The Questions of Music. The Meaning of Music.
May 09 2010

The question. The question behind the question. Plus the meaning of music.

First, the question.

What do you think about when you're playing?

The Pianobabbler has written about the question before: here.

The answer, to recap: uhh, emmm I don't know. No real idea. I don't believe anyone really knows.

Music happens. It presents itself to the mind's ear and the ear's mind. Sometimes it teases itself out strippingly. Sometimes it lands as a holistic gestalt-y mass.

In performing, we take the music and hand it off. As we perform, hand off, sound off- thoughts and sounds come alive, die, expand, contract, rise, fall, stop, start, glow, dim in our heads like nebula and galaxies in the far-flung universe.

Sometimes paragraphs unfold:

What's the next note nice tune should I take a break after it or play more not sure what I should play next nice tune was that the right note crap a mistake I hate mistakes OK OK just forget it OK voice annoying voice annoying voice who is that annoying voice stop talking, what an annoying voice I want to get away from it break away take a break after the next song just stand around on the break I could eat something I didn't have dinner who has time to shop hungry no chance to eat dinner didn't shop this week if I break what can I eat here will they give me a glass of wine that annoying voice please stop talking nice tune...

Sometimes phrases:

They haven't said a word to each other all night.

Do I have milk for tomorrow morning?

Nice of them to come tonight. Nice people.

I write today, though, not to belabour the question, but to ask the question behind the question: Why does it matter? Why do you want to know what goes through our heads when we play?

Music is a canvas onto which listeners project their self-portraits in colours and media of unconscious choice. This self-projection is the equal and opposite reaction to listeners' reception of the music.

Reception. Listening. Music listening. It is an active, not passive state. A process.

This makes the reason for the question clear: you want to know what we're thinking because the process of listening reverses the process of playing. The musician travels from some inner operation to sound; the listener instinctively wants to travel from the sound back to that inner operation.

Travel. Motion. Music speaks in the language of motion. Emotion. Being moved. That music transported me. The Greek philosopher Pythagoras (if he truly existed) suggested the heavenly bodies make music in their motion- the Music of the Spheres.

Feeling moved by the music, the listener wants to move himself or herself back to its origins. Hence the question.

The Pianobabbler has not suddenly gone metaphysical. He's not suddenly morphed into a scholar of the philosophy of music, although he's happy to read a good article on it

Rather, the Pianobabbler has been drilling down on what music means, and what it represents. He's been asking his own questions. Why do we musicians need to make music, often at great material and other sacrifice? What is my relation with listeners? What to I owe them? What can I demand from them? Why should you listen to me? Why should I play for you?

This line of thinking led me to recall the question. Which led me to consider the question behind the question.

As I said, though, I have no answer to the question. So, not surprisingly, I have no answer to the question behind the question, or to any of the questions I've been exploring. I'm not concerned, though. Questions are often harder to come by than answers.

One last question: Why am I writing about this? Uhh, emmm I was jus' askin'. The exploration continues.

The Pianobabbler has babbled.

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