I Put a Spell on You: Emotion in Music
Humans are emotional beings, and somehow music stirs up emotion within us.
There is something about the combination of the elements of music (i.e. rhythm, harmony, melody, texture, etc.) that creates an amazing avenue of expression for us. So, how does it all work?
What if we could easily unlock the door to understanding music and emotion?
Maybe we could just lift our magic wand and proclaim, “Alohomora!”
If only it were that simple! When you try to explain something as abstract as music and emotion, it’s going to be pretty tough.
I may not have an quick answer right now, but I do have some great quotes from famous composers about the connection between music and emotions!
See what these composers have to say – which quote is your favorite?
“If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music.” – Gustav Mahler
“To play without passion is inexcusable!” – Ludwig van Beethoven
“It is the special province of music to move the heart.” – Johann Sebastian Bach
“Music begins where words are powerless to express. Music is made for the inexpressible. I want music to seem to rise from the shadows and indeed sometimes to return to them.” – Claude Debussy
“I compose music because I must give expression to my feelings, just as I talk because I must give utterance to my thoughts.” – Sergei Rachmaninoff
“It is dreadful when something weighs on your mind, not to have a soul to unburden yourself to. You know what I mean. I tell my piano the things I used to tell you.” – Frederic Chopin
“Put all your soul into it, play the way you feel!” – Frederic Chopin
“For the virtuoso, musical works are in fact nothing but tragic and moving materializations of his emotions; he is called upon to make them speak, weep, sing and sigh, to recreate them in accordance with his own consciousness. In this way he, like the composer, is a creator, for he must have within himself those passions that he wishes to bring so intensely to life.” – Franz Liszt
“Music embodies feeling without forcing it to contend and combine with thought, as it is forced in most arts and especially in the art of words.” – Franz Liszt
“So long as the human spirit thrives on this planet, music in some living form will accompany and sustain it and give it expressive meaning.” – Aaron Copland
Sources: Goodreads, A-Z Quotes, Inspiring Quotes, Our Chopin
