Why Music Matters
Jan 13, 2008There is something deeply mysterious about music. Why does it affect us so powerfully? Is it like a language, telling us something?
I'm in the airport at Tucson. I'm listening online to our episode on "Why Music Matters" which we recorded in front of live audience at a locale in San Francisco. David Harrington, of the world famous Kronos Quartet is our guest. Since my flight is about to board, I won't have time to listen at length. And I've been too wrapped up in the conference to blog about the topic. But I thought it might be fun just to open up an entry to comments from listeners about the show and the topic. I'll add my own two cents worth in a separate entry when I get some time --hopefully later this week.
For now, comments on the episode from listeners are welcome. Post away!
There is something deeply mysterious about music. Why does it affect us so powerfully? Is it like a language, telling us something?
Most of us listen to music on a regular basis, but we don't think much about how we listen. Moreover, when we disagree about music, we'...
Most people enjoy music daily and have strong listening preferences. Music – along with love – is often thought of as a universal language.
Why do some people have a strange desire to do weird things for no (good) reason? There's something fascinating about kids who eat laundry soap as part of a “challenge,” or people who deliberately... Read more
Making a better world would be a great thing—but do we need philosophers to help us do that? Famously (or infamously), not all philosophers have been such great people. So are they the folks we... Read more
In her time—the 4th century CE—Hypatia was one of the most famous philosophers in Alexandria, and indeed in the ancient world. She studied and taught mathematics,... Read more
Mexican philosophy is full of fascinating ideas, from Mexica ("Aztec") and Mayan thought to Sor Juana’s feminism and Emilio Uranga’s existentialism... Read more
Your friendly neighborhood Senior Prodcuer here, once again stepping out from behind the mixing board to bring you some bonus content from this week's 17th (!) annual Summer Reading special.... Read more
Gender is a controversial topic these days. To some, gender is an oppressive system designed to keep women down: people go around saying "girls are made of sugar and spice and boys are made of... Read more
Fascism is on the rise, new infectious diseases keep cropping up, and we’re on the verge of environmental collapse: how on earth could art possibly save us? The arts are may be nice distraction,... Read more
Some say the world is full of contradictions, like “parting is such sweet sorrow.” Parting is sweet, but parting is also sad; and sweetness and sadness are opposites. But logicians would say that... Read more
Our minds are amazing prediction machines—and sometimes they can even make their predictions come true!
Does reading that strike you as something out of The Secret—like if you... Read more
Derek Parfit was a really interesting thinker when it came to identity and the self. He had a particularly cool thought experiment involving tele-transportation.
Suppose you’re on your... Read more
When philosophers talk about perception, they tend to focus on what we see and hear, and rarely on what we smell. But olfaction is a strange sense that deserves greater philosophical scrutiny. For... Read more
A caller in this week's episode nominated "Women Talking" for a Dionysus Award. Guest co-host Jeremy Sabol takes that as a springboard to blog about movies and... Read more
This week we’re thinking about Cancel Culture, which some consider a real problem: people losing their jobs, being harassed online, their home addresses being shared—all because they said... Read more
This week we’re asking why we should trust science—which may sound like a weird question. After all, why would we doubt the method that helps us build bridges and skyscrapers, formulate life... Read more
Following up on last year's not-so-new experiment, here's a little behind-the-scenes look into the brief audio montages (produced... Read more
This week we’re asking what it’s... Read more
This essay also appears at the website of Oxford University Press, publisher of Josh's new book,
"The World According to Proust."
... Read more
This week we’re thinking about how to create a world in which our leaders are not just effective legislators, but also good people.
Some might think there are not enough leaders like that... Read more
This week we're thinking about the British Liberal tradition and its relationship to colonialism and self-government. Classical Liberal thinkers, like John Locke and John Stuart Mill, held that... Read more
This week we’re thinking about Collective Action and Climate Change. With floods and fires getting more frequent and intense, and with the summer just ended shattering heat records around the... Read more
This week we’re thinking about cultural appropriation and asking who owns culture—which may be a weird way of thinking about it. It's easy to see how somebody can own the rights to a song they... Read more
This week we’re questioning Effective Altruism. That’s Peter Singer’s idea that you should do the most good you can, and you should figure out what that is by doing your homework and choosing the... Read more
This week we're asking what Political Inequality is. Sounds easy to define, right? That’s when some people don’t get an equal voice in society, because they’re not represented in government, or... Read more
This week we're asking whether it's rational to be optimistic—which seems like bit of a crazy question if you've been reading the news lately. After all, what could possibly justify the belief... Read more
This week we're thinking about the Changing Face of Antisemitism—a program recorded last month at the Stanford Humanities Center for our first live, in-person event in 2-1/2 years.
... Read more
There is something deeply mysterious about music. Why does it affect us so powerfully? Is it like a language, telling us something?
Most of us listen to music on a regular basis, but we don't think much about how we listen. Moreover, when we disagree about music, we'...
Most people enjoy music daily and have strong listening preferences. Music – along with love – is often thought of as a universal language.
Why do some people have a strange desire to do weird things for no (good) reason? There's something fascinating about kids who eat laundry soap as part of a “challenge,” or people who deliberately... Read more
Making a better world would be a great thing—but do we need philosophers to help us do that? Famously (or infamously), not all philosophers have been such great people. So are they the folks we... Read more
In her time—the 4th century CE—Hypatia was one of the most famous philosophers in Alexandria, and indeed in the ancient world. She studied and taught mathematics,... Read more
Mexican philosophy is full of fascinating ideas, from Mexica ("Aztec") and Mayan thought to Sor Juana’s feminism and Emilio Uranga’s existentialism... Read more
Your friendly neighborhood Senior Prodcuer here, once again stepping out from behind the mixing board to bring you some bonus content from this week's 17th (!) annual Summer Reading special.... Read more
Gender is a controversial topic these days. To some, gender is an oppressive system designed to keep women down: people go around saying "girls are made of sugar and spice and boys are made of... Read more
Fascism is on the rise, new infectious diseases keep cropping up, and we’re on the verge of environmental collapse: how on earth could art possibly save us? The arts are may be nice distraction,... Read more
Some say the world is full of contradictions, like “parting is such sweet sorrow.” Parting is sweet, but parting is also sad; and sweetness and sadness are opposites. But logicians would say that... Read more
Our minds are amazing prediction machines—and sometimes they can even make their predictions come true!
Does reading that strike you as something out of The Secret—like if you... Read more
Derek Parfit was a really interesting thinker when it came to identity and the self. He had a particularly cool thought experiment involving tele-transportation.
Suppose you’re on your... Read more
When philosophers talk about perception, they tend to focus on what we see and hear, and rarely on what we smell. But olfaction is a strange sense that deserves greater philosophical scrutiny. For... Read more
A caller in this week's episode nominated "Women Talking" for a Dionysus Award. Guest co-host Jeremy Sabol takes that as a springboard to blog about movies and... Read more
This week we’re thinking about Cancel Culture, which some consider a real problem: people losing their jobs, being harassed online, their home addresses being shared—all because they said... Read more
This week we’re asking why we should trust science—which may sound like a weird question. After all, why would we doubt the method that helps us build bridges and skyscrapers, formulate life... Read more
Following up on last year's not-so-new experiment, here's a little behind-the-scenes look into the brief audio montages (produced... Read more
This week we’re asking what it’s... Read more
This essay also appears at the website of Oxford University Press, publisher of Josh's new book,
"The World According to Proust."
... Read more
This week we’re thinking about how to create a world in which our leaders are not just effective legislators, but also good people.
Some might think there are not enough leaders like that... Read more
This week we're thinking about the British Liberal tradition and its relationship to colonialism and self-government. Classical Liberal thinkers, like John Locke and John Stuart Mill, held that... Read more
This week we’re thinking about Collective Action and Climate Change. With floods and fires getting more frequent and intense, and with the summer just ended shattering heat records around the... Read more
This week we’re thinking about cultural appropriation and asking who owns culture—which may be a weird way of thinking about it. It's easy to see how somebody can own the rights to a song they... Read more
This week we’re questioning Effective Altruism. That’s Peter Singer’s idea that you should do the most good you can, and you should figure out what that is by doing your homework and choosing the... Read more
This week we're asking what Political Inequality is. Sounds easy to define, right? That’s when some people don’t get an equal voice in society, because they’re not represented in government, or... Read more
This week we're asking whether it's rational to be optimistic—which seems like bit of a crazy question if you've been reading the news lately. After all, what could possibly justify the belief... Read more
This week we're thinking about the Changing Face of Antisemitism—a program recorded last month at the Stanford Humanities Center for our first live, in-person event in 2-1/2 years.
... Read more
Comments (11)
Guest
Sunday, January 13, 2008 -- 4:00 PM
Music matters because it's exemplifies the need toMusic matters because it's exemplifies the need to know.
Music, like any language is a 'confrontation' and as such we have an innate desire to resolve it.
And because music is so much simpler than other languages (compare the number of notes to the number of words...what is the distinction of a single note? (Ask Pete Townshend...is that was Pure and Easy was about?...that a single note could actually be fully understood by all?)))
Guest
Sunday, January 13, 2008 -- 4:00 PM
Any layman who has read Oliver Sacks' book "MusicoAny layman who has read Oliver Sacks' book "Musicophilia would say
that music matters. Schopenhauer is railing from his grave...
Guest
Sunday, January 13, 2008 -- 4:00 PM
Per my obsession with present homo sapiens versusPer my obsession with present homo sapiens versus pre-homo sapiens: Was music a Darwinian "survival skill"? Going far out on a limb, I say no! Perhaps a long shot and dangerously close to creationism (!!), but 'music appreciation' may be a Stephen Gould "punctuation" in the evolutionary scheme. Which means that the violin or Hayden (or fill in at will), are most unique and especially remarkable in the universe.
Guest
Thursday, January 17, 2008 -- 4:00 PM
One of the biggest mysteries of life to me is whyOne of the biggest mysteries of life to me is why should a series of sound frequencies evoke emotional responses in humans. One sequense is sad another happy and infinatly subtle differences in between. Why?
Ron
Guest
Saturday, January 19, 2008 -- 4:00 PM
I am afraid I received notification about this proI am afraid I received notification about this program too late to hear it. Does anyone know when it will be available for download? .Is there any other place or way I can hear it?
I am feeling the resonance of the importance to me of the topic, but need to get to the source.
Peter
Guest
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 -- 4:00 PM
>>> One of the biggest mysteries of life to me is>>> One of the biggest mysteries of life to me is why should a series of sound frequencies evoke emotional responses in humans. One sequense is sad another happy and infinatly subtle differences in between. Why?
It might not...you play a random sequence of sound frequencies and it's the only response is UUGGGH...just as any dissonant or unfamiliar noise.
I submit to you that it's not the 'music' per se but instead the familiarity. People hated rock but I think it was just about being unfamiliar, not about volume (because the same happened with Jazz, big bands, and anything that made teens 'get overexcited').
You play someone a completely new kind of music for the first time it's strange...you play it 5x then it becomes familiar and has emotional impact (just like any input does, especially language)...then you play something similar and they get the pattern recognition going.
Guest
Friday, March 28, 2008 -- 5:00 PM
When we aren't just enjoying it, music is a trulyWhen we aren't just enjoying it, music is a truly baffling subject. One might be tempted to suggest that music arouses emotion by evoking associations. However, this doesn't explain how a piece of music can deeply effect someone on the first listen.
Guest
Wednesday, April 2, 2008 -- 5:00 PM
oh me goodness! why you all seriously analyze thisoh me goodness! why you all seriously analyze this subject. music is emotion. people dont create music because they are analytical. although the rational world wants you to believe it is. anyone who has been a musician knows that the most complecated piece is made beautiful by emotion, not technical perfection. wake up elitests!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Guest
Thursday, April 3, 2008 -- 5:00 PM
An elegant geometry solution can be beautAn elegant geometry solution can be beautiful---
I have experienced the same thing being beautiful one day and not beautiful the next. That is, I have no sentiment that it is beautiful, whereas previously I had.
Let's bring the perception problem:
Assuming there is a split between the world and the mind--then hard to pin down whether a thing in the world
is beautiful or whether the mind sees the thing as beautiful--but there is no such quality to the thing.
Is something beautiful and at times we are in the
right frame of mind to see its beauty or is nothing either beautiful or not beautiful and we project the beauty onto the thing?
In other words does beauty correspond to a kind of mood--that may come and go even in regard to the same object?
Or does beauty result from a combination of circumstances that may be unique and may or may not be reproducible?
If we posit that every opinion has emotional and non-emotional aspects---How much of opinion is emotion and how much not emotion? Is it better just to leave the issue undecided and just say that we have sentiments---one of which is that something is beautiful?
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder---then it seems anything can be beautiful. I remember seeing spray painted circles all over a tall building --the circles were made by painters to mark out places to be patched--prior to painting--- and I found the pattern beautiful.
But then, can a severed head be beautiful?
And is the old distinction between the beautiful and the sublime--a valid one? May something be sublime
without being beautiful and vice versa?
Debussy's piano piece, Claire de Lune, I find beautiful---but many parts of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring I do not--- but Rite has sublimity--a kind of overawing power----
Maybe sublimity is a sub-category of beauty
or beauty a type of sublimity?
Guest
Saturday, July 26, 2008 -- 5:00 PM
I was disappointed with the discussion; there wasI was disappointed with the discussion; there was no positive explanation of the power of music, just a tearing down of any possible reason to believe music is important, and that its effect on us is profound. It is easier to tear somethingh down than build something up, that is all this show "proves."
Guest
Saturday, August 2, 2008 -- 5:00 PM
In response to Robert Sharp: Why should there hIn response to Robert Sharp:
Why should there have been an explanation of "the power of music?" The topic is why music matters, i.e. reasons why music is important. Although, the power of music is a good topic to explore, so I will do so. What do you mean by "the power of music?" Are you referring to emotional, political, and/or political power? I can only readily agree that music has an artistic power (otherwise it wouldn't be an artform). Emotional power seems to be derived from a listener's associations and political power seems to be derived from a musician's ulterior motives. Any thoughts?
In response to the general discussion:
If music is simply just emotional, then what would make it art in comparison to a neuro-stimulating device that allows us to experience emotions similar to those that music provokes? Do other qualities such as composition come into play?