The Soul in Sound: the Nature of Musical Consciousness
1. What can be heard in the music: what, why, and how

This non-technical lecture applies the resources of philosophy to explain various phenomena of musical perception. I distinguish three ways in which emotions and modalities of action can be involved in the perception of music. The proper characterization of each of these leads to a general principle concerning the distinctive kind of mode of presentation under which these mental states are heard in the music. The principle can explain why anything we hear in the music must be something with which we are acquainted. It can also explain the point and distinctive power that setting words to music can provide. I will give extensive musical illustrations, and contrasts with other contemporary approaches.