ABSTRACT
This chapter will discuss the content of the musical message, and how the aesthetic and artistic elements function in communicating the message of a piece of music. The listener’s ability to correctly interpret the sounds of the musical message largely determines their understanding of the intended artistic meaning of the music. The factors that limit the listener’s ability to effectively interpret the artistic elements of sound into the intended musical message (or meaning of the music) will be explored; the listener as audience member, and as audio professional, will be contrasted.
