What is Music

From Wikipedia...in music listening as the radio gained popularity and
Music is an art form whose medium is sound.phonographs were used to replay and distribute
Common elements of music are pitch (which governsmusic. The focus of art music was characterized by
melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associatedexploration of new rhythms, styles, and sounds. Igor
concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics,Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, and John Cage were
and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. Theall influential composers in 20th century art music.
word derives from Greek (mousike), "(art) of theJazz evolved and became a significant genre of music
Muses".over the course of the 20th century, and during the
The creation, performance, significance, and even thesecond half of that century, rock music did the same.
definition of music vary according to culture and socialJazz is an American musical art form which originated
context. Music ranges from strictly organizedin the beginning of the 20th century in African
compositions (and their recreation in performance),American communities in the Southern United States
through improvisational music to aleatoric forms. Musicfrom a confluence of African and European music
can be divided into genres and subgenres, althoughtraditions. The style's West African pedigree is
the dividing lines and relationships between musicevident in its use of blue notes, improvisation,
genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individualpolyrhythms, syncopation, and the swung note.[17]
interpretation, and occasionally controversial. WithinFrom its early development until the present, jazz has
"the arts", music may be classified as a performingalso incorporated music from 19th and 20th century
art, a fine art, and auditory art.American popular music.[18] Jazz has, from its early
To many people in many cultures music is an20th century inception, spawned a variety of
important part of their way of life. Greeksubgenres, ranging from New Orleans Dixieland
philosophers and ancient Indian philosophers defined(1910s) to 1970s and 1980s-era jazz-rock fusion.
music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies andRock music is a genre of popular music that
vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "thedeveloped in the 1960s from 1950s rock and roll,
harmony of the spheres" and "it is music to my ears"rockabilly, blues, and country music. The sound of
point to the notion that music is often ordered androck often revolves around the electric guitar or
pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-centuryacoustic guitar, and it uses a strong back beat laid
composer John Cage thought that any sound can bedown by a rhythm section of electric bass guitar,
music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, onlydrums, and keyboard instruments such as organ,
sound." According to musicologist Jean-Jacquespiano, or, since the 1970s, digital synthesizers. Along
Nattiez, "the border between music and noise iswith the guitar or keyboards, saxophone and
always culturally defined-which implies that, evenblues-style harmonica are used as soloing instruments.
within a single society, this border does not alwaysIn its "purest form", it "has three chords, a strong,
pass through the same place; in short, there is rarelyinsistent back beat, and a catchy melody."[19] In the
a consensus.... By all accounts there is no single andlate 1960s and early 1970s, rock music branched out
intercultural universal concept defining what musicinto different subgenres, ranging from blues rock and
might be, except that it is 'sound through time'."jazz-rock fusion to heavy metal and punk rock, as
20th century musicwell as the more classical influenced genre of
With 20th century music, there was a vast increaseprogressive rock.