Apart from numerous references to singing, song and musical instruments in the Psalms (stringed instruments are mentioned in the titles of Ps 4, Ps 6, Ps 54, Ps 67, Ps 76 and a variety of instruments feature in other psalms (e.g. Ps 150)), there are a number of cryptic terms in the superscriptions or titles to Psalms which are thought to be musical terms. Nowadays, there are fixed ways of notating music and Italian has become the musical language used in many scores (using terms which have to be learned by any student of music, such as adagio meaning very slow or presto meaning fast – with alternative meanings offered in this tea towel for musicians!)
Presumably, some of these Hebrew words had similar meanings, not all of which are clear nowadays. Terms such as maskil, miktam, shiggaion, higgaion and alamoth feature in the titles of many psalms, and probably refer to the style or type of psalm.
The word ‘selah’ is found in a number of psalms (e.g. Ps 3:2, 4, 8; Ps 7:5; Ps 24:6, 10), with most versions of the Bible not attempting to translate the term but simply transliterating it. It is thought that the word refers to a technical term connected to musical accompaniment (because it occurs in psalms which have other musical terminology) and because it may have been connected to the Hebrew word for ‘pause’ is thought to refer to a musical pause, perhaps even to an instrumental interlude while there was no singing such as often happens in modern songs. The Amplified Bible adds “pause and calmly think about that” to each verse where selah appears. When we see the word selah in a psalm (or in Habakkuk 3, the only other place in the Old Testament to feature this word), we should pause to carefully weigh the meaning of what we have just read or heard, lifting up our hearts in praise to God for His great truths. “All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name. Selah!” (Psalm 66:4)
We do not need to understand musical terms in order to be able to appreciate the fact that the Psalms are songs, but it is interesting to note the history of music and song in the worship of God’s people. Instruments are mentioned as early as Gen 4:21 (His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes) and the many references to the ‘director of music’ in the Psalms (see Ps 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 31, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 75, 76, 77, 80, 81, 84, 85, 88, 109, 139, 140) give us insight into the use of song and music in collective worship. David appointed musicians and singers to lead temple worship (see 1 Chron 16:4-6; also Neh 12:27-47). Music and song are tools – tools for praising and worshipping God so that we can fulfil our chief aim. It is interesting to note that the last 5 psalms (Ps 146-150) all feature the word ‘Hallelujah’ (‘Praise the Lord’) so many times. To praise God is our chief aim and the songs we find in this book of praise (tehillim in Hebrew, psalmoi in Greek) give us tools for doing this.