think I want to keep it secret except for a few confederates. :P)
One of the most potent experiences I got at Burning Man was going to a steam bath, wherein someone spontaneously started humming a wordless melody, which people gradually joined in on. It definitely had a lot of power to it (amplified by the intense heat and what-not).
But I think there is plenty of reverence to be found in lyrical songs. Most people reported than their greatest sense of reverence was felt during the song “God Wrote the World”, a song about scientific discovery and seeking truth written in the observable world. (while invoking “God”, it’s pretty metaphorical. The song was written by an atheist in semi-theistic terms to be approachable to fundamentalists.)
(This song does, in fact, contain a factual error. Immediately afterwards there was a pop quiz to guess what it was. One person got it)
(I do agree with the sentiment “writing words that succeed at this endeavor is going to be very hard.” Right now, we have basically one song that seems to inspire reverence among basically everyone who attended. I don’t think I’ve written anything that good yet, although a few people do respond pretty strongly to “Brighter Than Today.”
Wordless music is an alternate solution to the problem, but at most, I think it counts as… four songs? (like, you can do 2-3 variations of wordless music, either all at once or spaced out, totaling about maybe 15 − 20 minutes. A long song is 4 minutes).
If you’re starting from scratch, I think I’d agree that 20 minutes of wordless music is better for building reverence than trying to write a pretty song about stars and candles. But if you’re trying to fill a 2-hour-ish event, you’ll need more than that. And if you’re taking either a) songwriting or b) songfinding seriously, you learn more and level up faster by trying alternate things.
Galileo’s recantation was not the result of being tortured. (Without looking it up, I’m about 99% sure he was never tortured and I don’t think he was even “shown the instruments of torture”, something they apparently used to do as a first step.)
On one hand, it is disappointing that not more than one person knew that, but on the other hand, it’s an arbitrary piece of knowledge that people either know or don’t. I’d expect most people not to know the story of Galileo in detail and just go along with whatever a smart sounding person said.
The torture part? AFAIK he was presented with the instruments that were going to be used on him, which is entirely consistent with “long ago, when torture broke the remnant of his will”.
Speaking personally, I don’t think I’ve ever felt reverence from music that didn’t have lyrics. (I know I’m abnormal in this, but I’m not sure just how abnormal.)
Just… singing any lyrics is something that’s possibly going to interfere with reverence more than just… singing. You have to agree with lyrics. You don’t have to agree with music.
There’s a joke about Unitarians having trouble with group hymn singing because they’re reading ahead to see whether they agree with the words.
Well, yeah. It’s why I stay silent during Jewish prayers at family meals. I don’t agree with the words.
A lot of this comes down to different aesthetic preferences about things. There probably SHOULD be a point where people sing a wordless song together, either at the Solstice or another event. (Actually, I may have just solve a problem for next year’s Solstice. Stay tuned. For, like, a year, because I think I want to keep it secret except for a few confederates. :P)
One of the most potent experiences I got at Burning Man was going to a steam bath, wherein someone spontaneously started humming a wordless melody, which people gradually joined in on. It definitely had a lot of power to it (amplified by the intense heat and what-not).
But I think there is plenty of reverence to be found in lyrical songs. Most people reported than their greatest sense of reverence was felt during the song “God Wrote the World”, a song about scientific discovery and seeking truth written in the observable world. (while invoking “God”, it’s pretty metaphorical. The song was written by an atheist in semi-theistic terms to be approachable to fundamentalists.)
(This song does, in fact, contain a factual error. Immediately afterwards there was a pop quiz to guess what it was. One person got it)
(I do agree with the sentiment “writing words that succeed at this endeavor is going to be very hard.” Right now, we have basically one song that seems to inspire reverence among basically everyone who attended. I don’t think I’ve written anything that good yet, although a few people do respond pretty strongly to “Brighter Than Today.”
Wordless music is an alternate solution to the problem, but at most, I think it counts as… four songs? (like, you can do 2-3 variations of wordless music, either all at once or spaced out, totaling about maybe 15 − 20 minutes. A long song is 4 minutes).
If you’re starting from scratch, I think I’d agree that 20 minutes of wordless music is better for building reverence than trying to write a pretty song about stars and candles. But if you’re trying to fill a 2-hour-ish event, you’ll need more than that. And if you’re taking either a) songwriting or b) songfinding seriously, you learn more and level up faster by trying alternate things.
Galileo’s recantation was not the result of being tortured. (Without looking it up, I’m about 99% sure he was never tortured and I don’t think he was even “shown the instruments of torture”, something they apparently used to do as a first step.)
Yup. (The admittedly minimal research I did said that he was shown the instruments of torture, but the details seemed sketchy).
Only one person? That disappoints me.
On one hand, it is disappointing that not more than one person knew that, but on the other hand, it’s an arbitrary piece of knowledge that people either know or don’t. I’d expect most people not to know the story of Galileo in detail and just go along with whatever a smart sounding person said.
More than one person knew it. One person said it first.
The torture part? AFAIK he was presented with the instruments that were going to be used on him, which is entirely consistent with “long ago, when torture broke the remnant of his will”.
Speaking personally, I don’t think I’ve ever felt reverence from music that didn’t have lyrics. (I know I’m abnormal in this, but I’m not sure just how abnormal.)
Not even that Final Fantasy X chant? ;)