"The hardest of all the arts to speak of is music, because music has no meaning to speak of"

Music stands apart from other art forms due to its abstract nature; unlike literature or painting, whose content or imagery often clearly refers to something outside itself, music is elusive in what it tries to communicate. Ned Rorem’s assertion that music is the hardest art to speak of, precisely because it “has no meaning to speak of,” points to how music resists explicit interpretation. Music’s power lies, paradoxically, in its lack of definite semantic content. While a poem can be paraphrased and a painting described in terms of subject matter, a symphony, a sonata, or a song ultimately escapes the boundaries of language.

Listeners may experience strong emotions, vivid memories, or personal revelations while hearing a piece of music, but these effects are subjective and often impossible to communicate directly. The moment we attempt to put the experience of music into words, we reduce and distort it, losing the sensuous immediacy and evocative possibilities unique to sound. Composers, performers, and audiences alike revel in the textures, harmonies, and rhythms that stimulate feeling and imagination without dictating meaning. Any attempts to assign narrative meaning to wordless music, calling a melody “joyful” or “tragic”, can feel imposed, as if language is straining to catch what music means without ever fully succeeding.

This ineffability is not a limitation but is arguably the source of music’s universal power. Because it refuses to be pinned down by fixed meaning, music remains open to endless interpretation, allowing each listener to find something personal and profound without being shackled by objective definitions. Ned Rorem’s observation honors the mystery at music’s core: it’s an art form that moves us most deeply in ways we cannot easily explain. Without clear referential meaning, music operates in a realm that is intimate and ineffable, inviting us to simply listen and be transformed.