Music and the Unconscious

There is nothing supernatural about the idea of the unconscious, though the feelings I hold (and share with Jung) about the collective unconscious might raise a few skeptical eyebrows. I suppose I draw upon that part of my (our) mind when I write music, and I also draw upon it when I play. That's just the way it is.

This evening I found this terrific article by Alan Walker that was published in the British Medical Journal in 1979, and I thought I would share it here. Walker discusses the possible relationship between the work of Sigmund Freud and Heinrich Schenker (though Freud wasn't big on music), and he tells other interesting stories about musical unconsciousness in action. In the article he quotes Blaise Pascal:

You would not have sought me unless you had already found me.

That about sums it up for me.

Here's a lot more from Pascal.