Peter Manuel:

>For purposes of argument, we must exclude...all emotional reactions
>that are affected by non-musical associations (e.g., the way the piece
>reminds you of your adolescent sweetheart, etc.).

Why?  Why do you claim a need to exclude such associations, when one of
the two theories of musical sadness you mention rests on self-reported
feelings?  Let me ask another question.  Suppose that there is some
person so fortunate as to have lived a whole life--so far--without any
occasion for feeling sad about anything.  Then suppose this person heard
some sad music.  (I'm sure we could agree on some pieces we would call
sad.)  Is it at all plausible that this innocent would experience the
music as sad without any prior experience of sadness?  I think not.

Jim Tobin