...and why people keep saying it is. 

The slogan 'music is a language' is nonsense taken literally, but points to the fact that music does have important similarities with language. That analogy rests on the relationship between speech melody and music, and on the function of harmony as a musical syntax.

00:00 Intro
00:36 A truism
01:59 A metaphor?
04:46 ‘Language of feelings’
11:22 Grammatical and ungrammatical music
18:14 Universality

The topic is discussed in detail in: L. Muns, Classical Music and the Language Analogy. Dissertation, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2014.

An important source for cognitive and neurological research on the relationship between music and language is: A. Patel, Music, Language, and the Brain. Oxford University Press, 2008.

Text quoted from:
Th. W. Adorno, Fragment über Musik und Sprache. Gesammelte Schriften Bd. 16. Suhrkamp, 2003.
I. Kant, Kritik der Urteilskraft. Werke Bd. 10. Suhrkamp, 1977.
F. Nietzsche, Menschliches, Allzumenschlisches. Werke in Drei Bänden, Bd. 1. München: Hanser, 1954.

Music:
L. van Beethoven, Sonata in A-flat major op. 26, Andante con variazioni (Theme and variation Nr. 4).*
L. Muns, ‘Grammatical’ and ‘ungrammatical’ music.*
*Lodewijk Muns, piano

Why music is not a language...

Lodewijk Muns, musicologist, composer and pianist, discusses topics such as music and memory, music and language, and the limits of music, with the piano at his fingertips.

Beyond the Bony Labyrinth: because the sound that enters our ears only becomes music when we recognize it. Music appeals to our memory, emotions, imagination, and capacity for language.

Philosophy: because it deals with the connections between music and other aspects of life, with clarification, and dispelling smoke screens.

This is the English version of the Dutch podcast Voorbij de oren.

Making this podcast takes some inspiration, a lot of enthusiastic labour, a lifetime of experience and a bit of money. If you’re interested, please consider making a donation. It will help to continue the podcast and means a great incentive for the author.