A Biblical Understanding of Communication and Musical Style

Nonverbal communication plays a crucial role in life. Some of it is even universally understood regardless of language barriers. According to two separate communication studies done by Dr. Albert Mehrabian in 1967, “7% of all communication is done through verbal communication, whereas the nonverbal component of our daily communication, such as the tonality of our voice and body language, makes up 38% and 55% respectively.”¹ This indicates that not only do our words communicate, but also the way we say them through our non-verbal communication, such as tone, rate, vocal inflection, timbre, and facial expression. In fact, the way we say a phrase or even a word can convey completely different meanings, even contradicting the words we speak. This also applies to musical styles and performance techniques.

Communication and Biblical Principles

Biblical and musical evidence suggest that musical sound can communicate even through lifeless, neutral musical instruments (1 Corinthians 14:7-8). If this is true, music’s sound, including how it is presented both vocally and instrumentally, becomes a moral issue. Thus, how a musical composition is sung or played matters.

Scripture instructs us to avoid evil communication and thoughts (Ephesians 5:3-7; Colossians 3:8). “Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you” (Titus 2:8). “Sound speech” can refer to both verbal and nonverbal communication, including music. This means that our musical listening habits should exclude music that conveys evil in its lyrics, sound, or style. Rather, it should edify and build us up by encouraging right thoughts and responses (Philippians 4:8).

Evidence of Musical Communication

As previously established, both the Bible and musicologists provide examples of music’s communication and its essential quality in life. Daniel Levitin, a former rock musician and current neuroscientist, observes that musical sound in its communication “affects our brains, our mind, our thoughts, and spirit.”² According to the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, “Music in the movies is an essential element of the filmmaking process and is one of the main factors that helps to determine box office success or failure.³  Musicologist Julian Johnson writes, “I begin with a rejection of the supposed neutrality of music…such an approach is possible only if one perversely refuses to engage with music on its own terms.”⁴ These examples demonstrate music’s intrinsic value and suggest that it conveys either positive or negative moral values.

Musical Sound Displays Distinct Vocal Styles

Today, distinct vocal styles characterize and communicate the various musical genres. Respected vocal instructors, such as Matthew Hoch, Irene Bartlett, and Marissa Lee Naismith, acknowledge that the classical vocal style has historically been considered the accepted method of singing.⁵ However, according to Matthew Hoch, using the classical vocal style “to sing rock (pop) is worthless…because the transition from one style to another is too vast and difficult.”⁶

So, vocal pedagogues have legitimized and established what they refer to as the nonclassical/pop methodology of singing, also known as “Contemporary Commercial singing.”⁷ Jeannette L. LoVetri, an influential vocal pedagogue and researcher, “proposed that the acronym CCM would better describe the family of mainstream, “popular” music styles … such as pop, rock, jazz, musical theater, soul, cabaret, country, folk, gospel, rhythm & blues, rap, and associated substyles.”⁸ Both the vocal and musical style of CCM have been in existence and used prior to Miss LoVetri’s coining and establishment of this term for academic acceptance and vocal communication.

Distinct Vocal Styles Communicate Differently

The desired effect of CCM singing is a vocal sound that is chest-dominant, bright in timbre, with a nasal and breathy quality, and characterized by colloquial speech-based articulations.⁹ Noises, such as belting and screaming, are often encouraged and taught as a form of expression.¹⁰ Interestingly, LoVetri reveals that “tension, or the ability to generate a high intensity sound, is necessary in rock, pop, country, gospel, and similar styles.”¹¹ On the other hand, classical singing encourages tension-free singing involving a head resonance, controlled vibrato, tall vowels, and breath support from the diaphragm. The differences between nonclassical and classical singing go beyond technique and words, as both types of singing communicate a distinctly different sound and message from each other.

Communicate with Understanding

“I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also” (1 Corinthians 14:15b). Just as it was Paul’s desire to sing to the Lord with emotion and intellect (mind), it should be ours as well. This includes singing and listening to music with the right heart and communication. We need to understand what we are singing (and playing on our instruments) and how to communicate the words and music in a manner that edifies so “that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29).

Previously In This Series:

The Christian and Culture – Proclaim & Defend

A Biblical Understanding of Worship – Proclaim & Defend

A Biblical Understanding of Music – Proclaim & Defend

A Biblical Understanding of Musical Controversies – Proclaim & Defend

A Biblical Understanding of Culture and Music – Proclaim & Defend

 A Biblical Understanding of Musical Elements – Proclaim & Defend

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Erik Hanson holds a DMin. in Preaching and Leadership and serves as Assistant Pastor at Stanfordville Baptist Church in Hallstead, PA.

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Photo by Giorgi Iremadze on Unsplash

1. Jon Michail, Strong Nonverbal Skills Matter Now More Than Ever In This “New Normal”, accessed July 18, 2025. [↩]
2. Daniel Levitin, This is Your Brain on Music (New York: Penguin Books, Ltd., 2007), 14. [↩]
3. Jeffrey and Todd Brabec, Music, Money, Success & the Movies: Part One, accessed July 19, 2025. [↩]
4. Julian Johnson, Who Needs Classical Music? Cultural Choice and Musical Value (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 3-5. [↩]
5. Matthew Hoch, So You Want to Sing CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music) (Lanham, MD: The Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc, 2018), 3; Bartlett and Naismith, “An Investigation of Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Voice Pedagogy: A Class of Its Own?” (Journal of Singing, 76, no. 3, 2020), 276. [↩]
6. Matthew Hoch, 9. [↩]
7. Elizabeth Ann Benson, Training Contemporary Commercial Singers (Oxford: Compton Publishing Ltd, 2020), 248. [↩]
8. Bartlett and Naismith, “An Investigation…”, 274. [↩]
9. American Academy of Teachers of Singing, “NATS Visits AATS” (Journal of Singing, 65, no. 1, 2008), 7. [↩]
10. Susan Hanlon, Reviewing Commercial Music Resources: A Guide for Aspiring Singers and Vocal Professionals (PHD dissertation, University of North Texas, 2012), 2. [↩]
11. Elizabeth Ann Benson, Training Contemporary Commercial Singers, 91. [↩]