Music
<p><b>Music</b> is an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art" title="Art">art</a> form and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture" title="Culture">cultural</a> activity whose medium is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound" title="Sound">sound</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence" title="Silence">silence</a>. </p>
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The common elements of music are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch%28music%29" title="Pitch (music)">pitch</a> (which governs <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody" title="Melody">melody</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony" title="Harmony">harmony</a>), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm" title="Rhythm">rhythm</a> (and its associated concepts <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo" title="Tempo">tempo</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter%28music%29" class="mw-redirect" title="Meter (music)">meter</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articulation%28music%29" title="Articulation (music)">articulation</a>), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamics%28music%29" title="Dynamics (music)">dynamics</a> (loudness and softness), and the sonic qualities of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbre" title="Timbre">timbre</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texture_%28music%29" title="Texture (music)">texture</a> (which are sometimes termed the "color" of a musical sound). </p>
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Different <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_genre" title="Music genre">styles or types</a> of music may emphasize, de-emphasize or omit some of these elements. Music is performed with a vast range of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_instrument" title="Musical instrument">instruments</a> and with vocal techniques ranging from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singing" title="Singing">singing</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapping" title="Rapping">rapping</a>, and there are solely <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumental_music" class="mw-redirect" title="Instrumental music">instrumental pieces</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_capella" class="mw-redirect" title="A capella">solely vocal pieces</a> (such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song" title="Song">songs</a> without instrumental <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accompaniment" title="Accompaniment">accompaniment</a>) and pieces that combine singing and instruments. </p>
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The word derives from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language" title="Greek language">Greek</a> <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%85%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE#Ancient_Greek" class="extiw" title="wikt:μουσική">μουσική</a> (<i>mousike</i>; "art of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muses" class="mw-redirect" title="Muses">Muses</a>").<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music#cite_note-perseus.tufts.edu-1"><sup id="cite_ref-perseus.tufts.edu_1-0" class="reference">[1]</sup></a> </p>
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In its most general form, the activities describing music as an art form include the production of works of music (songs, tunes, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony" title="Symphony">symphonies</a>, and so on), the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_criticism" title="Music criticism">criticism of music</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicology" title="Musicology">study of the history of music</a>, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics_of_music" title="Aesthetics of music">aesthetic examination of music</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_philosophy" class="mw-redirect" title="Greek philosophy">Ancient Greek</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_philosophy#Ancient_Indian_philosophers" title="Ancient philosophy">Indian philosophers</a> defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. </p>
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Common sayings such as "the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony_of_the_spheres" class="mw-redirect" title="Harmony of the spheres">harmony of the spheres</a>" and "it is music to my ears" point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to.</p>
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However, 20th-century composer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cage" title="John Cage">John Cage</a> thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, "There is no <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise" title="Noise">noise</a>, only sound."<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup></p>
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The creation, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance" title="Performance">performance</a>, significance, and even the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_music" title="Definition of music">definition of music</a> vary according to culture and social context. Indeed, throughout history, some new forms or styles of music have been criticized as "not being music", including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven" title="Ludwig van Beethoven">Beethoven</a>'s <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grosse_Fuge" class="mw-redirect" title="Grosse Fuge">Grosse Fuge</a></i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_quartet" title="String quartet">string quartet</a> in 1825,<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup> early <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz" title="Jazz">jazz</a> in the beginning of the 1900s<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_punk" title="Hardcore punk">hardcore punk</a> in the 1980s.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup> There are many types of music, including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_music" title="Popular music">popular music</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_music" class="mw-redirect" title="Traditional music">traditional music</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_music" title="Art music">art music</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgical_music" title="Liturgical music">music written for religious ceremonies</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_song" title="Work song">work songs</a> such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chantey" class="mw-redirect" title="Chantey">chanteys</a>. Music ranges from strictly organized compositions–such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_music" title="Classical music">Classical music</a> symphonies from the 1700s and 1800s, through to spontaneously played <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_improvisation" title="Musical improvisation">improvisational music</a> such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz" title="Jazz">jazz</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avant-garde" title="Avant-garde">avant-garde</a> styles of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleatory" class="mw-redirect" title="Aleatory">chance-based</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_music" class="mw-redirect" title="Contemporary music">contemporary music</a> from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Music can be divided into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_genre" title="Music genre">genres</a> (e.g., <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_music" title="Country music">country music</a>) and genres can be further divided into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subgenre" class="mw-redirect" title="Subgenre">subgenres</a> (e.g., <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_blues" title="Country blues">country blues</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_country" class="mw-redirect" title="Pop country">pop country</a> are two of the many country subgenres), although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle, sometimes open to personal interpretation, and occasionally controversial. For example, it can be hard to draw the line between some early 1980s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_rock" title="Hard rock">hard rock</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music" title="Heavy metal music">heavy metal</a>. Within <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_arts" title="The arts">the arts</a>, music may be classified as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performing_arts" title="Performing arts">performing art</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fine_art" title="Fine art">fine art</a> or as an auditory art. Music may be played or sung and heard live at a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_concert" title="Rock concert">rock concert</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestra" title="Orchestra">orchestra</a> performance, heard live as part of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_music" title="Theatre music">dramatic work</a> (a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_theater" class="mw-redirect" title="Music theater">music theater</a> show or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera" title="Opera">opera</a>), or it may be recorded and listened to on a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio" title="Radio">radio</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3_player" title="MP3 player">MP3 player</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD_player" title="CD player">CD player</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone" title="Smartphone">Smartphone</a> or as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_score" title="Film score">film score</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_show" class="mw-redirect" title="TV show">TV show</a>.
In many cultures, music is an important part of people's way of life, as it plays a key role in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_ritual" class="mw-redirect" title="Religious ritual">religious rituals</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rite_of_passage" title="Rite of passage">rite of passage</a> ceremonies (e.g., <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduation" title="Graduation">graduation</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage" title="Marriage">marriage</a>), social activities (e.g., <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_club" class="mw-redirect" title="Dance club">dancing</a>) and cultural activities ranging from amateur <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karaoke" title="Karaoke">karaoke</a> singing to playing in an amateur <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk" title="Funk">funk band</a> or singing in a community <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choir" title="Choir">choir</a>. People may make music as a hobby, for example, a teen who plays <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cello" title="Cello">cello</a> in a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_orchestra" title="Youth orchestra">youth orchestra</a>, or by working as a professional <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musician" title="Musician">musician</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer" class="mw-redirect" title="Singer">singer</a>. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_industry" title="Music industry">music industry</a> includes the individuals who create new songs and musical pieces, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songwriter" title="Songwriter">songwriters</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composer" title="Composer">composers</a>; individuals who perform music, which include <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestra" title="Orchestra">orchestra</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz" title="Jazz">jazz</a> band and rock band musicians, singers and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conducting" title="Conducting">conductors</a>; individuals who record music (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_producer" class="mw-redirect" title="Music producer">music producers</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_engineer" class="mw-redirect" title="Sound engineer">sound engineers</a>) and organize concert tours; and those who sell recordings and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheet_music" title="Sheet music">sheet music</a> to customers.</p>