Overview

Music is often called the most abstract of the arts. The philosophy of music explores how organized sound can carry such profound emotional weight and what exactly constitutes a “musical work.”

Core Idea

A central debate is between formalism (music’s value is purely in its structure and form) and expressionism (music’s value lies in its ability to express emotion).

Formal Definition (if applicable)

Formalism (Eduard Hanslick) argues that the content of music is “tonally moving forms,” meaning its beauty is internal to the musical structure itself, independent of external emotions.

Intuition

When we listen to a sad song, do we actually feel sad, or do we just recognize the sadness in the music? And is a symphony just a set of instructions (the score) or the actual performance?

Examples

  • Absolute Music: Instrumental music with no intended story or text (e.g., a Bach fugue), often cited by formalists.
  • Program Music: Music intended to evoke a specific narrative or image (e.g., Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons).
  • Ontology: Is Beethoven’s 5th Symphony the same work if played on kazoos?

Common Misconceptions

  • “Music is a universal language.” (While sound is universal, musical systems and meanings are culturally specific.)
  • “Music makes you smarter.” (The “Mozart Effect” is largely a myth, though music training has cognitive benefits.)
  • Ontology: The study of being and existence (applied here to musical works).
  • Aesthetics: The study of beauty and art.
  • Semiotics: The study of signs and meaning.

Applications

  • Music Therapy: Using music’s emotional power for healing.
  • Music Education: Teaching the structural and expressive aspects of music.
  • Performance Practice: Deciding how to interpret a musical score.

Criticism / Limitations

Strict formalism can seem dry and detached from the intense emotional experience of listeners, while strict expressionism struggles to explain how music refers to specific emotions without words.

Further Reading

  • Hanslick, The Beautiful in Music
  • Kivy, The Corded Shell
  • Scruton, The Aesthetics of Music