Thursday, April 2, 2009

Changing Majors

So as of yesterday, I am no longer a music major. I decided about a week ago now that I was going to change it, and people have been asking me why. Most of those people I told, "Give me a few days, and I'll write a blog about it." Well, it took me a few days, but here it is.

I have a few reasons why I have decided not to be a CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) major anymore. In no particular order.

1) Guitar lessons. Good grief, these sucks. Sure, these seem logical to be taking if you are going to be a performance major, but I was a Recording/Production major. I think it's great to have the option to take lessons, but I certainly do not think they should be required if you do not plan on being a performance major.

2) Piano class. Again, this seems logical for some parts of the CCM major, but 4 semesters of piano if you are going to be a Recording/Production major is frivolous.

3) CCM. Yes, I said it. I have been doing some thinking recently, and I have come to the realization that CCM is something that I don't want to have labeled on my college degree. I feel that the Christian entertainment industry is approaching its audience from the wrong angle. To me, it seems that they are promoting their products as such: "Why listen to secular garbage when you can be a good Christian and listen to this good God music?" The same goes with the new movies they are making. And to be honest, I feel they are making a mockery of themselves. I recently read an interview on Jesus Freak Hideout, most definitely a Christian music website. They interviewed the lead singer from The Classic Crime, and I love how Matt counters the interviewers loaded questions. Here's just a small excerpt of the interview. To read it all, click here.

JFH (John): Does it ever hit you like when you're playing in a bar, and you see the certain people in the audience and you just kind of think about stuff like that?
Matt: Yeah! I mean, we prefer to play places where there is the higher opportunity of people who are hurting or people who are sad or depressed or who have gone through abusive situations because we feel like those people really need music to lift their spirits and take them through certain periods in their life as therapy.

JFH (John): Yeah, you'll find that almost anywhere.
Matt: You will find that anywhere.

JFH (John): Like, you could be playing in a church, and just because they feel like they can't show it, doesn't mean they aren't going through it.
Matt: Right. No definitely, they're everywhere and that's the good thing about us where we cross over different genres and we're trying to reach everybody, you know? Not just trying to be exclusive to one group of people. And it's not just that, we have pop songs for people who just want to sing along and are happy you know?

JFH (John): It's kind of a loaded question, but do you think there is a need and a purpose for Christian music?
Matt: You know, I have yet to define what Christian music is. I know what worship and praise music is, music directed towards God, but I don't know if you can mix a belief or a system of beliefs with your music, because I mean, obviously if you're a Christian or a Muslim or a Jew and you're very serious about your faith, it's going to come out in your music. But I don't think there's Jewish rock or Muslim rock or, you know?

JFH (John): …but I also realize as I'm getting older, that it's kind of a bit taboo to try calling a band a "Christian band" in this day in age and especially now with the state of the industry where it's pretty much that worship music seems to make up the most of what people consider "Christian music" and then most of the rock bands and such just don't want anything to do with the whole Christian music industry...
Matt: Well and it has nothing to do with the Christian bands they grew up with, it has nothing to do with the Christian bands that they like, cause everybody likes a few that call themselves "Christian." It has to do with the fact that the industry, for a lot of people, rubs people the wrong way. The money that's involved, or the money that's spent on safe music, and the parents are just trying to get something for their kids that's safe, and that's understandable. But at 19 dollars a CD, with all the profit going to these people and not the artist, not the consumer, there is profit on the mind with an exclusive industry like that. And so as much good as it is for the kids to have safety and something that's going to inspire them, something that's going to make them feel like they belong to something...

But that's enough of my rant on CCM, and the Christian entertainment industry as a whole. Please do yourself a favor and read the whole interview. Matt puts it so well in some of the other questions that I did not post here.

4) God. I have been thinking about this decision for quite a while, most of this semester really. I prayed long and hard about this decision, and I feel that this is where I need to be.

To conclude, I have decided to become a Digital Media: Audio Recording major. It's a similar program, with some of the classes being the same, but it's more of the technical side of things instead of the music side of things.


Now whether or not you agree with what I had to say, I still appreciate feedback and most definitely appreciate your prayers. College has been a trying time for me, and especially for my parents in the financial department. Thank you again.

-matthew
9:53 am

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