Kingdom Melodies - Can they influence people's moods?

by truthseeker 20 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  mrs rocky2

  I often wondered why the Society migrated away from live piano music to the recorded variety. I suspected that those of us who played the piano at the KH would put emotion into our playing, or add some sort of creative twist to the music, which was too close to displaying an "independent spirit". If the music is played from a recording, then the WT has control of the mood of the music. Of course, all of this was done under the guise of "unity of the brotherhood."

  BTW - we attended a church in Wenatchee, WA. We were surprised to find a Kingdom Melody in their hymnal - We Thank You Jehovah. Don't know where they got it, who had it first, but were rather surprised because we thought JW songs were exclusive to JWs.
• 

  claytoncapeletti
• 

  upside/down

  My bowels start to growl...

  And I get all "pissy"...

  u/d (of the NEVER liked even one of those "old peoples" tunes...class)
• 

  freedom96

  Some of the witness songs are just dreadful. Painful to sing, horrible to listen to. There were a few that I enjoyed more than others, but all in all, it does nothing for me.
• 

  Wasanelder Once

  Yes, they do inspire a mood. Some are sappy. The kingdom melodies version of some are downright pleasant and do inspire a good mood. I listen to them very seldom but don't feel guilty for the good mood they provide. I dont focus on the lyrics, just the good mood.

  An example of how a mood is apparent was at the funeral of a sister who wanted "Life Without End at Last" sung. Everyone tried but the tears were too oppressive. That song, so hopeful in its content, was turned into a farce and I could never listen to it with hope again. It was her funeral dirge and I thought of her with pain. Ruined it for me all the time I was in the bOrg.

  W.Once
• 

  M.J.

  Speaking of patriotism. When I walked in toward the end of the DC I heard them playing/singing a song that sounded just like the national anthem of a minor communist country. It was freaky.
• 

  Lilycurly

  Ugh! I know my dad, for one, seems to adore those songs. I never liked them, always thought they sounded completly outdated. Wondered why they didn't make up new ones. But I started to especially dislike them when I started to think on my own. Dad would play them in the car, at home, he even got all the CDs, and the ones sung by people (wich gets him misty-eyed!) It just made me want to jump out of the moving car when he would put it on. That's when I learned to go to my happy place and block it out. I never want to hear one of those again!
• 

  diamondblue1974

  Does anyone remember the pink songbook we used to have before the one they have now?

  Didnt it say or indicate how the song should be sang....cant remember exactly but if anyone has an old copy...read it...I remember as a kid always being told to sing according to how it should be sung as indicated in the sickly purplely pink book.

  Even back then the control was ever apparent in my view.
• 

  zulukai

  The music and lyrics of that songbook were and are : insipid, drab, uninspired, and musically "dumbed" down on purpose to induce a compliant mood. Even when I was a model jw I found them more than slightly irksome because I couldn't understand how musicians who generally are very creative and expressive people, could turn out such dreck.
  
  Now that I realise the whole thing is a carefully constructed, low-rent mind***k. that the music should follow the same path doesn't surprise me.
• 

  prophecor

  I can see your line of reasoning Truth Seeker. I ,however, don't view what the WTBTS does as being any different than anyone else who desires to bring about a shift in ones thinking and behaviour through music.

  Music is a mood altering energy that's been exploited from the begining of time. I've watched such documentaries on the Hitler Channel, how those throngs of Germans, all serving a common cause and goal, singing their hearts out as the parade of Nazis all gather together in solidarity and support of their beliefs, thier ruler and their desire to rule the world. The backdrop of the fires as they all were marching in the night gives a picture of power, granduer and emotional electricity. To see them all as they were then, is still an awesomely frightening thing to witness. The music, the pagentry, the psychological energy. Even though it was wrong, It can still be something to behold.

  If anyone was witness to President Ronald Reagan's funeral, as was I, it was a scene filled with pagentry and drama as well. The music so carefully scripted to fit the occasion. I believe he'd planned his funeral, years in advance, but when I witnessed it, it was a beautiful ceremony of almost mythic proportions.

  We also use music to instill us to war, for having sexual relations ( Lovers & Friends by Luda, John B and the other one I can't recall the name right now ) stirs even me , for figthing, crying in our beer tunes and the list and the energy is almost endless.

  The Kingdom Melodies have their place in life, as well. Though I'm never returning to a Kingdom Hall for as long as I live, I recognize the awesome power that their music has on their constituents. I was one who exclusively listened to them, abandoning all other forms of music at one time. To hear " Keep Your Eyes on the Prize " in Kingdom Melody format, was what floated my boat. I realize now, however, that the music was just another attempt at control, their not wanting us to listen to anything, but. I won't deny, either, that being amongst a host of those who believed as we once did, and some, still do in varying degrees, was a way of bridging the connect for commonality amongst the brotherhood. The music was alive, even though many of us were asleep to the reality of what goes on in the undertow of the WTBTS.

  Dare, but for the Grace of God, Go I.