Music communicates
both literal and metaphorical messages.
Music has been called "the language of the soul." This is partly because it has the ability to communicate many emotions that most people find difficult to articulate using words alone. The ability of music to communicate complex feelings and ideas is dependent upon both the songwriter and the performer. Two performers doing their own versions of the same song may communicate totally different feelings to the audience.
Emotion
Music is a historic communicator of emotion. This is sometimes transmitted through the words of the lyrics, but can just as easily be communicated through melody. For example, classical music that does not contain lyrics but could hardly be called lacking in emotion. Unspoken emotional communication is at the heart of all music. This is seen in the way that budding musicians learn how tunes that are played in a major key sound happy, while those played in a minor key sound sad.
Energy
Music communicates a sort of visceral energy to the body. Some people can't help moving their bodies when music with a strong rhythm plays. The communication of physical energy via music is easily observed on the dance floor. It is also measurable. Runners and other athletes often experience increased performance when they listen to music that has a strong and driving beat. In an article published in "The Sport Journal," Dr. Costas Karageoghis and David Lee-Priest discus how music with a strong beat helps an athlete synchronize movement to increase performance.
Political Ideology
The lyrics of pop songs have been used throughout the history of modern music to express a variety of political leanings. The protest songs of the 60s certainly exemplify this, and the early music of Bob Dylan is one of the most concrete examples of an artist trying to communicate a message through his songs. "The Times They Are A-Changin'" is one of his most famous, and was written as a call to the youth to stand up for their rights and for the betterment of the world.
Religion
Music has been a part of religious practice for millennia. Music is used as part of religious ceremony, but also as a way of communicating religious truths. It is used to communicate with the higher powers of a religion, to communicate the central messages of the faith to the congregation and as a tool for passing on religious traditions, stories and concepts. Robert Wuthnow, a sociologist from Princeton makes a case that music is one of the key tools that has helped preserve religion in what was predicted to be a much more secular modern era.
