The people of God have sung throughout recorded history. Because of its' mnemonic and communal character, music helps people who sing together remember their story and the repeated memory of that common story binds members of the group together.
Music helps people to define a corporate identity and purpose.
Because of these characteristics, music has been most important in the formation of the Christian community over the passage of time and distance. Music is God's creation, a gift to his people to use in his praise and adoration and in prayer. Music expresses those things which cannot be expressed or comprehended through words. For Luther, music was a practical art closely tied to theology, to be used in the praise of God and in the proclamation of the Word. When music is cultivated at the highest levels of artistic excellence, the perfect goodness and wisdom of God are displayed through the gift.