The "Preface to Mao's Poems" written in the Han Dynasty said: "Emotions arise from sounds, and sounds are called sounds in writing." It points out that the sounds in music are generated by emotions.

Although emotion is not unique to music, but is ubiquitous in all arts, music is particularly focused on expressing emotions. This is determined by the characteristics of the music itself.

First, music does not reproduce the material forms in real life, but only expresses the emotions experienced from them.

The emotions reflected in music, of course, also come from life. However, the reflection of real life by music does not show specific life pictures, characters and events like art, drama and novels. Instead, it only shows the feelings and emotions, desires and other emotions that people get in their life experience. something. Beethoven: "Feeling more than music and picture".

Second, the emotions expressed in music are abstract and direct.

Because the emotions expressed in music are elevated from specific situations and events that serve as the basis of life, they are no longer specific feelings, nor joy directly linked to specific people and things. Anger, sorrow, joy, love, resentment, etc., but are more general and general. In other words, a certain emotion expressed in music is not something else or specific, but the emotion itself.

Because of this, music expresses emotions directly. The famous Hungarian musician Liszt said: "Emotions exist independently in music and radiate light, neither relying on the shell of 'metaphor' nor the medium of plot and thought." Here, emotions are "frank and frank and extremely complete. Confession."

Third, the special way music expresses emotions also brings about the specialness of appreciation.

Contemporary Polish music theorist Lisa said: "In the process of (music) appreciation, logical factors give way to emotional factors and take a secondary position." That is to say, in music appreciation, emotions There are more factors than rational factors. Music has a direct impact on the mind of the listener, without resorting to reasoning or specific and vivid artistic images. This emotional experience is of a more direct, personal nature. It is precisely because of this characteristic that lyrics combined with music are often expressed in the first person, so that not only the singer but also the listener will put their own emotions into it. As far as the appreciator is concerned, this psychology is different from the sympathy and disgust caused by the images in literature or drama. Among other arts, only lyric poetry in literature comes close to this situation. This characteristic of music appreciation enables music to have a direct and strong impact on people's emotions.

Of course, to appreciate music, you must have certain subjective conditions, as Marx said, you must have a "musical ear." Especially for non-popular symphonies and other styles, it is necessary to understand the relevant formal structure, expression techniques, styles, schools, etc., as well as the relevant background conditions, and be able to understand the progression of the music, in order to receive better appreciation effects