photo by Kirstie Shanley

Music is, in many ways, the most abstract of the arts.

There’s nothing to see, no narrative to follow. It’s vibrating air. Yet our response to it is overwhelmingly emotional. Who hasn’t gotten teary at the swell of strings in a movie? What teenager hasn’t felt that a pop singer understood her when no one else could?

We are surrounded by music every day of our lives. It’s a cultural, commercial, and historical force. But those external effects are not our main concern here. We’re more interested in music’s internal workings. How a song finds its way out of a composer’s mind and into our hearts. Why certain arrangements of pitch and rhythm affect us so deeply, even as they grate unbearably on someone else.

Here’s our theory: music isn’t a collection of sounds. The sounds are a means to an end; the end is a feeling, and the feeling is the whole point of the composer’s art. Here, we talk with composers, musicians, and listeners, trying to find the elusive place inside us where songs exist in their purest form. We want to get to the heart of music.

S.W.G.

Photo by David Zentz

Breaking Bad composer Dave Porter '94 and avant-garde cellist Zoë Keating '93 explain their unconventional techniques for composing.

Photo by Susan Faludi

In the fall of 1969, Sarah Lawrence installed an electronic music studio, one of the first at a liberal arts college.

Illustration by Vaughn Fender

A pop fan grows up with Mariah Carey

Illustration by Ping Zhu

Is D minor really the saddest of keys? And why do teenagers like such crappy songs? The mysteries of music and emotion, explained.

Illustration by Vaughn Fender

A rock ‘n’ roll fantasy hits middle age. Now what?

Rizzoli Photo Service

Composer William Schuman started teaching at Sarah Lawrence in 1935, and soon began conducting the chorus, which he brought to national attention. 

Photo by Chris Taggart

Learn the difference between a dùn dún and the dun duns in this visual guide to SLC’s world music ensembles.

Photo by Dan Bretl '07

In 2007, guests and students performed at Projekt Rhythm, a Reisinger event co-hosted by Aja Monet ’09; just one example of the many student-run musical activities on campus.

Illustration by Vaughn Fender

A fan of the world's angriest music finally mellows out.

Psychology student Linwood Lewis is working to revitalize the Cottage Place Gardens public housing and the surrounding areas of Yonkers.

Illustration by Mike Lowery

Three SLC Alumni, one van, thousands of miles. An illustrated guide to life on the road with an indie-folk group.