Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.- Psalm 33:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 18, 2016): Psalm 33

I listened recently to TJR (tjrmusic.com) weigh into the Led Zeppelin copyright infringement case over their song “Stairway to Heaven.” According to the lawsuit, “Stairway” was lifted by Led Zeppelin from the Spirit song “Taurus.” TJR went through the offending line of both songs, which is that beautiful opening guitar rift that makes “Stairway” such a special song, and explained both the similarity and the differences between the two songs. Both songs are written in Am and have a descending bass line in the opening rift. What makes Led Zeppelin “Stairway” different is that it also includes an ascending soprano line which “Taurus” does not have. It should be noted that Chord progressions in music cannot be copyrighted (just as titles of anything cannot be copyrighted.) So the question really becomes, does the ascending line change the chord progression enough to be a different song.

TJR says no, and admittedly I am not sure. But what was interesting was that TJR maintains that Spirit opened for Led Zeppelin and that they regularly played “Taurus” before the writing of “Stairway.” In a court of law, that fact might tip the scale in favor of Spirit. Led Zeppelin was familiar with the Spirit song and, as TJR rightly maintains, the musical phrasing and tonal qualities of both songs are very close if not identical. But at the close of a second video by TJR maintains that he will always back the copyright claims of musicians – that to lift something demands that the act is recognized and compensated for. TJR is right. It is only fitting to recognize the musical genius that lies behind the music that we listen to. Hip Hop artists regularly sample music from other writers and place that music into their compositions. What some Hip Hop artists are slow to do is recognize and compensate the artist who wrote what they are sampling, and this needs to change.

I love the opening phrasing of this Psalm. Sing joyfully to the Lord because it is fitting for the upright to praise him. David clearly believes that the good in his life has been given to him by God and that, therefore, God deserves to be praised, because he is the original artist of what is good. David believes that God needs to be recognized as being the author of what is praiseworthy. Good is not an accident, it doesn’t happen automatically. We live in a state of increasing chaos unless someone decides to bring order into that chaos. And David believes that that someone is God. The phrasing and tonal quality of our lives are due to his presence in the world (and the word “world” is chosen intentionally – it is not just the good in the lives of those who believe in him of which he is the author. God has always been willing to spread what is good to everyone regardless of their belief system.) And so we give him recognition and praise because he is the author. Why would we believe that we could do anything else?  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 35