Hegel's Views on the Essence of Music as Revealed in Aesthetics

Hegel’s Aesthetics embraced three aspects of the essence of music, namely, the comparison of music with other forms of art, the contents of music and the effect of music. He holds that sound is the premise of the art of music, that sound conveys ideals/ a certain spirit, and that it is through tone and structure that sound conveys ideals. The spirit conveyed is not something conceptional; the effect of music has to be achieved by returning to one’s inner life. Emotions, as ‘wrapper’, make the inner of life focus on music works itself. Therefore, it is music that keeps the inner life varied.