My friend Bob Kauflin has some more great thoughts about music and worship at his blog, Worship Matters.

Here's a taste:

Music is meant to affect us emotionally. Some times I've thought it was more “spiritual” or pleasing to God if I could be affected without music playing. But that’s not the point. Of course music isn’t essential to expressing or stirring up strong feelings towards God. But that doesn’t mean music is irrelevant or unimportant. God intended for music to speak to our emotions so that we would not only think right thoughts about him, but also have deep affections for him. Music can make us feel joyful, reflective, sad, or peaceful. When the effects of music are skillfully combined with Scriptural realities and lyrics that magnify Christ, those truths often become more vivid and alive to us.

Read the whole thing.  I think that in this whole conversation, I have not seen a better or truer or more helpful sentence than this one from Bob:  "The clearer we are on the reasons God wants us to use music in our public praise, the less likely we’ll use it for the wrong reasons."