The Transformative Power of Music

Instructor: Professor Paul Austerlitz
                Sunderman Conservatory of Music

We all know that music can profoundly affect our minds and our bodies; we have all experienced music's transformative power. Music's potential, however, seems indescribable: it is ineffable. Maybe this is why, when studying music, we often fail to pay attention to the efficacy of music-to the ways that music affects our minds and bodies and transforms us. Music inspires us to cry and to dance; it is used in war and as an instrument of peace; it inspires patriotism as well as religious transcendence. One of the most spectacular manifestations of music's power is its association with altered states of consciousness: when music takes us into a different psychic space, it manifests the apex of its transformative power. In addition to taking advantage of standard academic approaches such as reading, discussion, and research, we will in this Seminar reflect upon and cultivate our own engagement with music, making music together and discussing our musical experiences. No previous academic experience with the subject matter, however, is required-all one needs is an abiding love for and curiosity about music.