Paper 2: Expressing Emotions in Music
In this essay, you are asked to develop an argument as to how music can be understood to be expressive of emotion. The essay builds on the background of Module 3 on “Music as Language,’ which is to be consulted to write the first section of your essay. At stake is how we can understand music to be a language, and to develop this account such that the expression of emotional qualities in music becomes justified and comprehensible.
Your essay should include:
An introductory section where you state your specific approach. A first section where you build on Module 3 (Music as Language) developing a brief argument why music can be understood to be a language. This may draw on the content of the lectures and readings with regard to language as a symbolic system in Langer and Goodman, but also include reflections by Saussure, Wittgenstein, or Searle. You should mention several features that music and ordinary language share.
A second section where you develop an account of what makes music a unique kind of language. Here, the difference between ordinary propositional language should be developed. A third section where you specifically show how your account of music as a language is capable of expressing emotions. Your account should show how it is possible to understand music to possess emotional qualities and to attribute them in interpretations of musical works. A final section where you should give one or several examples of musical pieces that express emotional qualities. The samples should show the emotional quality by articulating aesthetic features of the musical work.
The paper should be equal to 2-3 pages in print, i.e. 800 – 1000 words. Please write no less and no more, as this also educates in being sufficiently articulated and concise (not too short and not too long).
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