10-21-12: SabaiYou are a philosopher at heart, Sabai.
The brain reconstructs what appears to be happening "out there" in the room. The musical events are actually happening "in here" -- between our two ears. Music appreciation is actually an inner event that we perceive as an outer event.
You may already be aware of this, but the distinction you are drawing between what is "out there" and what is "in here" has been a subject of controversy among philosophers since ancient Greece. In the parlance of modern philosophy, it's the distinction between Realism and Idealism. Roughly put, it's the difference between things that are features of *the world* and things that are features of *the mind.*
The distinction between Realism and Idealism defines a great many debates in the history of both philosophy and science, including debates about categories, logic, mathematics, properties like color, and morality.
By standard philosophical conventions, you are an Idealist with respect to music. I agree with you up to a point, which is to say, I believe that SOME musical phenomena are in the mind. But I also believe that some musical phenomena are in the world.
It's an interesting question, IMO.
Bryon