The Influence and Purpose of Music

Music has a power of forming the character, and therefore should be introduced into the education of the young ~Aristotle 

In order to take the spiritual temperature of an individual or a society, one must mark music ~Plato 

Music is a curiously subtle art with innumerable, varying emotional connotations. It is made up of many ingredients and according to the proportions of those components, it can be soothing or invigorating, ennobling or vulgarizing... It has power for evil as well as for good. ~Dr. Howard Hanson 

Music has helped cause the destruction of the Greek and Roman empires and it will sooner or later destroy America and England. ~Henry David Thoreau 

To maintain that technology [music] is neutral...is...stupidity plain and simple ~Neil Postman 

These quotes were taken from the book Music Matters by Cary Schmidt.