Historically Masonic Lodges were filled with singing. Through Freemasonry’s long history very large numbers of songs were written for use in Lodge, and song books were published.
Somewhere, along the line, at least in the United States, we lost that tradition of song.
Should we bring it back?
How important is music to a Lodge? Here in Washington, most Lodges are without any music, some have a pianist. But what about old Masonic songs? Should we sing them again?
Music has so many different attributes. It can set the tone for an evening and help a brother divest himself of the outer world. Music and song can also be very revealing in the story it tells. There can be great esoteric knowledge revealed in the words. I think it would be very interesting to read through some of the “hymnals”.
On April 9, 1860—the French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville created the first sound recording in history. An eerie rendition of the folksong "Au clair de la lune," the clip was captured by Scott's trademark invention, the phonautograph, the earliest device known to preserve sound. Since then, audio recordings have gotten better and better. Other than grandparents, it turns out most people prefer to listen to professional singers than amateurs. DJs are a better choice in most circumstances for providing a musical accompaniment.
While we may have the sheet music, I doubt anyone of us have actually heard the music itself, and even less could read the notes. I can't carry a tune (but I can tuna fish). We used to have a piano player, but one got too old, and the other has at least temporarily moved away to montlake terrace. I also think that learning to play an instrument like a piano is slowly becoming a dying art. The younger generations think that composing music using a computer and software is the same thing (it's not).
You can find playlists online of masonic music to play through applications like spotify.
I do think we need music to break up the monotony of listening to someone talk.
Greetings, I believe that any and all Masonic music in writing or recorded mediums needs to be collected by the current Grand Musician to be archived and handed down to the next Grand Musician. This will start a new Grand Lodge Tradition (modus operandum) and needs to find it’s place in the MWGL of WA historical records. I will expand this thread later…
This is rather spooky, (but does not surprise me anymore) the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about writing about this very subject to submit to the Masonic Tribune, that’s due the 22nd of August.
Somewhere, along the line, at least in the United States, we lost that tradition of song. Should we bring it back? Yes, we need to create a new evolving tradition that will reset or begin a new holistic musical Masonic movement for our older and younger Brothers, and for the attraction of new potential Brothers. Here again we need to balance the old music with the new music. 1.) This specific demographic of playing songs by any form of medium for the enjoyment and nourishment of our older and younger Brothers is a huge challenge. I have played my guitar at a few Masonic events and received good reviews, a few folks were allergic to some of the tunes I played. (the Law of Averages) it is expected. I need to do more field testing to see what music works, in consideration of the Lodge and or it's town peoples.
2.) The demographic we need to target, that I believe will benefit our Masonic numbers are that of young, successful, educated and esoterically hungry young men. I believe thru music, targeted events and technology we can attract these men and their families… I have had a plan to holistically do just that. Yet, for several years, the Brothers at my Lodge, more especially some Temple Board members, (same guys) are more interested in managing the building vs the future of our Masonic growth. Thus ignoring the proactive urgency I believe will help our Lodge grow… I subjectively feel I am wasting my time and need to find a Lodge that will embrace my ideas and the audio & video equipment I have personally purchased. I also have played in many Church Worship Teams (I was born and raised as a Catholic, age 11, my family joined a Pentecostal Church where I played my guitar Wed, Sun and Special events. I played music Professionally over 10 years, etc…)
Music sets the tone and in most Evangelical Services it is the cement that binds the audiences and keeps them coming back. I truly believe Music can be the magick that will increase our Lodge members and retain the Brothers we have.
The appropriate poetry and music in our ceremonies may provide impressive and effective remembrances. That by uniting harmony with our ritualistic work the impressions may be more lasting.
Music is a language which needs no translation. I have many recording on my phone of piano instrumentals which would fit well with our ritual. By means of Bluetooth I can amplify this music to my Bluetooth speaker which has a range of 60 feet.
I have a Masonic presentation of a famous march composed by Brother John Phillips Sousa in 1893 titled , "The Liberty Bell" which I think will be well received.
Also Pleyel's Hymn has an interesting history. I have found over 15 different sets of lyrics which use this piece of music. Two of them are Masonic lyrics. The music was composed by Brother Ignaz Joseph Pleyel in 1793. The Lyrics we use today in the 3rd Degree were written by Brother David Vinton in 1816. Interestingly, one set of lyrics were written by John Cennick in 1743 ( 50 years before the music was composed). The title of that piece is, "Children of the Heavenly King".
Because, both the music and the lyrics were in 7777 meter it is easy to sing and fit lyrics to. 7777 meter means that each phrase has 7 syllables and since there are 4 numbers there are four phrases to each verse.
For example, the familiar Christmas song, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" also has 7777 meter and the lyrics will fit Pleyel's Hymn but will sound a little funny because we are used to hearing it with a different piece of music.
I am working on creating an interesting concept of instrument sync. It's like lip sync but with musical instruments.
My home Lodge in Tenino had a musician from 1999 until WB Baxter had to retire due to health in early 2020. He passed away shortly afterwards, and is sorely missed by all the Lodges in this area of Washington State, as he also played piano for several other Lodges, for meetings, special ceremonies and installations.
For those who remember WB Baxter’s marches he played at installations, those were actually early 20th Century Eastern Star Marches. I think I have some of them on videos I’ve taken of installations.
“Canned music” is an option, although there’s a difference between a musician who can play quick musical phrases in between officer motions in a meeting, as opposed to a person turning the volume up and down on an MP3 player, etc. However, as is noted elsewhere in this thread, canned music is better than dead silence.
Singing? ...yeah, I’m not so sure about that. As mentioned earlier, all of us Master Masons are familiar with a certain dirge, but if there’s no musical instrument to establish a key, or a Brother with a bold voice that’s on key, it’s not going to sound good. I remember one time where a Brother was singing the dirge to the tune of “hush little baby, don’t say a word...”
But the bottom line – yes, I do believe it’s important to have a sort of ambient music before and after the meeting itself, and some theme-based music for portions of the opening and closing ritual. (By theme I mean something hymm-based for the Chaplain when he goes to and from the Altar, or the Worshipful Master’s personal choice for certain portions, or maybe even music suited for the meeting’s educational program.)
“Music embellishes the Masonic experience, enlightens the mind and speaks to the heart.”
Can you imagine watching your favorite movie without a soundtrack? Of course not.
Unfortunately for many lodges, the chair of the Musician is often overlooked and sits vacant for years. After time has passed, the brethren don’t even remember what it was like to have music…until they visit a lodge that does. You realize how much you miss it. At one point music was a significant piece of lodge night. Singing an ode to the Master or to the candidate or a song during table lodge bonded the group the same way at a concert where the band leads the audience in singing the chorus.
Incorporating music into lodge doesn’t have to be complicated, but it IS intentional. You have to choose to do it. And don’t let the fact you don’t have someone who can play the piano stop you. There is plenty of lodge appropriate music out there. If you are struggling to find it, when I was Grand Musician we recorded music that could be used by any lodge with a CD player. Tracks to be played during ritual or during lodge.
There are some best practices for incorporating music during ritual though there isn’t really any training out there on this topic and perhaps that is one reason why lodges don’t feel comfortable adding it back. Could be a good webinar topic.
I know in our lodge we’ve begun to feature a classical track for about 5 minutes at some point during a stated meeting. It is a time to listen, reflect and contemplate before we switch to another part of the agenda. Our lodge musician is one of our Past Masters and he uses a laptop and nice speaker. The fact that it is recorded music and not live does not take anything away from it. I would much rather have recorded music than no music.
Music has so many different attributes. It can set the tone for an evening and help a brother divest himself of the outer world. Music and song can also be very revealing in the story it tells. There can be great esoteric knowledge revealed in the words. I think it would be very interesting to read through some of the “hymnals”.
On April 9, 1860—the French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville created the first sound recording in history. An eerie rendition of the folksong "Au clair de la lune," the clip was captured by Scott's trademark invention, the phonautograph, the earliest device known to preserve sound. Since then, audio recordings have gotten better and better. Other than grandparents, it turns out most people prefer to listen to professional singers than amateurs. DJs are a better choice in most circumstances for providing a musical accompaniment.
Much of what ive found has been from the end of the 19th century and in the form of quartet music.
While we may have the sheet music, I doubt anyone of us have actually heard the music itself, and even less could read the notes. I can't carry a tune (but I can tuna fish). We used to have a piano player, but one got too old, and the other has at least temporarily moved away to montlake terrace. I also think that learning to play an instrument like a piano is slowly becoming a dying art. The younger generations think that composing music using a computer and software is the same thing (it's not).
You can find playlists online of masonic music to play through applications like spotify.
I do think we need music to break up the monotony of listening to someone talk.
Greetings, I believe that any and all Masonic music in writing or recorded mediums needs to be collected by the current Grand Musician to be archived and handed down to the next Grand Musician. This will start a new Grand Lodge Tradition (modus operandum) and needs to find it’s place in the MWGL of WA historical records. I will expand this thread later…
This is rather spooky, (but does not surprise me anymore) the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about writing about this very subject to submit to the Masonic Tribune, that’s due the 22nd of August.
Somewhere, along the line, at least in the United States, we lost that tradition of song. Should we bring it back? Yes, we need to create a new evolving tradition that will reset or begin a new holistic musical Masonic movement for our older and younger Brothers, and for the attraction of new potential Brothers. Here again we need to balance the old music with the new music. 1.) This specific demographic of playing songs by any form of medium for the enjoyment and nourishment of our older and younger Brothers is a huge challenge. I have played my guitar at a few Masonic events and received good reviews, a few folks were allergic to some of the tunes I played. (the Law of Averages) it is expected. I need to do more field testing to see what music works, in consideration of the Lodge and or it's town peoples.
2.) The demographic we need to target, that I believe will benefit our Masonic numbers are that of young, successful, educated and esoterically hungry young men. I believe thru music, targeted events and technology we can attract these men and their families… I have had a plan to holistically do just that. Yet, for several years, the Brothers at my Lodge, more especially some Temple Board members, (same guys) are more interested in managing the building vs the future of our Masonic growth. Thus ignoring the proactive urgency I believe will help our Lodge grow… I subjectively feel I am wasting my time and need to find a Lodge that will embrace my ideas and the audio & video equipment I have personally purchased. I also have played in many Church Worship Teams (I was born and raised as a Catholic, age 11, my family joined a Pentecostal Church where I played my guitar Wed, Sun and Special events. I played music Professionally over 10 years, etc…)
Music sets the tone and in most Evangelical Services it is the cement that binds the audiences and keeps them coming back. I truly believe Music can be the magick that will increase our Lodge members and retain the Brothers we have.
The appropriate poetry and music in our ceremonies may provide impressive and effective remembrances. That by uniting harmony with our ritualistic work the impressions may be more lasting.
Music is a language which needs no translation. I have many recording on my phone of piano instrumentals which would fit well with our ritual. By means of Bluetooth I can amplify this music to my Bluetooth speaker which has a range of 60 feet.
I have a Masonic presentation of a famous march composed by Brother John Phillips Sousa in 1893 titled , "The Liberty Bell" which I think will be well received.
Also Pleyel's Hymn has an interesting history. I have found over 15 different sets of lyrics which use this piece of music. Two of them are Masonic lyrics. The music was composed by Brother Ignaz Joseph Pleyel in 1793. The Lyrics we use today in the 3rd Degree were written by Brother David Vinton in 1816. Interestingly, one set of lyrics were written by John Cennick in 1743 ( 50 years before the music was composed). The title of that piece is, "Children of the Heavenly King".
Because, both the music and the lyrics were in 7777 meter it is easy to sing and fit lyrics to. 7777 meter means that each phrase has 7 syllables and since there are 4 numbers there are four phrases to each verse.
For example, the familiar Christmas song, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" also has 7777 meter and the lyrics will fit Pleyel's Hymn but will sound a little funny because we are used to hearing it with a different piece of music.
I am working on creating an interesting concept of instrument sync. It's like lip sync but with musical instruments.
Music. Excellent subject!
My home Lodge in Tenino had a musician from 1999 until WB Baxter had to retire due to health in early 2020. He passed away shortly afterwards, and is sorely missed by all the Lodges in this area of Washington State, as he also played piano for several other Lodges, for meetings, special ceremonies and installations.
For those who remember WB Baxter’s marches he played at installations, those were actually early 20th Century Eastern Star Marches. I think I have some of them on videos I’ve taken of installations.
“Canned music” is an option, although there’s a difference between a musician who can play quick musical phrases in between officer motions in a meeting, as opposed to a person turning the volume up and down on an MP3 player, etc. However, as is noted elsewhere in this thread, canned music is better than dead silence.
Singing? ...yeah, I’m not so sure about that. As mentioned earlier, all of us Master Masons are familiar with a certain dirge, but if there’s no musical instrument to establish a key, or a Brother with a bold voice that’s on key, it’s not going to sound good. I remember one time where a Brother was singing the dirge to the tune of “hush little baby, don’t say a word...”
But the bottom line – yes, I do believe it’s important to have a sort of ambient music before and after the meeting itself, and some theme-based music for portions of the opening and closing ritual. (By theme I mean something hymm-based for the Chaplain when he goes to and from the Altar, or the Worshipful Master’s personal choice for certain portions, or maybe even music suited for the meeting’s educational program.)
“Music embellishes the Masonic experience, enlightens the mind and speaks to the heart.”
Can you imagine watching your favorite movie without a soundtrack? Of course not.
Unfortunately for many lodges, the chair of the Musician is often overlooked and sits vacant for years. After time has passed, the brethren don’t even remember what it was like to have music…until they visit a lodge that does. You realize how much you miss it. At one point music was a significant piece of lodge night. Singing an ode to the Master or to the candidate or a song during table lodge bonded the group the same way at a concert where the band leads the audience in singing the chorus.
Incorporating music into lodge doesn’t have to be complicated, but it IS intentional. You have to choose to do it. And don’t let the fact you don’t have someone who can play the piano stop you. There is plenty of lodge appropriate music out there. If you are struggling to find it, when I was Grand Musician we recorded music that could be used by any lodge with a CD player. Tracks to be played during ritual or during lodge.
There are some best practices for incorporating music during ritual though there isn’t really any training out there on this topic and perhaps that is one reason why lodges don’t feel comfortable adding it back. Could be a good webinar topic.
I know in our lodge we’ve begun to feature a classical track for about 5 minutes at some point during a stated meeting. It is a time to listen, reflect and contemplate before we switch to another part of the agenda. Our lodge musician is one of our Past Masters and he uses a laptop and nice speaker. The fact that it is recorded music and not live does not take anything away from it. I would much rather have recorded music than no music.
For all contributers, I recommend Hammer's paper even though it reflects British practice.
The Art of Forming Concords:
Music and The Masonic Lodge
W:. B :. Andrew Hammer, PM
Alba Lodge No 222
file:///C:/MASONIC/OtCMusicPacket.pdf
It has an example of lodge music. Also Hammer has recorded music for all the songs he gives as examples.