A definition of the word ‘music’ might seem like stating the obvious: at first glance the word refers to nothing more than the art of combining sounds in a melodic, rhythmic and harmonic fashion, following different rules depending on the period and civilisation. This definition is too laconic, however, to enable us to understand how this singular art form can also be used as a tool for protest. From this perspective, certain characteristics that are specific to musical communication must be examined more closely.

The weapons of musical polysemy

Music cannot be reduced to its mathematical and physical foundation, even though this foundation is real. Humanity has always granted it an expressive function. Indeed, by producing certain sounds, musicians deploy a sort of conventional language that communicates meanings perceivable by those who listen. But what does the music express? Suggestive emotional content rather than well-articulated statements with precise semantics. In Antiquity, authors such as Plato, Aristotle or Aristoxenus recognised in music the rare ability to express and provoke feelings and moods. It is true that musical communication is based on a certain foundation – mode, tempo, pitch, rhythm, harmony, volume – which are capable of evoking and provoking varied affective states (see Table 1). This is further accentuated by the fact that the instruments used may be culturally assimilated to specific emotional characters: brass suggests a triumphant or grotesque nature, strings indicate sadness, piano implies introspective tranquillity, wind instruments lend an air of melancholy or awkwardness, and so forth. In fact, the cheerful, exalted, aggressive, bellicose, solemn, sad, or melancholic nature of any music is immediately grasped by its auditors.

However, music suggests not only specific affective states but also bodily postures. Jean-Jacques Rousseau liked to remark that music is ‘capable of physically acting on the body’. Certain musical arrangements can encourage you to dance, want to have fun, to click your fingers; others may provide a feeling of well-being, relaxation, provoke serenity and make you abandon yourself; others might give you goosebumps, a lump in your throat, a tremble in your voice and tears in your eyes. Still others might excite or exasperate listeners, call them to arms, to parade or encourage solemnity and reverence.