Is music just sounds? And what does it communicate? MSgt. Aldo Rafael Forte
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Composer/Arranger for the USAF Heritage of America Band
Langley Air Force Base, Virginia
To me music is not “just sounds”. Certainly there is a “magic” to the sounds conjured up by composers in their harmonies and tone colors which can be most aurally satisfying on its own. As a composer, communicating with the audience is very important to me. Music is capable of portraying a wide range of emotions as well as depicting things about the world around us. Consider for instance Mahler’s works for the former and Debussy’s “Nuages” from the “Trois Nocturnes” for the latter. Also, different members of the same audience will “interpret” the same work in different ways. Their interpretations may be different from what the composer had in mind in the first place.