Written by Miles Wurster
It is no small secret that of all the scholarly pursuits, Luther held music as one of the crown jewels of learning, second only to that of Scripture. “Music is a fair, glorious gift of God; and it lies very near to theology. I would not part with my small faculty of music for vast possessions. We should practice the young continually in this art, for it will make able and polished men of them” (Eby & Luther, 1931, p.71). This short sentence implies much—the importance Luther placed on music in the church and in the education curriculum, the emphasis on training highly qualified music and classroom teachers, and how music has a profound and beneficial impact on those who study and surround themselves with it.
The Role of Music
Luther time and again places a great emphasis on the importance of music in Christian education. Though music cannot create faith (only that gospel can do that), it can be a vehicle for hearing the Word and inspiring the hearts of men to seek the gospel. Loewe (2013) argues this was one of Luther’s core philosophies of music—Christian participation in music can reinforce the work of the gospel through congregational and classroom participation of music rooted in the Word. However, this was only one half of the equation for Luther; while indeed the role of music in the church superseded all other uses, Luther vehemently supported the study of music for secular purposes as well. “. . . when man’s natural musical ability is whetted and polished to the extent that it becomes an art, then do we note with great surprise the great and perfect wisdom of God in music, which is, after all, his product and his gift . . . ” (Luther as cited in Grew, 1938). These two statements support a philosophy of music that promotes both the sacred use of music in the church, and the aesthetic value of music in society as a gift of God to be used and shared.
Training Music Teachers
Luther stipulated those individuals who sought to serve as pastors and teachers must be well schooled in the theory and practical study of music. Luther understood that fundamental training in music education for teachers was essential, not just cursory. “A schoolmaster must know how to sing, or I would not allow him to teach” (Eby, 1931 p.160). “Necessity demands that music be kept in the schools. A schoolmaster must know how to sing; otherwise I do not look at him. And before a youth is ordained into the ministry, he should practice music in school” (Schalk, 1988, p. 30).
The curriculum at Martin Luther College supports a basic level of training in music; beyond that, pursuit of music is elective. From Luther’s point of view, it would be beneficial for students studying to be called workers to continue to pursue the study of music throughout their training.
Music Education in the Classroom
What guidance does Luther give on how to incorporate music into the classroom? As with many topics, Luther had an opinion here as well: Students should be grouped according to experience and ability in music (quite reasonable and reflective of what is done in modern education). Luther advised that students should “practice music daily” for a period of one hour (Schalk, 1988, p. 29). (Are we currently meeting this standard given by Luther in all of our Lutheran schools?)
Modern society is going through an upheaval when it comes to education, not unlike the events of Luther’s day. There is, in society, the question of the value of a classical education and, by extension, music education. History documents that as Luther weathered the political fallout connected to the Reformation, he did not forget what was important for children in society—a quality, well-rounded, Christ-centered liberal arts education that included poetry and music as fundamental components of the curriculum. It cannot be stressed enough that Luther valued education apart from outside influences.
Loewe (2013) provides a well-worded summary of Luther’s philosophy on music education. If we as educators aspire to a model of reasoned wisdom on the application of music in society, one need not look much further than Luther. Luther embraced music, for use in the church and for use in civic society, in much the same way that he valued education.
. . . for Luther, music remained an art: both a philosophical art as well as a practical art. It is his positioning of music at the nexus between Reformation and the late-medieval schools, theology and philosophy, the arts and the sciences, combined with his profound appreciation of music as a gift of God capable of inspiring a response of love for the creator, that makes Luther’s theory and practice of music so valuable and fascinating. There is no doubt that, among the reformers, Luther was indeed both “the musician and erudite philosopher” (p. 597).
Miles Wurster serves as professor and director of instrumental music at Martin Luther College. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Arts degree in wind band conducting and music education at Ball State University.
Resources
Eby, F., 1874, & Luther, M. (1931). Early protestant educators: The educational writings of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other leaders of protestant thought. New York, London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.
Grew, E. M. (1938). Martin Luther and music. Music and Letters, 19(1), 67-67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/727986.
Loewe, J. A. (2013). ‘musica est optimum’: Martin Luther’s theory of music. Music andLetters, 94(4), 573-605. doi:10.1093/ml/gct133
Schalk, C. (1988). Luther on music: Paradigms of praise. St. Louis: Concordia.
What Miles Wooster writes suggests the need for a robust music curriculum in our schools. However, many classrooms no longer have a piano or other instrument with which to make music. Hymnology as a specific part of the curriculum is long gone. Devotions less frequently involve the singing of a hymn. The memory and recitation of hymn texts is increasingly rare. Music class, in which music skills are directly taught and practiced, has fallen by the wayside. The school-wide music curriculum, with grade-by-grade goals and time expectations, has given way to other curricular pressures. Classrooms once served multiple times each year as a choir in the worship life of the congregation. More common now is the junior choir, in which participants are rewarded with the loss of a study period. Possibly during this celebratory year of the Reformation we can somehow reclaim a rightful place for music in our Lutheran school classrooms.
I am not sure where you serve or what the size of schools are by you, but I can reasonably assure you that many of the things you claim are going by the wayside are in fact still quite in full force, at least where I have served the past 22 years. Hymnology, class singing in church 4-5 times per year as a classroom choir, a music class curriculum, hymns with all morning devotions, and even a Catechism teacher (Pastor) who sings with his students along with guitar. I appreciate your passion and your stressing of the importance of keeping music at the center of what we do in our churches and schools, but I would argue that we haven’t left it out to the degree you seem to indicate in your response. I pray we never do!
What you describe is refreshing and heartening. I do hope that your experience is more the norm than what I described based on 45 years of teaching and now going on a dozen years of subbing. Call me when you need a sub :)!
I would agree! I am thankful that your school does all of these things and I pray that more do! I would be interested to survey schools across the synod to see how music is being taught. In my current setting, there are two WELS elementary schools. In both, kids do sing in church a couple of times a year. One school has handbells and a junior choir, and they are just beginning to departmentalize with music as one of the classes being taught . I am blessed to be teaching music in one classroom at this school this year, so I can teach the basics to students. At the other school where my daughters attend, however, neither of their classes has music class actively taught. Music education in the classroom is left entirely up to the teacher. Instrumental music in both schools is also non-existent for lack of interest (time and money) from students and parents.