Whatever a human being is, he/she is at least a collection of emotional/psychological states. And these states are influenced by many things: foods, drugs (from caffeine to acid) and even strings of words and sounds. It's easy to predict the effect of arsenic on a person, and slightly harder but still predictable are strings of words (such as "I love you" or "I never want to see you again," etc.) The predictability of music is still harder. There is no decided meaning that's connected universally with harmonic, melodic, rhythmic structures. Plus there's the issue of nostalgia and memory: music can trigger emotions based upon past experiences. Certain tunes might remind one of the Jetsons cartoon or a former friend/lover.
Many Zen adepts were prompted into enlightenment by hearing the sound of, say, a pebble hitting bamboo. I can easily imagine an alien race that is far superior to us being able to concoct music that would elicit pure joy, sorrow, elation and despair, in any person, regardless of age, sex, race, etc.
And when we can elicit (more) precisely the emotional/psychological states that we desire we will be real artists/magicians.
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