A note is a space for writing down fragments of thoughts that arise spontaneously.
Auditory information cannot substitute for visual information. For example, Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune, a representative work of Impressionist music, seems to evoke in listeners an impression of moonlight. Yet, it is uncertain whether someone listening to the piece—without knowledge of its title or any supplementary information beyond the auditory content—would actually associate it with moonlight. Likewise, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14, another work often called the “Moonlight Sonata,” may be even less likely to prompt impressions of moonlight compared to Debussy’s piece. It therefore seems clear that our ability to associate these works with moonlight depends largely on the subtitle “moonlight.”
When language, which exists only conceptually and conventionally, is coupled with music, music acquires the capacity to convey something secular and worldly. Opera and musicals exemplify this. For a long time, composers of auditory art sought to embed their own meanings into music, yet when music existed purely in the form of instrumental works, this was impossible. Thus, they often resorted to using harmonic effects merely to arouse emotional responses. By the mid-twentieth century, however, creators began to attach supplementary information to auditory art as a way of communicating meaning to audiences.
If a sound artist wishes to convey something to their audience, should they necessarily add something beyond pure auditory information?