I was 13 years old when I heard Judy Collins’ rendition of “Amazing Grace” over the radio. At that time, I thought it was an unusual song to be played over a rock station. Collins sang the first verse with a pure yet moving vocal quality unaccompanied until the second verse when an unpretentious-sounding choir joined her. I was immediately mesmerized by the sound, even though I did not understand the meaning of the text. However, after embracing Christianity, “Amazing Grace” has been a wonderful companion and master teacher throughout my journey. In this transcendent autoethnography, I answer the research question, “What does spirituality sound like?” by using “Amazing Grace”. I describe how this hymn played a role in my early Christian life when it caused me to consider biblical truth. Then, I explore the lessons I learned about biblical grace. From a music educator’s perspective, I discuss my fundamental belief that “spiritual music is relationship” and show how “Amazing Grace” is a model for the sound of spirituality. I conclude with the prose of seven biblical reflections on what spirituality sounds like—a sound that leads us to a profound relationship with God.

A sobering reality is that suffering is part of our human experience. The innumerable forms of suffering include physical pain, mental or emotional anguish, social injustice, economic setbacks, and profound loss. There is also suffering that is self-imposed, instructional, or sacrificial. Remarkably, music is indispensable during suffering and varies from individual to individual, even among those who believe in a higher power or God. This perspective paper explores how we choose the music to engage with while suffering in the context of theodicy: the study of why suffering occurs under the purview of a loving, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God. The paper begins with describing the narrative in the Book of Job from the Tanakh and Bible as the foundation of theodicy. It then expounds on the definition of theodicy, reviews the literature on the relationship between theodicy and music, and presents four classifications for viewing God in relation to theodicy and music: no God-view, internal God-view, external/authoritarian God-view, and transcending/transformational God-view. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research on theodicy and music, including comparing compositional devices to represent suffering from non-Western and Western music, exploring the relationship between truth and suffering, and challenging the four classifications of God-views discussed in this paper.

Throughout the United States, critical race theory (CRT) has been integrated and implemented in various school districts and higher education institutions to address and combat racism. As a variant theory of Marxism and critical theory, CRT, however, has many problems. One such problem is that it claims that racism is systemic in society and that society must be fundamentally changed or overthrown through activism. However, a systemic change alone will not combat racism because it is fundamentally a relational/spiritual problem and, therefore, should be addressed by a relational response. This paper explores the research question: What is a relational response to racism? To do so, I describe critical theory’s historical and theoretical roots and why it is inadequate to address racism. Then, I define the relational mindset as “the beliefs that orient us to understand the world through profound connectedness for growth beyond knowledge and action beyond technique” and expound on the words “connectedness,” “growth,” and “action.” To demonstrate a practical application of the relational mindset in music education, I present three indicators to align the objectives of a lesson plan – communication, empathy, and regard. I then discuss the application of the relational mindset to a music lesson on a spiritual sung by the Gullahs, “The Welcome Table.” I conclude the paper with questions to evaluate the veracity of other theories with the relational mindset and a final encouragement for educators when thinking about racism.

In 1973, British musician, social anthropologist, and ethnomusicologist John Blacking published his seminal work, How Musical is Man? In this book, Blacking describes his 1950s ethnographic study of the Venda people in South Africa, which explores how humans develop and interact with music. For this transcendent autoethnography, I transform Blacking’s book title into a transcendent research question and ask, “How musical is God?” Springboarding off four of Blacking’s principles, I answer this question from the perspective of a Christian and music educator who believes the Bible is the foundation of truth. I explore the mystery of God, humans, and music by referring to the account of the creation in Genesis 1 and 2 and other related verses in the Bible. The exploration encompasses the sonic order wisely created by God, the cognitive system that reflects humans as God’s image bearers, how music is structured reality for things unseen and necessary for faith, and beauty as a God-ordained component for rest. I conclude the paper by answering, “How musical is God?” by reconciling my response to biblical truth in the Christian tradition.