ON SOUNDS, CHILDREN, IDENTITY AND A'QUITE UNMUSICAL'MAN

ABSTRACT In this article I explore, in the context of general psychoanalytic considerations about creativity, the specific place of music in human development. With reference to early auditory experiences, I emphasize the central place that sounds occupy in the formation of a child's separate identity. My thoughts on this subject also give me the opportunity for looking at some aspects of the complex relationship between music and psychoanalysis - two exquisitely auditory experiences - and for providing a historical review of Freud's own ambivalent attitude to music.