The Use Of Music In Ritual
by Blayze

Music can be utilised for many purposes within ritual. It can tell a story about what has led up to ritual, what the ritual is for and why it is being performed at this time. It can be used to highlight a particular aspect of the ritual. It can be used to raise power or to induce trance. It can aid in meditation, either to send the listener off to other realms or to act as an anchor to this one.

Music is often used to join sections of a ritual together, and of course music in ritual can be performed in praise of deity and of the moment. The music can be the ritual itself.

It is important that music be performed to enhance a ritual, not to make it long, drawn-out, and boring. The music should be appropriate to the occasion.

In all of the groups that I work with magically, we try to include some form of music or drumming in our rituals. We are lucky that we have a pool of musically inclined people to draw upon. However, most people can manage to at least intone a sound in time, and the power raised by simple intoning and the holding of one note can be amazing.

The look on people’s faces when they successfully intone as a group is wonderful. The feeling of achievement and oneness shines forth.

In a purely ritualistic structure, it also gives the group something to do, to participate in, as opposed to just watching and listening. However, there are times when just sitting back and letting the music flow over you is appropriate as well and can elicit a delighted response on par with total participation.

A classic example of an appropriate time to just sit back and listen would be when dealing with music that tells a story. Storytelling is very important within and oral and experiential tradition. It is a skill we often lose when we journey in cyberspace or in the realm of the printed word. Experiencing a song of a story well told can contain the magic to transport the listener to other worlds, times and places and awaken the divine within.

We can experience and express our mythologies, our legends and beliefs through story, poetry and song. We can use these as entertaining tools which transport us from the mundane into realms of our own divine ecstacy.

In the bardic system and from the stories of the Dagda’s Harp, we are told that there are three strains of music, the laughing strain, the weeping strain and the sleeping strain. All have their place and purpose and the ideas these three strains bring forth can be utilised when choosing or creating a storytelling song for use in ritual.

A laughing strain brings joy and happiness to the listener. This is good when celebrating an occasion of happiness or to change the mood from sadness and bring energy levels back up.

The weeping strain makes the audience think about grief and embrace it. It is good for rituals of remembrance and very appropriate for sabbats such as Lughnasadh, Mabon and Samhain which deal with sacrifice and realms of the underworld. Yet there can be joy in sacrificce and ‘reunion with those who have gone before’.  This quality can be brought forth either in a separate piece or by a cathartic joy that can come from weeping and dealing with sadness.

The sleeping strain can be used to ground people out, to dampen over-exuberance or anger, to bring peace. This strain is useful to end a ritual that requires the participants to go and sleep and dream. It is also useful for periods of quiet reflection and ideal for inducing trance. It can take listeners deep into the story via meditation-like rhythms and cadence.

When talking about music in ritual, I am including chanting without melody and drumming, These two techniques can serve the same purpose as a full-blown opera to the Gods.