First source and a cross-reference: Rabbi Shefatya asserts that one is required to study the Oral Tradition with a song (zimrah); Abaye objects and ascribes another meaning to the biblical support text.
And Rabbi Shefatya said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Concerning anyone who reads from the Torah without a melody or studies the Mishna without a song, the verse states: “So too I gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live” (Ezekiel 20:25). Abaye strongly objects to this: Just because one does not know how to make his voice pleasant, you read concerning him: “And judgments whereby they should not live”? Rather, the verse should be understood in accordance with Rav Mesharshiyya, who said: Concerning two Torah scholars who dwell in the same city and are not pleasant to one other in matters of halakha, the verse states: “So too I gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live.”
. . . א"ר שפטאי א"ר יוחנן הקורא בלא נעימה והשונה בלא זמרה עליו הכתוב אומר (יחזקאל כ׳:כ״ה) וגם אני נתתי להם חוקים לא טובים:
. . . R. Shefaṭai said in the name of R. Joḥanan: If one reads the Scripture without a melody or learns the Mishnah without a tune, of him Scripture says, Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good. Ezek. 20, 25.
(Note: even Abaye's interpretation is interested in "harmony!")
The word "zimrah" has the root zayin-mem-reish, which implies instrumentation and is elsewhere used to mean "first fruits" (both related to the root action of "pruning"). The implication of musicality is stronger than the word accompanying the ideal mode for kriat haTorah ("nimah," which is vocal and can reflect the looser performance style of "chanting" rather than exclusively "singing").
But should we be dressing our study in finer garments than we dress our worship? 🤔
Second source: Rava expresses that God, Godself, thinks of zmirot as something to which matters of Torah (chukim, in particular) should not be compared.
Rava taught: For what reason was David punished with Uzzah’s death? He was punished because he called matters of Torah: Songs, as it is stated: “Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage” (Psalms 119:54). The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: Matters of Torah are so difficult and demanding that it is written: “Will you set your eyes upon it? It is gone” (Proverbs 23:5), i.e., one whose eyes stray from the Torah even for a moment will forget it, and you call them songs? For this reason I will cause you to stumble in a matter that even schoolchildren know, as it is written with regard to the wagons brought to the Tabernacle: “And to the descendants of Kohath he did not give, because the service of the holy things belongs to them; they carry them upon their shoulders” (Numbers 7:9). And although the Ark clearly must be carried on people’s shoulders, David erred and brought it in a wagon.
This might not be a contradiction, though. The quality of the "riches" of Torah knowledge that is being contrasted with zmirot is ephemerality. Which is to say, there is perhaps a difference between remembering (a song) and understanding (matters of Torah). This makes a great deal of sense in light of the obligation to "engage with" Torah, rather than to simply commit the words to memory; even if we succeed in memorizing some portion of Torah or Torah, all that does is give us an additional means by which to reconsider it throughout life.
Third source: Rabbi Akiva exhorts us to "sing every day," to review our Torah studies.
Repetition is a relatively reliable way to commit something to memory. But it can also feel like drudgery. Maybe that's a good argument in favor of taking our studies as having a (pleasant, if not obligatory) musical component.
Fourth source (late): a midrash picks up on the same verse that God was previously punishing David over. Perhaps we give our Torah studies music not because they're something petty like the contents of commercial jingles, but because they make us want to sing.
. . . אמר דוד אני אוהב'. שנאמר (דברים ו ה) ואהבת את יי אלקיך. וכתיב (שם ו) והיו הדברים האלה. לכך נאמר מה אהבתי תורתך וגו'. אני הולך למרחץ והיא עמי. אני ישן והיא עמי. כשם שצויתני (שם יז יט) והיתה עמו וקרא בו כל ימי חייו. כתיב (משלי ו כב) בהתהלכך תנחה. לא הנחתי אותה כל עיקר לפי שלא הנחתיה לא היתה עלי משוי אלא זמירות. וכן הוא אומר זמירות היו לי חקיך. ולא זמירות בלבד אלא גם שיחה שנאמר כל היום היא שיחתי . . .
. . . David also said, "I have loved," as it says (Deuteronomy 6:5), "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." And it is written (Deuteronomy 6:6), "And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart." Therefore, it is said, "I have loved your Torah," etc. "I go to bathe, and it is with me; I sleep, and it is with me." Just as I was commanded (Deuteronomy 17:19), "And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life," so it is with me. As it is written (Proverbs 6:22), "When you walk, it shall lead you; when you lie down, it shall keep you; and when you wake up, it shall talk with you." I did not make it a primary focus, for I did not make it a burden, but rather songs. And so it says (Psalm 119:54), "Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage." And not just songs, but also conversation . . .
Aside from making memorization easier and more pleasant, how can song function in our learning? In contemporary secular life, we are used to using music to accompany and enhance almost every experience one could think of, including manipulating the emotions of our circumstances. But what did the Sages believe that people could achieve with song?
Fifth source (late): Serah bat Asher turns an unthinkable piece of information into an undeniable truth using the power of sweet song.
. . . ותיטיב הכינור ותנגן ותאמר בנועם דבריה, יוסף דודי חי הוא וכי הוא מושל בכל ארץ מצרים ולא מת. ותוסף ותנגן ותדבר כדברים האלה, וישמע יעקב את דבריה ויערב לו. וישמע עוד בדברה פעמיים ושלוש, ותבוא השמחה בלב יעקב מנועם דבריה ותהי עליו רוח אלוקים וידע כי כל דבריה נכונה. ויברך יעקב את שרח בדברה הדברים האלה לפניו ויאמר אליה, בתי אל ימשול מות בך עד עולם כי החיית את רוחי. אך דברי נא עוד לפניי כאשר דיברת, כי שמחתני בכל דברייך. ותוסף ותנגן כדברים האלה ויעקב שומע ויערב לו וישמח, ותהי עליו רוח אלוקים . . .
. . . And she sang and she played beautifully upon the harp, and she sang in the sweetness of her voice: Joseph my uncle is alive and he reigneth over all the land of Egypt; he is not dead. And she often repeated these words. And Jacob heard her words and it pleased him greatly, and when he heard her sing it twice and three times, the heart of Jacob was possessed by joy, through the sweet ness of her voice, and the spirit of God came over him, and he knew that all her words were true. And Jacob blessed Serach for singing these words before him, and he said: My daughter, may death never prevail against thee forever, for thou hast revived my spirit, only repeat thou this song once more before me, for thou hast caused me gladness with thy words. And she sang once more the same words and Jacob listened, and he was pleased and he rejoiced, and the spirit of God came over him . . .
As with anything powerful, we need to be careful how we use it. If song can change our emotions and our ability to receive information, if song can change how we understand situations, we need to be thoughtful with what we sing, when we sing, and how we sing.
Sixth source and discussion: a mishnah introduces the notion that music as a celebratory process has been limited from the time of an event of Jewish communal decline (from when the Sanhedrin ceased/the Temple was destroyed). The Sages of the Gemara discuss the origins and the extent of the prohibition.
(יא) מִשֶּׁבָּטְלָה סַנְהֶדְרִין, בָּטְלָה הַשִּׁיר מִבֵּית הַמִּשְׁתָּאוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה כד) בַּשִּׁיר לֹא יִשְׁתּוּ יָיִן וְגוֹ':
(11) From the time when the Sanhedrin ceased song was also nullified from the places of feasts, i.e., it was no longer permitted to sing at a feast where wine was served, as it is stated: “With song they shall not drink wine” (Isaiah 24:9).
GEMARA: And from where is it derived that the verse: “With song they shall not drink wine” (Isaiah 24:9) is written about the period from the time when the Sanhedrin was nullified? Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said: From that which the verse states: “The Elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music” (Lamentations 5:14). Rav said: The ear that hears song should be uprooted. Rava said: If there is song in a house there will be destruction on the threshold, as it is stated: “Voices shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the doorposts; for its cedar work shall be uncovered” (Zephaniah 2:14). The word “uncovered” [era] could be read to mean: Its city [ira].
Note: this section of text continues, ascribing permissibility to sea shanties and work songs of the field, but denying the validity of weavers' songs; it additionally relays a legend that asserts a full ban on singing had positive economic benefits, but when people began to sing again, it was suddenly very expensive to buy ducks.
Another source relays a Sage's ruling on the matter being discussed:
The Gemara further relates: They sent the following question to Mar Ukva: From where do we derive that song is forbidden in the present, following the destruction of the Temple? He scored parchment and wrote to them: “Rejoice not, O Israel, to exultation, like the peoples” (Hosea 9:1). The Gemara asks: And let him send them a response from here: “They do not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to them who drink it” (Isaiah 24:9). The Gemara answers: If answered by citing that verse, I would say that this matter applies only to instrumental music, in accordance with the verse: “The mirth of tabrets ceases...” (Isaiah 24:8); however, vocal song is permitted. Therefore, Mar Ukva teaches us that all types of song are forbidden.
While there might be a desire to not get "too carried away" in the pleasure of a particular song, especially in combination with alcohol, being part of a faithway that connects music to our sacred texts makes music somewhat inalienable from our religious processes, no matter how oddly different authorities might gerrymander the edges of permissability.
Seventh source: the Babylonian Talmud records a discussion of the different types of psalms, and asserts that singing (praise) can clear the way for the Divine Presence to find space to rest upon an individual.
If a psalm begins with the terms nitzuaḥ or niggun, this indicates that its praise will be fulfilled in the future. Psalms that begin with the word maskil were delivered by means of a disseminator. If a psalm begins: Of David a psalm, this teaches that the Divine Presence rested upon him first and afterward he recited the song. However, if a psalm opens with: A psalm of David, this teaches that he first recited the song, and afterward the Divine Presence rested upon him. The Gemara adds: Incidentally, this serves to teach you that the Divine Presence rests upon an individual neither from laziness, nor from sadness, nor from laughter, nor from frivolity, nor from idle chatter, but rather from the joy of a mitzva. As it is stated re: Elisha: “But now bring me a minstrel; and it came to pass when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him” (II Kings 3:15).
While the above source again provides an argument for song as an element of Talmud Torah - at least beforehand, as a sort of palette cleanser to get one's head and heart in the appropriate space to undertake the mitzvah of learning - because engaging with the Oral Tradition inevitably necessitates the handling of Torah Proper, learners might endeavor to be more mindful about the tunes they use in and around their limmud than we might be in, say, a secular language class. While popular music might come to us readily and help us remember how to conjugate verbs, we should seek out a line and hold to it with regards to paying due respect to our texts.
Eighth source: the Sages issue a strong injunction against secularizing the Song of Songs, or perhaps against singing from any portion of Tanakh in inappropriate scenarios (e.g. in the club).
§ The Sages taught: One who reads a verse from Song of Songs and renders it a form of secular song, and not a sacred text, and one who reads any biblical verse at a banquet house, not at its appropriate time, but merely as a song, introduces evil to the world, as the Torah girds itself with sackcloth and stands before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and says before Him: Master of the Universe, Your children have rendered me like a harp on which clowns play.
The sources above create a sense within the Rabbinic tradition that song, while inherently a form of play and beneficial to our internalization of Torah knowledge, is also a potential minefield for inappropriate frivolity in the face of the words our communities have spun the collective cultures of the Jewish people around, words generations of our families have lived through and died for. While many of these sources are perhaps only vaguely familiar, if not treated as totally irrelevant, to those living in halachically-oriented communities today, my best conclusion is that musicality should support the relationship we want to have with our texts, while respecting the diversity of religious and cultural experiences of Judaism of those we learn with.
sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Above - vibes.
Below - source(s) I'm still thinking about the arguments of and if/how they ought to be included.