“Music is what feelings sound like”

“Music is what feelings sound like” is a popular saying that has been printed on many gift items, such as posters and T-shirts. “Music is what feelings sound like” has been cited in print since at least 1997 and is of unknown authorship.
 
Google Books appears to show a 1988 citation of the saying, but allows “no preview.”
     
 
Google Books
Webster’s New World Dictionary of Quotable Definitions
By Eugene E. Brussell
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
1988
Pg. 382:
Music is what feelings sound like.
(Google Books does not allow a preview of this book, so this citation could be incorrect.—ed.)
 
5 September 1997, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO), “Symphony: Musicians in the Springs supported,” pg. NEWS6, col. 3:
Music is a universal language of the world. I have been trained that “music is what feelings sound like”; it gives a voice to what we are feeling. Going to the symphony is a way for people to relax, sort out their feelings and learn. On a day you don’t feel well, music relaxes, and comforts.
(...)
—Sean H. Hennessyy
Colorado Springs
 
Google Books
Teaching Music with Passion:
Conducting, Rehearsing, and Inspiring
By Peter Loel Boonshaft
Galesville, MD: Meredith Music
2002  
Pg. ?:
Though the author was unknown, the words nonetheless expressed what music meant to her: “Music is what feelings sound like.”
 
5 September 2004, The Stonewall Argus and Teulon Times (Stonewall, Manitoba), pg. 14, col. 1:
Thought of the week:
Music is what feelings sound like.
 
Google Books
My Favorite Quotes Collection, Volume 3
By Derrick D. Richardson
Bloomington, IN: iUniverse
2010
Pg. ?:
Music is what feelings sound like. —Anonymous
 
Google Books
The Titus Conspiracy:
Murder in Ancient Rome
By Lorraine Blundell
Central Milton Keynes: AuthorHouse UK
2012
Pg. 71:
Music is what feelings sound like.
Anon
 
Twitter
Lucia Cornejo
‏@LuciaCornejo3
Music is what feelings sound like.
11:32 PM - 29 Oct 13