Musical
Sound Communicates Meaning Part 17
First,
I contend that music does communicate meaning and second, that the person who will receive the greatest
meaning from a particular music will, without doubt, be the person who has the
greatest understanding of that musical genre and ipso facto, its meaning,
import, understanding, communication, or message. Third, I will concede that constraints on
one’s understanding of a piece of music will affect the amount of meaning its
musical sounds will communicate to the performer and the listener.
The
strong belief that musical sounds are a “mirror of life” or an “imitation of
reality” is as ancient as Plato and Aristotle—and so are the various arguments
against such a philosophical thesis. Thus, it is not far-fetched for me to
contend that musical sounds do have the potential to affect the whole life of
all who hear and perform them.
My
belief, therefore, leads me to the conclusion that those who have a thorough
understanding of music that arouses physical passions, such as rock music with
its incessant driving forward propelling directionality, will possibly receive
more harm because they have the greatest understanding of this music’s content
and intent communicated through sounds.
This is not to say that music sounds will not also have a negative influence
on all who hear it. Because sounds penetrate the mind and the emotions, this
music will exert influence on all who hear it.
Thought
for the Day-
I Corinthians mentions singing with
understanding; how can a Christian musician music with understanding if music
has no meaning?
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