Articles

Virtues for the musician: Joy

Cultivating joy as a musician

What does it mean to glorify God in my music-making? Part 1: Defining glory

What does it mean to glorify God in my music-making? Part 1: Defining glory

In this resource, Network co-ordinator Tom Chevis outlines just what ‘glorifying God’ …

What does it mean to glorify God in my music-making? Part 2: Glorifying God in practice

What does it mean to glorify God in my music-making? Part 2: Glorifying God in practice

In this resource, Network co-ordinator Tom Chevis outlines just what ‘glorifying God’ …

What has the gospel got to do with improvisation?

What has the gospel got to do with improvisation?

How the gospel relates to improvisation

What has the gospel got to do with harmony exercises?

What has the gospel got to do with harmony exercises?

How harmony exercises relate to the gospel

What has the gospel got to do with composition?

What has the gospel got to do with composition?

How the gospel relates to composition

What has the gospel got to do with analysis?

What has the gospel got to do with analysis?

How the gospel relates to the practice of musical analysis

What has the gospel got to do with musicology?

What has the gospel got to do with musicology?

How the gospel relates to musicology

Beauty and the Bible

Beauty and the Bible

How the Bible speaks of ‘beauty’ and what this means for our music

Appendix to ‘Beauty and the Bible’

Appendix to ‘Beauty and the Bible’

An appendix to Becky Chevis’s article ‘Beauty and the Bible’

Should I take this gig or not? Part 1: A helpful framework

Should I take this gig or not? Part 1: A helpful framework

A framework to help you work out whether or not to take a gig

Should I take this gig or not? Part 2: Conscience issues

Should I take this gig or not? Part 2: Conscience issues

See what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 14 about ‘conscience issues’ and how it can …

Should I take this gig or not? Part 3: Wisdom, folly, sin and Sundays

Should I take this gig or not? Part 3: Wisdom, folly, sin and Sundays

In considering whether to take gigs on Sundays, what does biblical wisdom dictate?

A self-forgetful musician?

A self-forgetful musician?

Cultivating self-forgetfulness in your music-making

Creaturely creativity

Creaturely creativity

Some brief reflections on the relationship between God’s creativity and our creativity

Practising our fundamentals

Practising our fundamentals

The repetitive nature of practice, and what it teaches us about rehearsing the gospel to ourselves

Seeing every piece of music-making through the lens of the Gospel

Seeing every piece of music-making through the lens of the Gospel

Principles from Ted Turnau’s book ‘Popologetics’ applied to music-making

Worked examples of the ‘Popologetics’ analysis framework

Worked examples of the ‘Popologetics’ analysis framework

An appendix, with four worked examples, to the resource ‘Seeing every piece of music through …

Hands: a poem by Amelie Addison

Hands: a poem by Amelie Addison

A poem by cellist Amélie Addison, May 2021

Set on becoming an orchestral musician?

Set on becoming an orchestral musician?

Some questions to think through if intent on becoming an orchestral musician

Beauty, Begbie, and the Bible

Beauty, Begbie, and the Bible

Some ideas on the concept of beauty, as outlined in Jeremy Begbie’s book ‘A Peculiar …

The pursuit of community

The pursuit of community

Community, and why musicians need the church

The tongue: the music student’s most powerful instrument of all (Part 1)

The tongue: the music student’s most powerful instrument of all (Part 1)

Bible teaching on the power of the tongue, applied to the world of music

The tongue: the music student’s most powerful instrument of all (Part 2)

The tongue: the music student’s most powerful instrument of all (Part 2)

More Bible teaching on the power of the tongue, applied to the world of music

To engage or not to engage: responding to ungodliness in music

To engage or not to engage: responding to ungodliness in music

Wisdom on how to respond to ungodliness in music, collated from a Music Network colloquium on new …

Sing and tell

Sing and tell

The vital role of singing in healthy Christian community

How to respond to musical ineptitude

How to respond to musical ineptitude

How to respond when we find ourselves faced with musical ineptitude in non-musicians

Being in the music world but not of the music world

Being in the music world but not of the music world

A summary of Jonathan Girling’s Music Network talk at Word Alive 2019

Dangling a carrot at Christmas

Dangling a carrot at Christmas

How to make the most of the words you sing in a Christmas carol service

Using musical analogies to explain the gospel

Using musical analogies to explain the gospel

How using the language of the music world can help explain various Christian beliefs

The Music of Heaven

The Music of Heaven

Some thoughts on music in the new creation

Music - worshipped and adored?

Music - worshipped and adored?

An article on how music’s propensity to be idolised

Taking Christ out of Christmas: an exercise in humanism

Taking Christ out of Christmas: an exercise in humanism

A review of Stephen A.G. Hough’s 2016 article ‘Carols evoke the spirit of Christmas …

Music & Dementia #1 - on being human, and one’s value

Music & Dementia #1 - on being human, and one’s value

Thoughts on working as a Christian musician with adults in dementia care

Music & Dementia #2 - on eternity, boundaries, and serving others

Music & Dementia #2 - on eternity, boundaries, and serving others

Some more thoughts on working as a Christian musician with adults in dementia care

Money, mediocrity, and the myth of ‘making it’

Money, mediocrity, and the myth of ‘making it’

A lengthy article on career, calling, and contentment as a professional musician

free improvisation & anarchy

free improvisation & anarchy

An exploration of the music’s political implications through examining the relationship …

Musicking in Corona-Time: Reflections from CS Lewis

Musicking in Corona-Time: Reflections from CS Lewis

CS Lewis’ sermon ‘Learning in War-Time’ applied to musicians in the 2020 Covid-19 …

Discover and Develop: Experimental Music, Creation, and the Cultural Mandate

Discover and Develop: Experimental Music, Creation, and the Cultural Mandate

An argument for greater engagement with experimental music by Christians

The yonder of its vision

The yonder of its vision

A brief blog sharing Herman Bavinck’s words on art from his opening chapter of ‘The …

Playing music in church

Playing music in church

Some biblical principles for thinking about serving in church with our music

Keeping God at the centre of your practice time

Keeping God at the centre of your practice time

Biblical reasons and practical advice for keeping God at the centre of your practice time

Ecclesiastes for music students

Ecclesiastes for music students

Reflections on the message of Ecclesiastes and how we might live it out as musicians

Music Network introduction