Music and Language (Connections Between Verbal and Musical Languages)

Without claiming to give a comprehensive overview of this broad topic, the author gives his professional view of the necessity of intelligent reading for the understanding of both linguistic and musical texts. Among the topics touched upon are: the role of sound in language and the role of sound in music (J. Shepherd); language, musical language and semiotics (A. J. Greimas, C. Peirce, F. de Saussure); intra-musical and extra-musical semantics in music; and music as a language with multiple meaning (J. Fowles). The author defines musical intellect as the ability to read and understand musical language.