Jerrold Levinson is a modern philosopher whose work looks at depth into the philosophy of music. Through various works, Levinson has considered what music is, how it is created and experienced, how music delivers meaning, and what purpose music serves. Levinson"s theories of music will now be considered by focusing on some of the key questions about music that his works have addressed.

             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 describes 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.