A consideration of Levinson's theories of music starts with the basic question of what music is. Levinson addresses this issue in his essay "What a Musical Work Is." In this work he defines music as "indicated sound/ performance-means structures" (Levinson 1980, p. 7). This definition combines the two parts that make up music. The first is the actual notes and structure of the music. The second is how and when the music is performed. This takes into account that the piece of music is just one element impacting what it means. The other element is related to how it is performed and who hear it. This provides a basic view of the nature of music and reveals that there is more to music than just sound. For Levinson, music is a form of thought.

In Musical Thinking, Levinson considers whether music is in fact a form of thought. He describe

s how music is often referred to as if it is a form of thought. He notes that there are points in the music of Brahms where it is said that "the thought comes to a head" (Levinson 2003, 2.2). It must be noted that this reference to the thoughts of music is referring to music without words. Therefore, the meaning is not being delivered by dialogue or text with known meaning, but simply with sound. Levinson goes on to note that there is no definite meaning included in the music. It is as if the thought is coming to a head, but there is no clue as to what the actual thought is. This can be considered as an experience where the feeling of reaching a conclusion is produced, but without the actual conclusion. If it is accepted that we gain meaning via language, it is as if music creates the same feeling but without the actual language. Levinson also goes on to describe Wittgenstein stating that he understands music in terms of conclusions, agreements, and replies. This shows that music is understand on a level based on language, even if it does not have any actual language as part of it. Or, as Levinson states it,

In this way, music can be considered as producing a simulated form of the emotion. At the same time, this emotion is not attached to any actual experience.

The idea that music produces a representation of meaning is also considered in "Music and Negative Emotion." In this essay, Levinson explores the emotion of music. This explanation further shows how music can be considered thought, because the meaning Levinson refers can be considered an emotion. To put it simply, music can make you feel a certain emotion, but without attaching this emotion to any specific event. This is the representation of meaning without the actual meaning that was described above. Levinson refers to this as a mirroring effect, saying that music provokes an emotional response similar to feeling the emotion. The difference is that music does not have the cognitive link required for real emotion. For example, in feeling real sadness a person must know the source of the sadness. They must be aware of the reason for feeling sad on a cognitive level. For a piece of music to make someone feel sad, cognitive feeling is not required. Instead, music can invoke a feeling of sadness that is similar to feeling sad. However, Levinson also notes that the emotions evoked by music are not full-fledged. As he describes:

As this statement describes, music is understood based on our perception, which happens to be linguistically based. At the same time, music is created by

Some common words found in the essay are:
Negative Emotion, Metaphysics Levinson, Levinson Music, Jerrold Levinson, Emotion Levinson, Thinking Levinson, Otherwise Levinson, listening music, music levinson, levinson considers, levinson 2003, language levinson, levinson's theories, music form, music considered, negative emotions, emotion music, levinson's theories music, levinson considers music, Music Negative, levinson 2003 210, enjoyment listening music, actual language levinson,
Approximate Word count = 1741
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)