Shimon, his son, says: All my days I have grown up among the wise, and I have found nothing better for (my) body than silence [i.e., hearing myself shamed and remaining silent.] And it is not the expounding which is primary but the act [i.e., and know that silence is good, for even for expounding and speaking in Torah, than which there is nothing greater, the primary reward is for the act (which follows from it); and if one expounds and does not act (upon what he says), it would be better if he remained silent and did not expound.] And all who increase words bring sin. [For thus do we find with Eve, who "increased words" in saying (Genesis 3:3): "G-d said: 'You shall not eat of it and you shall not touch it.'" She added "touching," which had not been forbidden to her, and the serpent pushed her until she touched it. And he said to her: "Just as there is no death in touching it, so there is no death in eating it." And this led to her sin of eating from the fruit. As Solomon says (Proverbs 20:6): "Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you and you be proven false."]
Chofetz Chaim
And I shall begin by saying that it is forbidden to shame one's friend for an insufficiency in what he possesses — whether in wisdom, strength, wealth, or the like. I shall explain my meaning in all of its details: "wisdom" — telling people that Ploni is not wise. And there is no difference here as to whether it is false or partially true and he exaggerates the actuality. — This is certainly a great sin, in the order of "spreading an evil report." For he demeans his friend by his falsehoods. — But even if it is the absolute truth, have not all the Rishonim "rooted it within us" that lashon hara [is forbidden] even if true! (See Principle I.) And this thing, negating one's possession of a certain eminence, is certainly also in the category of lashon hara. For did the Rambam not write (Avoth 1:17): "Lashon hara is relating one's evils and his blemishes and demeaning a Jew in any way, even if the demeaned one were [indeed] deficient, etc." As he expatiates there, it is called lashon hara if what he says about him is true. (See also what the Rambam has written in Hilchoth Deoth 7:5 to the effect that lashon hara is something, which when it becomes known to men, causes someone to be harmed in his body or in his money or to aggrieve him or to frighten him.) It seems clear, then, that negating one's possession of a certain eminence is absolute lashon hara according to the Torah. For upon reflection we find that this can result in monetary loss or grief, etc.
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Gray Matter III
A much stronger justification for the common practice might be derived from Rashi (ad. loc. s.v. Hakorei). He explains that the Gemara censures one who “while drinking wine, derives his amusement from words of Torah and reads pesukim aloud to amuse those at the party.” Rashi seems to imply that the prohibition applies only when Torah verses are used in a degrading manner, as the language of the Gemara (ad. loc.) seems to suggest. This gives the impression (unlike Rav Moshe) that as long as the music does not degrade the Torah, there is no prohibition, even if one is not listening to the music in the context of performing a mitzvah (such as rejoicing with a chatan and kallah). This limitation of the prohibition also is implied by the comments of the Rambam (Avot 1:17), wherein he writes, “The Torah forbade turning words of prophecy into songs of baseness and inappropriate things.” This indicates that the prohibition exists only if the pesukim are sung in a degrading manner. If, on the other hand, the songs are not of “baseness and inappropriate things,” it would be permissible.
