The Language of Music 1

MUSIC AS A SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE

Music can be seen as tongues in spiritual settings.

Some people do not speak in tongues, they don't even believe in it.
There is the class of people who have been baptized and can speak in tongues, but they simply don't, except they are in environments where they are told specifically to do it.
Some others actively speak in tongues, but they do not understand what they say. These people speak mysteries without understanding.
Then there's the group Apostle Paul admonishes us to: those who speak and can interpret the tongues.

The same above applies to musicians (those who write, sing or play music). Like the Christian who has been baptized, many musicians know music but they neither practice nor make use of their gifts till demand is made for it. That's a recipe for failure!
A second group actively participates in music activities and talks about it, being able to talk about principles and modes and movements and terms. They are able to play/sing well; they know the wonderful riffs and patterns, and can cause an uproar with their musicianship.

The third group which I liken to the Christian who speaks in tongues and interprets, is the class of musicians who know the technicalities of music, but have gone further than knowledge and grown into wisdom.
They know the notes but beyond that they understand the spirit behind the music. For them music actually communicates and they hear the message of the music even when it's not sung in words. They understand the spiritual implications of music and relate with it at that level. They spend time in meditation and in listening to relevant music. They have a deliberate spiritual focus. This is the class of musicians who don't just perform, they minister. They don't just hear the notes, they can tell the intention. Likewise they don't sing/play creatively, it's a matter of intuition. They make "heavenly" music. Their audiences are held spellbound when they sing/play because what transpires is usually more than the physical listening, it is a spiritual conversation!

I pray we will find grace to function effectively in our place as musicians.

Anyone Met Simon?

Hi everyone! And again, I come out of the silence! God help me be committed to blogging.

A friend of mine (who has chosen to be anonymous) wrote the poem below in honour of another friend (mentor-friend, actually) - the amazing piano wizard; SIMON KEYS - and I am privileged to have been granted permission by the former to upload it to my blog. So, here goes:

                                   Anyone Met Simon?

You can always tell
From focus and dedication
Detailed with attention
His hands on the keys
Well graced and accentuated
When he flams his notes
Serenades like sonata
So much in jazz and style
Makes me vibrate my chords
In melodies from the soul
With his so altered chords
Who exactly is Simon?
His mouth or his braids
His fingers or his heart
Can you tell the difference?

Thank God for the Word
Sharper than two edged sword
His mouth wanted to compete
Nearly as sharp as the sword

Those strands on the head
Locked up in fine scales
I feared the bunch like mop
Until my fingers ran through
It's panache and finesse
Represents style and cleanliness
They say its next to godliness
Who exactly is Simon?
His mouth or his braids
His fingers or his heart

Whoever Simon is
His mouth or his braids
He may even be the keys
His fingers or his heart
As long as he inspires on key
Please just let him be!

- Anonymous

Christmas: An Everyday Season

Season's Greetings everyone!

I have a new Christmas material called "Everyday Season".

I wrote this song last year while I was getting angry that the carols that we sing at Christmas are the same old songs that we have had for ages, only re-arrangements. Thankfully, I was blessed with this in response to my anger. *smiles*

The lady whose voice carries the song is an amazingly talented young woman whom you would hear a lot about soon. Her name is Mercy Oluwayemisi.

Please feel free to download the song and share with friends and family members.

Merry Christmas!

PS: I am not absolutely sure the download widget below is working fine, so kindly use the link http://www.hulkshare.com/xwuetu9qqpkw if you are not properly directed. Thanks.

BOUQUI, SOKLEVA & AMBASSAGE AT X2D

Hey people!

So I have not been here in such a long time that everyone has probably forgotten this space exists! I apologise!

I had hoped I could trace a bit of my musical history and bring you up to date, but it seems we need to change the approach, so I would basically feed you on updates as we go.

About a week ago, I had the privilege of sitting in an office with female rap artiste, BOUQUI; Rooftop MCs artiste, Sokleva; upcoming rap artiste, Ambassage; and a few friends.


Enjoy the video!

The Beginning of Exposure

I did say it would not be another two months, didn't I? Never mind that it came close by inches. I promise to repent.

So, I had become a member of the choir of the LASUCF choir for a while, enjoying the opportunity to 'do' music at all. Then came this week that the choir was preparing for a Friday night programme and Rotimi Mosaku, the keyboardist, was not going to be there - he had church arrangements back at home for which he traveled every weekend. Word got to the Choir Director that I could accompany the choir and so I was called up. Lo and behold, I became the fellowship's second keyboardist that weekend. With that came new responsibilities too - it was more important for me now to be at every service, especially if Rotimi was not going to be there. When he was, I still managed to join the choir, only for a short while longer though.

One of my defining (or shaping) moments in those early days came from the experience I had when I went with a few friends from school to attend a service at Pastor Paul Adefarasin's House On The Rock on a Sunday the church choir was going to hold a concert. It was the first time I would hear about the church or its choir, and I was bought over in that one service - the praise/worship session, the choir song, the Word, the excellence exuded in every activity was very appealing to me. The concert did not take place till evening, but it was a classy event and it was an exhibition of a quality of contemporary music that I had not seen performed live before. However, I still felt there could have been more - by the time the evening had come to end, I sat there thinking, "there should have been more!"

After that 'outing', I started to collect tapes of prolific christian musicians, (mostly foreigners) with Seun Dawodu's help. I also started getting the opportunity of rehearsing with the fellowship's Yamaha PSR-630 electronic keyboard. And now, I had become a 'keyboardist' as well as an organist.

9/11 Decade

How could I post something today and not mention 9/11?!

It has been ten whole years since that terror came knocking on our windows courtesy of a few wicked and Godless men (I guess I should reverse the order of those adjectives). And till date, many families, and even nations, are still struggling to move beyond that point...

I really do not want to say too much...

May God teach us to love like He does, and be able to look beyond ours and others' differences and depravities. Amen.

Warming Up to Epe

It has been a whole of two months since my last post. Wow! Blogging is by no means a mean fit, I see. Kudos to the folks who are able to do it in combination with other tasks in their lives.


Back to my blog!

I got admission to the pre-degree class of the legendary (some would consider this legend dubious though) Lagos State University (LASU) and for reasons that are not easily explainable, resumed three weeks late. Consequently, I missed the school's orientation programme and had to be inducted courtesy of the great friends I first met in the pre-degree class.

Of the things I was told about the Epe campus of LASU, one of the items that triggered my fancy is the bit about the many Christian fellowships that were present on campus. I took my time to make a choice, and of course, the music would play a phat role in determining my final choice. Back home in Abeokuta, folks would have concluded that the Anglican Students' Fellowship would be my automatic choice. For some reason, I did not even consider it. However, I had given thought to playing the organ at the Anglican church in Epe town, but at this time, the idea has ceased to be attractive.

After taking some more time to weigh my options, I joined the choir of LASU Christian Fellowship (LASUCF). I suppose having Mr. Oluwatoyin Ayedun for company in joining the choir helped me reach the decision fast enough. We were admitted into the choir and I sang "tenor" for a few weeks.

A quick interlude: As a result of the situation of electricity in Nigeria (which has sadly prevailed till now, with no hope in particular anywhere in sight), most people carried around something we called a "rechargeable lamp" at that time. I had one of my own, and i had carefully picked it - it had a torch, a reading lamp, some very mild kind of flood lights and a cassette player. You only needed to charge the battery of this device for a few hours and it could serve you for the same period of charge, or longer. My favourite part, of course, was the cassette player since I was growing a handsome collection of tapes for myself, anyway; I only needed to allow enough power on the battery to light the torch at the time of need.

I had this rechargeable lamp playing music while I sang along in the bathroom one day, and that is all I needed to attract the attention of a young man who has now been my friend for over ten years - Mr Oluwaseun Akinola Dawodu. I do not have that rechargeable device anymore, but I am grateful for the friendships that came by it.

This story would continue soon... and I promise it would not be another two-month break!