Whenever i hear Hymns..my mind goes into a relaxed mode, my being is very preacuful etc.

I was a christian, broght up in a very christian household, studied in a chrsitian school...all my life i have heard hymns....and found them to be very hypnotic...

what is your opinion?

I always skip the singing portion of church because the songs remind me of my Mom's funeral and I cry uncontrolablly. I have attended church my entire life and use to love the old gospel songs now I choose to ignore them they make me sooo sad.

Hi, Da.

Much of the point of religious activity is to "take you outside of yourself." Music is effective at that, as even secular concert goers will testify.

Singalongs have an added effect from the modulation of breathing involved, and the rhythmic physical activity involved in handclapping, toetapping, and torso swaying contribute their bit, too.

You don't stay in business for 2,000 years unless you know how to put on a good show. The role of music in religion has been well understood for much longer than that.

Sandee, that is so sad. I hope you work it through. I know that religious observance is an important part of your life. Please accept my condolences on the loss of your mother.

All religious music and chanting I've heard has that same quality. just as in meditation. that's what it's for.

How about this, music written and recorded or performed in certain key signature ABSOLUTELY have an effect on the listener. To check this out in person, go to church, then go to say an AC/DC concert. There is a hugely noticeable difference in reaction. Same goes with the drum. You can kind of control some part of the mood with the right music choices. Listen to Mozarts Ave Maria, in my opinion it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.

What I have always wondered, is why so many of the hymns are written over stolen works of music. I mean, there have been a lot of old melodies misappropriated by hymn writers. This begs the question, If the hymn writer was so inspired by God, why didn't he write his own score and not pilfer it from someone else's hard work?

Eternal Father, Strong to Save is very soothing when sang correctly.

Comparing ACDC and church hymns doesn't say anything at all about certain keys affecting people in certain ways. Both ACDC and the church [at least the catholic church I went to in my youth] primarily use/used keys like C, G, D, E minor, A minor...the church probably used Bb also, but the point still stands. ACDC and a catholic church sound different because of drastically different styles, instruments, and performers.

However, if you transpose a melody or chord progression that was originally in one key into another very different key [C transposed to Db or F# will work very nicely], you can often hear a very drastic difference in texture. The blues is a good example. Hendrix's "Red House" and Thelonius Monk's "Blue Monk" are both slow blues, both using basic I-IV-V changes [Monk usually didn't use the ridiculous blues substitutions that we jazz musicians love so much], but yet they sound completely different. One is in B, the other is in Bb.

But that's not even on topic.
As Lt_Ripley stated, nearly any music, religious or not, can have a hypnotic or trance-inducing texture. If you ever have a chance to listen to an African drum ensemble, by all means do so. And when you're listening, sit quietly, shut your eyes, feel the music and forget everything else. You'll be in a trance before you had any idea what happened. Free jazz is the same way. In most ways, the two are incredibly different, but both require an incredible amount of energy on the part of the performers, and both often have spiritual inclinations.

...Sorry guys...It's a thread discussing music. I got excited.

Lol,

About the drum. My grandma used to say that the drum was the heartbeat of your mother, the earth. I used to think that was some old indian saying or some such, but when my daughter was small, and fussy, I could take off my shirt and lay her head on my chest and she would quiet down when she heard the heartbeat. The drum puts you in a special place this way too. It gives you a safe inside sort of feeling if you are receptive to it. I have been to a christian church near the reservation here a few times where they only use the drum, no piano and DEFINITELY no electric guitars. That always just floors me when I go into a church and the have guitars etc. It is a different experience. Music is a language all it's own. If there is a language of the god's IMHO this is it.

Funny thing is that many of those old soothing hymns are actually just new words sung to the tune of old tavern songs.

It's a matter of personal preference. Hymns do nothing for me, but I can find myself lost in a loud, fast-paced song. Music is liberating, but it's also very personal.