Understanding Music

Understanding Music applies the techniques of contemporary philosophy of mind to explain the subjective experience of music. The theory is extended to address questions in the aesthetics and psychology of music.

What is to hear an emotion such as joy or nostalgia in a passage of music? How can music convey emotions that we can't always put into words? This book offers new answers to these questions. Understanding Music applies the techniques of contemporary philosophy of mind to explain the subjective experience of what is heard in music. Christopher Peacocke extends the theory to distinguish various kinds of musical perception, to characterize various musical styles, and to explain the role of the subject, both individual and communal, in musical content. He provides an account of how musical representation can leap over the first person/third person barrier, explores the relations between expressive action and musical expression, and develops a theory of musical communication. Understanding Music argues for the relevance of the theory to the explanation of various pathologies of musical perception and considers the relations between music and other art forms, including dance and poetry. In doing so, it explains both the powers and limits of musical expression.