The Language of Music

The Language of Music is a 1959 book about music by the critic and musician Deryck Cooke.

The Language of Music

Cover of the 1960 Oxford University Press edition
Author	Deryck Cooke
Language	English
Subject	Music
Published	1959
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	304 (1990 Clarendon Press edition)
ISBN	978-0198161806

Not to be confused with The Language of Music (theory book).

Reception

Robert M. Wallace reviewed The Language of Music in The Nation.^[1]

The Language of Music is an often cited representative of the expressionist theory of art.^[2] No systematic experimental study of Cooke's theory has emerged relating it to musical education, but one pilot study showed that for 22 non-musician students, his characterizations of musical phrases were not experienced.^[3] The philosopher Douglas Hofstadter writes that The Language of Music is, "A valuable start down what is sure to be a long hard road to understanding music and the human mind."^[4]