Why does so much Christian music tend to be soft?

[sadastronaut]

I didn't realize we were discussing only a particular two stations.

I'm probably not being clear. I just use those as examples. I also forgot that KXOJ is just a regional station. This is what I'm thinking.

There's a wide range of Christian music. However, the softer stuff seems to be overwhelmingly popular based on the large majority of Christian radio stations. Typically anything up tempo or more rock oriented has difficulty getting radio airplay on mainstream Christian stations, like the two examples I mentioned.

 

[Sophrosyne]

I'm probably not being clear. I just use those as examples. I also forgot that KXOJ is just a regional station. This is what I'm thinking.

There's a wide range of Christian music. However, the softer stuff seems to be overwhelmingly popular based on the large majority of Christian radio stations. Typically anything up tempo or more rock oriented has difficulty getting radio airplay on mainstream Christian stations, like the two examples I mentioned.

Just have to search around for a Christian streaming station that does rock I guess.

 

[Jamdoc]

If you acknowledge that the lyrics take precedence over the music, then if you're not getting anything from the lyrics, you're doing it wrong.

I acknowledge that Christian musicians value lyrics over music, you get me wrong. For me if the music itself isn't enjoyable to listen to, I'd rather just listen to the bible being preached.

 

[Blade]

Some play what the people request I cannot speak for all. The call is the same we make the choice. We are not of this world .. this world is not our home. One would think we want the sweet sweet holy Spirit to lead guide us. We still walk by what we see hear yet this is not truth. We walk by faith. We are not playing catch up with the world. There is a battle still going on its purpose is to keep your eyes of the king of kings lord of lords. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Its why we always put on the new man.. renew out minds.. put off the old man. Why we keep His word before our eyes day and night and we pray always about everything. We watch how we think.. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

So you read this.. do we run from it do we make excuse why its ok to play in the world have one foot in one foot out. Be it music or movies or TV shows that have nothing what so ever of Christ GOD in it and? Its ok we don't mind any more. Yet all of creation praises Him.. longs for Him. He became His creation to save us. Its as if since we can't see the enemy hes not real. You have noticed you can say anything read anything hear anything and what happens? Seems as if nothing huh. Everything we do that has nothing to do with God Christ holy spirt has a price. If we have to answer for ever word.. what we do say hear matters. The enemy does not sleep nor does God.

When everything is going great.. we tend to slip.. God never gives up on us.. always there...yet its harder when our free choice helped that slip. Trust Him... the more you dive in give up of this life.. the more joy peace.. all the promises of God are YES and AMEN!

So I love ALL music. But for me it has to in some way give praise glory to the great I AM. Its just something within me. Why would I want to see hear feel anything else? Does He not deserver all of me for He gave all of Himself. Theres no guilt .. He died for that. He won't say anything.. always there when we need Him..just harder when we freely made the wrong choice. Not all the time but.. Hes there when you sleep walk up got to school work.. He has done more for us Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

If you ever doubt..wonder where is He? from your heart ask HIm to show you where what He has done in your life. It will shock you at how many times Hes been there and yet we never once saw it. He loves us so much and no one knows how much. He is always for us never against us. ALL Of this can be said with.. some things in this life should never be touched for they are only used to pull you away from Him.

 

[Jamdoc]

Some play what the people request I cannot speak for all. The call is the same we make the choice. We are not of this world .. this world is not our home. One would think we want the sweet sweet holy Spirit to lead guide us. We still walk by what we see hear yet this is not truth. We walk by faith. We are not playing catch up with the world. There is a battle still going on its purpose is to keep your eyes of the king of kings lord of lords. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Its why we always put on the new man.. renew out minds.. put off the old man. Why we keep His word before our eyes day and night and we pray always about everything. We watch how we think.. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

So you read this.. do we run from it do we make excuse why its ok to play in the world have one foot in one foot out. Be it music or movies or TV shows that have nothing what so ever of Christ GOD in it and? Its ok we don't mind any more. Yet all of creation praises Him.. longs for Him. He became His creation to save us. Its as if since we can't see the enemy hes not real. You have noticed you can say anything read anything hear anything and what happens? Seems as if nothing huh. Everything we do that has nothing to do with God Christ holy spirt has a price. If we have to answer for ever word.. what we do say hear matters. The enemy does not sleep nor does God.

When everything is going great.. we tend to slip.. God never gives up on us.. always there...yet its harder when our free choice helped that slip. Trust Him... the more you dive in give up of this life.. the more joy peace.. all the promises of God are YES and AMEN!

So I love ALL music. But for me it has to in some way give praise glory to the great I AM. Its just something within me. Why would I want to see hear feel anything else? Does He not deserver all of me for He gave all of Himself. Theres no guilt .. He died for that. He won't say anything.. always there when we need Him..just harder when we freely made the wrong choice. Not all the time but.. Hes there when you sleep walk up got to school work.. He has done more for us Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

If you ever doubt..wonder where is He? from your heart ask HIm to show you where what He has done in your life. It will shock you at how many times Hes been there and yet we never once saw it. He loves us so much and no one knows how much. He is always for us never against us. ALL Of this can be said with.. some things in this life should never be touched for they are only used to pull you away from Him.

But does God always have to be praised by words? Aren't there other ways to praise? Psalm 150 gives many means of praise, dance, instruments, but Christian music is entirely focused on words, and seemingly forgets instruments as a means of praise (much less dance, it treats dance as a sin in some cases), just as a means of accompaniment or background to words.

That's my lament. Wouldn't God be praised by instruments played expertly as well?

 

[LightLoveHope]

It seems like the more popular Christian music (Christian Contemporary, mostly) is very soft. It's not that up tempo and there is minimal guitar and instrumentation as one would see on a secular channel, and it seems to be that's what most Christian listeners prefer, and I wonder why that is.

Many stations that used to play Christian rock eventually become more of a Christian contemporary or praise station, such as WayFM or Air 1. There used to be a SiriusXM station that had Christian rock, but only the softer stations, such as The Message, remain. Bands like Sanctus Real have admitted to making their music softer to appeal to a larger audience.

So my question is why is this a phenomenon seen only in Christian music? I would think that if a lot of people like soft Christian music then a lot of people would like soft secular music, but I don't see that. If one was to listen to many of the secular pop stations, they'll typically have pervasive dance beats, more instrumentation, and just generally be more up tempo. Additionally, there's more genre fluidity with secular stations. A mainstream pop station will play a hip-hop song or a more aggressive rock song if they're extremely popular. Most Christian stations will rarely play a Skillet song because it doesn't fit into their format, even though they are one of the more popular artists of the decade. Some Christian stations will only play a Toby Mac song if it's an acoustic version without the electric guitar.

I would think that Christian music would somehow parallel the secular music industry, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The only match I can find for most Christian contemporary music is basically 70s soft pop love songs.

The only thing I can think of is, many were taught Christian rock (and by extension, anything too up tempo) was evil in the 70s and 80s. Is that belief somehow still persistent today? Or is there something else going on?

Keep in mind, there's nothing wrong with liking soft music (although it's not what I prefer), I just wonder why it's so popular among the Christian community when similar secular music isn't popular in the secular community.

Christian music is christian because it is using praise or life experience themes which are soft and caring, rather than hard, rebellious, cynical, violent, abrasive, brash, clashing.

The music scene is dominated with identifying with youthful rebellion and alienation. These are dark themes and often lead to real violence. Take gangster rap, linked to drug dealing and murders.
Or heavy metal, or satanic looking groups expressing worldly passions and desires.

The audience in churches is also largely female, and with aspirational desires of family, of spiritual awakening, of meaningful emotional communication and realisation.

It has been suggested that the feminising of chorus, has left many men behind, rather than the hymns like "Onward christian soldiers, marching as to war"

Guys are not that good at seeing their own emotional state let alone responding to the pressures of life, but rather withdrawing and internalising their issues.

God bless you

 

[sadastronaut]

I acknowledge that Christian musicians value lyrics over music, you get me wrong. For me if the music itself isn't enjoyable to listen to, I'd rather just listen to the bible being preached.

I also believe God can be glorified by quality musicianship as well as lyrics. Jesus was a carpenter for decades before his ministry. I think he could have glorified the Father through his workmanship.

 

[Clare73]

It seems like the more popular Christian music (Christian Contemporary, mostly) is very soft. It's not that up tempo and there is minimal guitar and instrumentation as one would see on a secular channel, and it seems to be that's what most Christian listeners prefer, and I wonder why that is.

Many stations that used to play Christian rock eventually become more of a Christian contemporary or praise station, such as WayFM or Air 1. There used to be a SiriusXM station that had Christian rock, but only the softer stations, such as The Message, remain. Bands like Sanctus Real have admitted to making their music softer to appeal to a larger audience.
So my question is why is this a phenomenon seen only in Christian music? I would think that if a lot of people like soft Christian music then a lot of people would like soft secular music, but I don't see that. If one was to listen to many of the secular pop stations, they'll typically have pervasive dance beats, more instrumentation, and just generally be more up tempo. Additionally, there's more genre fluidity with secular stations. A mainstream pop station will play a hip-hop song or a more aggressive rock song if they're extremely popular.

Most Christian stations will rarely play a Skillet song because it doesn't fit into their format, even though they are one of the more popular artists of the decade. Some Christian stations will only play a Toby Mac song if it's an acoustic version without the electric guitar.
I would think that Christian music would somehow parallel the secular music industry, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

It's the wrong medium for the sacred, it is irreverent.

The only match I can find for most Christian contemporary music is basically 70s soft pop love songs.
The only thing I can think of is, many were taught Christian rock (and by extension, anything too up tempo) was evil in the 70s and 80s. Is that belief somehow still persistent today? Or is there something else going on?

Keep in mind, there's nothing wrong with liking soft music (although it's not what I prefer), I just wonder why it's so popular among the Christian community when similar secular music isn't popular in the secular community.

 

[David's Harp]

But does God always have to be praised by words? Aren't there other ways to praise? Psalm 150 gives many means of praise, dance, instruments, but Christian music is entirely focused on words, and seemingly forgets instruments as a means of praise (much less dance, it treats dance as a sin in some cases), just as a means of accompaniment or background to words.

That's my lament. Wouldn't God be praised by instruments played expertly as well?

Yes! I believe so. But it must me done in the right Spirit to be worthy of praise, and to be spiritually effective.
When David played his harp before Saul it doesn't mention anything about him singing (on those particular occasions). Yet the sound was able to drive out the evil spirit in Saul. Of course, the Lord was with David. 1 Samuel 16:23

 

[lightninboy]

CCM's target audience is women 25-54.

Some stations take the idea of a target audience even further and create a profile of one listener .
When I worked at way fm, and the christian hit satellite network, the target was Jennifer, age 34. She's married and attends church regularly. Her husband grew up in the church and considers himself a Christian. However, most Sundays he's at the golf course with work colleagues.
They have two children... Etc

I recall her name was Becky.

 

[FenderTL5]

I recall her name was Becky.

That may be true. It's been a while.

 

[sadastronaut]

Some stations take the idea of a target audience even further and create a profile of one listener .
When I worked at way fm, and the christian hit satellite network, the target was Jennifer, age 34. She's married and attends church regularly. Her husband grew up in the church and considers himself a Christian. However, most Sundays he's at the golf course with work colleagues.

I like what you said about the "create a profile of one listener", because it seems like the stations go too narrow in their focus and go for one type of listener and alienate others. But I understand to some degree. In some ways CCM is a smaller market, so it's almost like they have to do what they can to really reel in a majority of that market. Not saying I agree with the strategy but I somewhat understand it.

 

[sadastronaut]

Just have to search around for a Christian streaming station that does rock I guess.

I have found a few. Blast.FM Blender is good, and RadioU (although it has more screaming than I like).

 

[Swift Cloud Records]

Lucky Jennifer, eh?

Someone ought to make a christian radio station for young men. Would y’all listen to that?

-Swift Cloud Records-

 

[Swift Cloud Records]

Our label is trying to produce stylistically diverse biblical christian music.

Check these guys out!

 

[Christopher Pineau]

I can only speak for myself here, of course, when I say that one of the reasons CCM tends to sound alike to me is what you mentioned; it's geared towards being calming and soothing and presenting the Word, which is well and good. But yes, it all sounds the same after a while, at least in the mainstream. Now give me some really good crunchy, hard hitting Christian metal, like Mortification at their best, Living Sacrifice's first album, Believer ("Sanity Obscure" was a really good one), or yes, even Stryper, the OG Christian heavy metal band, and now we're talking. IMO? Nothing wrong with powerful music to deliver a powerful message.

"The ostentatiousness of Satan has descended to the burial ground,
Maggots accumulate in his tomb, worms are a covering for his corpse!"
--"Terminate Damnation"/Mortification

 

[mikek401]

Take a listen to "DOC Radio" -- I've discovered some many cool rock-oriented Christian artists & bands there. Their website does a great job of summing up their format: "You'll hear a perfect edgy mix of Christian pop, rock, reggae & blues, with comedy breaks from Christian comedians.". You can listen on their website (DOC Radio | Listen Live) but I just use Alexa and say "Play DOC Radio". I think you'll find that station a refreshing change from all the KLOVE's out there.

It seems like the more popular Christian music (Christian Contemporary, mostly) is very soft. It's not that up tempo and there is minimal guitar and instrumentation as one would see on a secular channel ...
Many stations that used to play Christian rock eventually become more of a Christian contemporary or praise station