Human Voice as a Spiritual Experience
One of the biggest reasons I have committed my life to music is because, for me, music is spiritual. In particular, the human voice carries a significant power to promote spiritual experiences through triggering emotional responses. When listening to someone sing, have you ever felt the hairs rise on your arms, the back of your neck or a tingling rise up your spine? The opportunity to connect with another person so deeply as to elicit a response like that is precious. This level of connection is rare. The rarity, and the power of this kind of connection is why I seek to both find and create it. Over the course of my life, I have discovered that there is a sensitivity required to experience this level of connection from another's voice and I that the performer is also required to share this vulnerability.
In Anne Rasmussen's Women, and Islamic Music in Indonesia she discusses how expert Qur'an reciters use ornamentation and the "breaking" of the voice stylistically. These vocal techniques create a sense of emotionality in the recitation which is both felt by the reciter and conveyed to the listener.
This is not a vocal technique reserved for religious Qur'an recitation however. In fact, it is commonly used in secular and popular music. In reference to this phenomenon of singing with breaks or "flaws" David Byrne said, “The better a singer's voice, the harder it is to believe what they're saying.” Part of the power of this emotionality in vocal expression is that it leads the listener to believe that the performer is being honest and emotionally genuine. For example popular singer Jessie J uses breaks in her song Who You Are:
In the context of religious music genuineness and honesty are very important qualities of performance because religious music is often used as a way to communicate religious philosophy, stories, and principles. The believability of the music is crucial in this context. It works to spread the beliefs of a religion in a way that the audience can connect with emotionally and spiritually whether the music is celebratory or reverent. In addition music can also be understood as a form of prayer or worship and the honesty of this type of music is also vital.
In Anne Rasmussen's Women, and Islamic Music in Indonesia she discusses how expert Qur'an reciters use ornamentation and the "breaking" of the voice stylistically. These vocal techniques create a sense of emotionality in the recitation which is both felt by the reciter and conveyed to the listener.
This is not a vocal technique reserved for religious Qur'an recitation however. In fact, it is commonly used in secular and popular music. In reference to this phenomenon of singing with breaks or "flaws" David Byrne said, “The better a singer's voice, the harder it is to believe what they're saying.” Part of the power of this emotionality in vocal expression is that it leads the listener to believe that the performer is being honest and emotionally genuine. For example popular singer Jessie J uses breaks in her song Who You Are:
In the context of religious music genuineness and honesty are very important qualities of performance because religious music is often used as a way to communicate religious philosophy, stories, and principles. The believability of the music is crucial in this context. It works to spread the beliefs of a religion in a way that the audience can connect with emotionally and spiritually whether the music is celebratory or reverent. In addition music can also be understood as a form of prayer or worship and the honesty of this type of music is also vital.
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