Is song a critical component of worship or something that we've just borrowed from example? As a follow-up to this previous question:

What is the biblical basis for singing in church?

Would worship be incomplete without song? Though their are examples of worship through song in the bible that doesn't necessarily mean to me that singing is a crucial component of worship. 

Is it possible that it is entirely contextual? 

For example, before the jukebox in bars we had drinking songs (aside: many of which have lent their tunes to the hymns churches sing today). That was just the standard form of communal entertainment at the time.

Maybe singing was just a convenient expression of communal worship in the early church and we've interpreted it to mean that we have to sing in every church service.

Does anyone see any flaws (biblically-based or otherwise) with this perspective?

P.S. I don't mean to rag on music. I happen to love the music in my church (so long as I can't hear myself sing :) ).
Allow me to answer this question via an illustration and another question.  

Let's say there was someone who had an unhealthy emotional obsession with you. You tell your friends that you are concerned that this other person may even "worship the ground you walk on". Now, in this scenario, which of the following activities would make you more concerned that they worship you?


They sing you a song about how much they love you
They sing you a song about how how great you are
They spend a significant portion of their income, let's say 10%, buying gifts for you
They buy property on the town-common and erect a giant structure in your honor


That certainly is not an exhaustive list, but you get the idea. Clearly, all of these activities would be concerning, but I suspect some may be more concerning to you than others.

The Bible does not, itself, define what worship is. There are examples in scripture of people worshiping by singing, dancing, bowing, praising, and giving of gifts.

For instance, Genesis 24:26-27 shows an example of bowing and praising as a form of worship:


  And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.  And he said, "Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren."


And Matt. 2:1-2 describes how the wise men traveled to worship Jesus by giving him gifts:


  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?  For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."


Often we think of worship as being synonymous with music. Many churches even refer to the people leading the singing as the "worship leaders". Certainly music is a very common form of worship, but it is not the only one. I do not mean, nor intend, to denigrate music, as a form of worship, but we often forget that tithes/offerings and praise are also forms of worship.