For months, fans were relegated to watching their favorite singers and musicians over Zoom or via webcasts. Now, live shows—from festivals like Lollapalooza to Broadway musicals—are officially back. The songs that beamed into living rooms during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic may have featured an artist’s hits. But there’s just something magical about seeing music surrounded by other people. Some fans reported being so moved by their first live shows in nearly two years that they wept with joy. As a music theorist, I’ve spent my career trying to figure out just what that “magic” is. And part of understanding this requires thinking about music as more than simply sounds washing over a listener. Music as More Than Communication Music is often thought of as a twin sister to language. Whereas words tend to convey ideas and knowledge, music transmits emotions. According to this view, performers broadcast their messages—the music—to their audience. Listeners decode the messages …