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The concept of tongues or speaking in tongues is a broad one that no piece in writing can actually exhaust all that there is to write, say or run a commentary on about it, but for the sake of this letter to our Christian music creatives or gospel artistes if you like, I am going to narrow down to “tongues in our music work” which includes both audio and video productions.
Let me begin with this scripture:
For anyone who speaks in tongues does not speak to men but God, Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesy speak to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in tongues edified himself, but he who prophecy edified the church {1 Corinthians 14: 2 – 4 NIV}
I think I need to issue a disclaimer at this point that I am a born-again Christian, I believe in the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, I also believe in speaking in tongues in fact I speak in tongues.
But you see, the truth remains that what cannot be understood never can edify. There is no advantage anyone can derive from the most excellently delivered speech if it is done in a language that your hearers neither speak nor understand and this can also apply to our music. Yes, there are times you listen to some music in languages you don’t speak or understand and you kind of enjoy them or “feel” something, but that’s how far it gets compared to you “feeling something” in the songs done in languages you understand.
According to the scripture above, anyone who speaks in tongues does not speak to man but God, because he speaks mystery. Mystery is defined as “something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain”. Something beyond human understanding.
Now I ask what’s on your mind as the end result of the music work, and if reaching out to the audience marked for your music and message is it, what advantage do you think they will derive from the mystery you are speaking to God which also solely edifies you?
I know what you may be thinking so let me go to it as you are thinking about it. The second part of the 15th verse of that same scripture 1st Corinthians 14 says: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with understanding also. Now you may want to interpret the singing in spirit here to “singing in tongues” but the fact remains that if it doesn’t edify the church-in this case the people, it bears no fruit.
Otherwise just like the 16th verse, how would the people say amen at your giving of thanks when they do not understand what you have said or sang? {paraphrased}. Yes, you would have sang well with all the good production and excellent musicianship but your audience would not have benefited from it.
Remember I told you I am Christian yeah? So, I know John 4:24 talks about God being a Spirit and so everyone who will worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. I have come to realize that some modern day Christians naturally interprets “worship Him in spirit’ to be worshipping/speaking in tongues, well whilst that isn’t the principal interpretation of that verse, It is safe to say that speaking in tongues cannot be taken out completely when you worship in spirit and in truth and that’s really okay as God is the center-piece of our worship.
But when it comes to doing music work that the people would listen to either live or recorded, tongues in such times doesn’t profit them in any way as it would have profited you.
We can’t rule out the fact that you could get “caught up” {be in the spirit} whilst in the studio recording and tongues flow freely as you are given utterance, the part of all these tongues in music work that seem to be the issue is when you now have to do the song live on stage and you are caught speaking the same tongues as recorded in the song, worse off is when this happens when shooting the video for the music work. The question you leave for us to find answers to is – did you score the tongues after recording the audio?
Another thing is you leaving us to wonder if the tongues was actually spirit-led or something you did for lack of lyrics or adlib lines.
The challenge is not you speaking in tongues in your music work but the questions and thoughts you leave us with when and after we have caught you repeating same tongues whenever you do that particular song after the studio recording and the effect is you lose us as far as that song is concerned.
As someone who is conversant with music work, I know there is something called Live Recording and its very possible that the Spirit takes over at some point and you find yourself speaking mysteries {tongues}, that’s really fine, but it wont be pardonable if the next time you do the song we hear the same tongues at the exact same point in the song.
What then can I suggest? Let a radio edit be for the people, which means the tongues part of the music work would be chopped off during the editing and mixing process. That really shouldn’t be a problem if like I said earlier the tongues wasn’t for lack of lyrics or adlib lines.
If you really must leave the tongues in the song, the advice is you may be releasing that original and a radio edit for the people, also you would have to work your craft well enough that we don’t catch you doing the same tongues every time you do that song.
As I wind down on this letter to you, I want you to imagine that you bought an album or downloaded a music and you play it in your car. First listening you heard tongues in some part of the song, chances are that it would come fresh at the time, but would you still feel same way the next time you listen to that particular song, and the next time after that or is there probability that you skip that track of the album after some time?
I have written to you as a Christian with an understanding of tongues, perhaps as a singer and a radio presenter based on findings as well as feedbacks from the audiences that I sing to and also play your songs to when hosting a radio show and I am hoping what you have read makes some sense to you.This is one of the reasons some artistes don’t get airplays as much as others, or having some of their songs suffer less airplays than others.
At the end of the day, the decision is yours, just bear in mind the mixed feelings you would be leaving your audiences with per time.
I wish you the best as journey on.
