Although we have no music from the early Church, this talk will examine the work of some early Christian theologians in the West who were prompted to reflect on the nature, role and effort of music while hearing and performing it in various contexts. The ‘sweetness’ of music was one of the most common ways in which they articulated these reflections. We will explore what this idea of sweetness reveals about some of the theological, practical and affective qualities attributed to music in this early period.