Activity Quote by Susan McClary
“Rather than protecting music as a sublimely meaningless activity that has managed to escape social signification, I insist on treating it as a medium that participates in social formation by influencing the ways we perceive our feelings, our bodies, our desires, our very subjectivities - even if it does so surreptitiously, without most of us knowning how. It is too important a cultural force to be shrouded by mystified notions of Romantic transcendence.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Music and Society, Susan McClary, 1991
Music shapes social reality, affecting emotions, bodies, desires, and identity, often unnoticed.
In simple terms: Music influences how we feel and think.
Key Takeaway
Recognize music’s social impact.
Themes
culture
identity
perception
power
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
theoretical
scholarly
When to use this quote
- education
- media analysis
- personal reflection
- cultural policy
Key Concepts
social formation
subjectivity
musical meaning
Questions to Reflect On
- How does music shape your self‑understanding?
- In what ways do you overlook music’s power?
A Different Perspective
Music’s influence can be subtle and hard to measure.
![“The point of recapitulation in the first movement of the Ninth [Symphony of Beethoven] is one of the most horrifying moments in music, as the carefully prepared cadence is frustrated, damming up energy which finally explodes in the throttling, murderous rage of a rapist incapable of attaining…” quote by Susan McClary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cc5/susan-mcclary-50001_cadence_the-point-of-recapitulation-in-the-first_1498487.jpg)
