The emotional intelligence of music in Freemasonry
Download MP3In this episode, we explore Music as more than melody or ritual ornament—understood instead as a nonverbal system of emotional communication. Continuing our series on the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences, we investigate how music functions as a symbolic and cognitive tool for Masons.
Through examples drawn from daily life, media, and symbolic practice, this conversation explores how musical structure shapes memory, communicates feeling, and complements the intellectual work of self-development.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- Music is emotional communication structured by symbolic rules.
- Musical thinking can enrich even "dry" subjects by engaging the heart.
- Masonic music points us to harmony, memory, and shared emotional understanding.
💬 Featured Quotes
“Music is the language of emotional content, a nonverbal language of emotional content… it has rules and patterns and behaviors just like everything else.”
— [00:01:21]“When we talk about music and Freemasonry… we're really talking about emotional content.”
— [00:01:05]“There’s a standard chord progression… it makes 80% of the hit songs. Music is effectively a means of emotional communication.”
— [00:01:37]“If you can communicate the emotional content of accounting through music, things change.”
— [00:02:14]
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Creators and Guests
Host
Brian Mattocks
Host and Founder of A Mason's Work - a podcast designed to help you use symbolism to grow. He's been working in the craft for over a decade and served as WM, trustee, and sat in every appointed chair in a lodge - at least once :D
