Project

Grade 10

Topic: Music

Subtopic: History of music, philosopy of

music, elements of music.

Worked by group 3

INFORMATION
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some
combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or
otherwise expressive content.[1][2][3] Music is generally agreed to
be a cultural universal that is present in all human societies.
[4]
Definitions of music vary widely in substance and approach.
[5]
While scholars agree that music is defined by a small
number of specific elements, there is no consensus as to
what these necessary elements are.[6] Music is often
characterized as a highly versatile medium for expressing
human creativity.[7] Diverse activities are involved in the
creation of music, and are often divided into categories
of composition, improvisation, and performance.[8] Music may
be performed using a wide variety of musical instruments,
including the human voice. It can also be composed,
sequenced, or otherwise produced to be indirectly played
mechanically or electronically, such as via a music box, barrel
organ, or digital audio workstation software on a computer.
Music often plays a key role in social events and religious
ceremony. The techniques of making music are often
transmitted as part of a cultural tradition. Music is played in
public and private contexts, highlighted at events such
as festivals and concerts for various different types of
ensembles. Music is used in the production of other media,
such as in soundtracks to films, TV shows, operas, and video
games.
Listening to music is a common means of entertainment. The
culture surrounding music extends into areas of academic
study, journalism, philosophy, psychology, and therapy.
The music industry includes songwriters, performers, sound
engineers, producers, tour organizers, distributors of
instruments, accessories, and publishers of sheet
music and recordings. Technology facilitating the recording
and reproduction of music has historically included sheet
music, microphones, phonographs, and tape machines, with
playback of digital musics being a common use for MP3
players, CD players, and smartphones.
Etymology and terminology

In Greek mythology, the

nine Muses were the inspiration for many creative endeavors, including the arts, and eventually
became closely aligned with music specifically.

The modern English word 'music' came into use in the 1630s.
[9]
It is derived from a long line of successive precursors:
the Old English 'musike' of the mid-13th century; the Old
French musique of the 12th century; and the Latin mūsica.[10][7]
[n 1]
The Latin word itself derives from the Ancient
Greek mousiké (technē)—μουσική (τέχνη)—literally meaning
"(art) of the Muses".[10][n 2] The Muses were
nine deities in Ancient Greek mythology who presided
over the arts and sciences.[13][14] They were included in tales by
the earliest Western authors, Homer and Hesiod,[15] and
eventually came to be associated with music specifically.
[14]
Over time, Polyhymnia would reside over music more
prominently than the other muses.[11] The Latin
word musica was also the originator for both the
Spanish música and French musique via spelling and
linguistic adjustment, though other European terms were
probably loanwords, including the Italian musica,
German Musik, Dutch muziek, Norwegian musikk,
Polish muzyka and Russian muzïka.[14]
The modern Western world usually defines music as an all-
encompassing term used to describe diverse genres, styles,
and traditions.[16] This is not the case worldwide, and
languages such as modern Indonesian (musik)
and Shona (musakazo) have recently adopted words to
reflect this universal conception, as they did not have words
that fit exactly the Western scope.[14] Before Western contact
in East Asia, neither Japan nor China had a single word that
encompasses music in a broad sense, but culturally, they
often regarded music in such a fashion.[17] The closest word to
mean music in Chinese, yue, shares a character with le,
meaning joy, and originally referred to all the arts before
narrowing in meaning.[17] Africa is too diverse to make firm
generalizations, but the musicologist J. H. Kwabena
Nketia has emphasized African music's often inseparable
connection to dance and speech in general.[18] Some African
cultures, such as the Songye people of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and the Tiv people of Nigeria, have a
strong and broad conception of 'music' but no corresponding
word in their native languages.[18] Other words commonly
translated as 'music' often have more specific meanings in
their respective cultures: the Hindi word for music, sangita,
properly refers to art music,[19] while the many Indigenous
languages of the Americas have words for music that refer
specifically to song but describe instrumental music
regardless.[20] Though the Arabic musiqi can refer to all music,
it is usually used for instrumental and metric music,
while khandan identifies vocal and improvised music.[21]
History
Main article: History of music
Origins and prehistory
Further information: Origins of music and Prehistoric music

Bone flute from Geissenklösterle, Germany, dated around c. 43,150–

[22]
39,370 BP.

It is often debated to what extent the origins of music will ever

be understood,[23] and there are competing theories that aim to
explain it.[24] Many scholars highlight a relationship between
the origin of music and the origin of language, and there is
disagreement surrounding whether music developed before,
after, or simultaneously with language.[25] A similar source of
contention surrounds whether music was the intentional result
of natural selection or was a byproduct spandrel of evolution.
[25]
The earliest influential theory was proposed by Charles
Darwin in 1871, who stated that music arose as a form
of sexual selection, perhaps via mating calls.[26] Darwin's
original perspective has been heavily criticized for its
inconsistencies with other sexual selection methods,[27] though
many scholars in the 21st century have developed and
promoted the theory.[28] Other theories include that music
arose to assist in organizing labor, improving long-distance
communication, benefiting communication with the divine,
assisting in community cohesion or as a defense to scare off
predators.[29]
Prehistoric music can only be theorized based on findings
from paleolithic archaeology sites. The disputed Divje Babe
flute, a perforated cave bear femur, is at least 40,000 years
old, though there is considerable debate surrounding whether
it is truly a musical instrument or an object formed by animals.
[30]
The earliest objects whose designations as musical
instruments are widely accepted are bone flutes from
the Swabian Jura, Germany, namely from
the Geissenklösterle, Hohle Fels and Vogelherd caves.
[31]
Dated to the Aurignacian (of the Upper Paleolithic) and
used by Early European modern humans, from all three caves
there are eight examples, four made from the wing bones of
birds and four from mammoth ivory; three of these are near
complete.[31] Three flutes from the Geissenklösterle are dated
as the oldest, c. 43,150–39,370 BP.[22][n 3]
Antiquity
Main article: Ancient music
The earliest material and representational evidence of
Egyptian musical instruments dates to the Predynastic period,
but the evidence is more securely attested in the Old
Kingdom when harps, flutes and double clarinets were
played.[32] Percussion instruments, lyres, and lutes were added
to orchestras by the Middle Kingdom. Cymbals[33] frequently
accompanied music and dance, much as they still do
in Egypt today. Egyptian folk music, including the
traditional Sufi dhikr rituals, are the closest
contemporary music genre to ancient Egyptian music, having
preserved many of its features, rhythms and instruments.[34][35]
The "Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal", found on clay tablets in the
ancient Syrian city of Ugarit, is the oldest surviving notated
work of music, dating back to approximately 1400 BCE.[36][37]
Music was an important part of social and cultural life
in ancient Greece, in fact it was one of the main subjects
taught to children. Musical education was considered
important for the development of an individual's soul.
Musicians and singers played a prominent role in Greek
theater,[38] and those who received a musical education were
seen as nobles and in perfect harmony (as can be read in
the Republic, Plato). Mixed gender choruses performed for
entertainment, celebration, and spiritual ceremonies.
[39]
Instruments included the double-reed aulos and a
plucked string instrument, the lyre, principally a special kind
called a kithara. Music was an important part of education,
and boys were taught music starting at age six. Greek
musical literacy created significant musical development.
Greek music theory included the Greek musical modes, that
eventually became the basis for
Western religious and classical music. Later, influences from
the Roman Empire, Eastern Europe, and the Byzantine
Empire changed Greek music. The Seikilos epitaph is the
oldest surviving example of a complete musical composition,
including musical notation, from anywhere in the world.[40] The
oldest surviving work written about music theory is Harmonika
Stoicheia by Aristoxenus.[41]
Asian cultures
Main article: Music of Asia
Asian music covers a swath of music cultures surveyed in the
articles on Arabia, Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia,
and Southeast Asia. Several have traditions reaching into
antiquity.

Indian women dressed in regional attire playing a variety of

musical instruments popular in different parts of India

Indian classical music is one of the oldest musical traditions in

the world.[42] Sculptures from the Indus Valley civilization show
dance[43] and old musical instruments, like the seven-holed
flute. Stringed instruments and drums have been recovered
from Harappa and Mohenjo Daro by excavations carried out
by Mortimer Wheeler.[44] The Rigveda, an ancient Hindu text,
has elements of present Indian music, with musical notation
to denote the meter and mode of chanting.[45] Indian classical
music (marga) is monophonic, and based on a single melody
line or raga rhythmically organized through talas. The
poem Cilappatikaram provides information about how new
scales can be formed by modal shifting of the tonic from an
existing scale.[46] Present day Hindi music was influenced
by Persian traditional music and Afghan Mughals. Carnatic
music, popular in the southern states, is largely devotional;
the majority of the songs are addressed to the Hindu deities.
There are songs emphasizing love and other social issues.

Indonesia is the home of gong chime, there are variants across

Indonesia, especially in Java and Bali.

Indonesian music has been formed since the Bronze

Age culture migrated to the Indonesian archipelago in the
2nd-3rd centuries BCE. Indonesian traditional music uses
percussion instruments, especially kendang and gongs. Some
of them developed elaborate and distinctive instruments, such
as the sasando stringed instrument on the island of Rote,
the Sundanese angklung, and the complex and
sophisticated Javanese and Balinese gamelan orchestras.
Indonesia is the home of gong chime, a general term for a set
of small, high pitched pot gongs. Gongs are usually placed in
order of note, with the boss up on a string held in a low
wooden frame. The most popular form of Indonesian music is
gamelan, an ensemble of tuned percussion instruments that
include metallophones, drums, gongs and spike fiddles along
with bamboo suling (like a flute).[47][48]
Chinese classical music, the traditional art or court music of
China, has a history stretching over about 3,000 years. It has
its own unique systems of musical notation, as well as
musical tuning and pitch, musical instruments and styles or
genres. Chinese music is pentatonic-diatonic, having a scale
of twelve notes to an octave (5 + 7 = 12) as does European-
influenced music.[49]
Western classical
Main article: Classical music
Early music

Breves dies hominis

Duration: 3 minutes and 32 seconds.3:32
by Léonin or Pérotin

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Musical notation from a Catholic Missal, c. 1310–1320

The medieval music era (500 to 1400), which took place

during the Middle Ages, started with the introduction
of monophonic (single melodic line) chanting into Catholic
Church services. Musical notation was used since ancient
times in Greek culture, but in the Middle Ages, notation was
first introduced by the Catholic Church, so chant melodies
could be written down, to facilitate the use of the same
melodies for religious music across the Catholic empire. The
only European Medieval repertory that has been found, in
written form, from before 800 is the
monophonic liturgical plainsong chant of the Catholic Church,
the central tradition of which was called Gregorian chant.
Alongside these traditions of sacred and church music there
existed a vibrant tradition of secular song (non-religious
songs). Examples of composers from this period
are Léonin, Pérotin, Guillaume de Machaut, and Walther von
der Vogelweide.[50][51][52][53]
Renaissance music (c. 1400 to 1600) was more focused on
secular themes, such as courtly love. Around 1450,
the printing press was invented, which made printed sheet
music much less expensive and easier to mass-produce (prior
to the invention of the press, all notated music was hand-
copied). The increased availability of sheet music spread
musical styles quicker and across a larger area. Musicians
and singers often worked for the church, courts and towns.
Church choirs grew in size, and the church remained an
important patron of music. By the middle of the 15th century,
composers wrote richly polyphonic sacred music, in which
different melody lines were interwoven simultaneously.
Prominent composers from this era include Guillaume Du
Fay, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Thomas
Morley, Orlando di Lasso and Josquin des Prez. As musical
activity shifted from the church to aristocratic courts, kings,
queens and princes competed for the finest composers. Many
leading composers came from the Netherlands, Belgium, and
France; they are called the Franco-Flemish composers.
[54]
They held important positions throughout Europe,
especially in Italy. Other countries with vibrant musical activity
included Germany, England, and Spain.
Common practice period
Baroque

Main article: Baroque music

Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
Duration: 8 minutes and 34 seconds.8:34
Toccata and Fugue by J.S. Bach

Problems playing this file? See media help.

J. S. Bach

The Baroque era of music took place from 1600 to 1750,

coinciding with the flourishing of the Baroque artistic style in
Europe. The start of the Baroque era was marked by the
penning of the first operas. Polyphonic contrapuntal music
(music with separate, simultaneous melodic lines) remained
important during this period. German Baroque composers
wrote for small ensembles including strings, brass,
and woodwinds, as well as for choirs and keyboard
instruments such as pipe organ, harpsichord, and clavichord.
Musical complexity increased during this time. Several major
musical forms were created, some of them which persisted
into later periods, seeing further development. These include
the fugue, the invention, the sonata, and the concerto.[55] The
late Baroque style was polyphonically complex and richly
ornamented. Important composers from the Baroque era
include Johann Sebastian Bach (Cello suites), George
Frideric Handel (Messiah), Georg Philipp
Telemann and Antonio Vivaldi (The Four Seasons).
Classicism

Main article: Classical period (music)

Symphony No. 40 G minor

Duration: 8 minutes and 14 seconds.8:14
Symphony 40 G minor by W.A. Mozart

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 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific and influential
composer of the Classical period.

The music of the Classical period (1730 to 1820) aimed to

imitate what were seen as the key elements of the art and
philosophy of Ancient Greece and Rome: the ideals of
balance, proportion and disciplined expression. (Note: the
music from the Classical period should not be confused with
Classical music in general, a term which refers to Western art
music from the 5th century to the 2000s, which includes the
Classical period as one of a number of periods). Music from
the Classical period has a lighter, clearer and considerably
simpler texture than the Baroque music which preceded it.
The main style was homophony,[56] where a
prominent melody and a subordinate
chordal accompaniment part are clearly distinct. Classical
instrumental melodies tended to be almost voicelike and
singable. New genres were developed, and the fortepiano,
the forerunner to the modern piano, replaced the Baroque
era harpsichord and pipe organ as the main keyboard
instrument (though pipe organ continued to be used in sacred
music, such as Masses).
Importance was given to instrumental music. It was
dominated by further development of musical forms initially
defined in the Baroque period: the sonata, the concerto, and
the symphony. Other main kinds were the trio, string
quartet, serenade and divertimento. The sonata was the most
important and developed form. Although Baroque composers
also wrote sonatas, the Classical style of sonata is completely
distinct. All of the main instrumental forms of the Classical
era, from string quartets to symphonies and concertos, were
based on the structure of the sonata. The instruments
used chamber music and orchestra became more
standardized. In place of the basso continuo group of the
Baroque era, which consisted of harpsichord, organ or lute
along with a number of bass instruments selected at the
discretion of the group leader (e.g., viol, cello, theorbo,
serpent), Classical chamber groups used specified,
standardized instruments (e.g., a string quartet would be
performed by two violins, a viola and a cello). The practice of
improvised chord-playing by the continuo keyboardist or lute
player, a hallmark of Baroque music, underwent a gradual
decline between 1750 and 1800.[57]
One of the most important changes made in the Classical
period was the development of public concerts. The
aristocracy still played a significant role in the sponsorship of
concerts and compositions, but it was now possible for
composers to survive without being permanent employees of
queens or princes. The increasing popularity of classical
music led to a growth in the number and types of orchestras.
The expansion of orchestral concerts necessitated the
building of large public performance spaces. Symphonic
music including symphonies, musical accompaniment to
ballet and mixed vocal/instrumental genres, such as opera
and oratorio, became more popular.[58][59][60]
The best known composers of Classicism are Carl Philipp
Emanuel Bach, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Johann Christian
Bach, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van
Beethoven and Franz Schubert. Beethoven and Schubert are
also considered to be composers in the later part of the
Classical era, as it began to move towards Romanticism.
Romanticism

Main article: Romantic music

Die Walküre
Duration: 27 minutes and 57 seconds.27:57
Die Walküre by Richard Wagner

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The piano was the centrepiece of social activity for middle-

class urbanites in the 19th century (Moritz von Schwind, 1868). The man at the piano is
composer Franz Schubert.

Romantic music (c. 1820 to 1900) from the 19th century had
many elements in common with the Romantic styles in
literature and painting of the era. Romanticism was an artistic,
literary, and intellectual movement was characterized by its
emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification
of all the past and nature. Romantic music expanded beyond
the rigid styles and forms of the Classical era into more
passionate, dramatic expressive pieces and songs. Romantic
composers such as Wagner and Brahms attempted to
increase emotional expression and power in their music to
describe deeper truths or human feelings. With
symphonic tone poems, composers tried to tell stories and
evoke images or landscapes using instrumental music. Some
composers promoted nationalistic pride with patriotic
orchestral music inspired by folk music. The emotional and
expressive qualities of music came to take precedence over
tradition.[61]
Romantic composers grew in idiosyncrasy, and went further
in the syncretism of exploring different art-forms in a musical
context, (such as literature), history (historical figures and
legends), or nature itself. Romantic love or longing was a
prevalent theme in many works composed during this period.
In some cases, the formal structures from the classical period
continued to be used (e.g., the sonata form used in string
quartets and symphonies), but these forms were expanded
and altered. In many cases, new approaches were explored
for existing genres, forms, and functions. Also, new forms
were created that were deemed better suited to the new
subject matter. Composers continued to develop opera and
ballet music, exploring new styles and themes.[38]
In the years after 1800, the music developed by Ludwig van
Beethoven and Franz Schubert introduced a more dramatic,
expressive style. In Beethoven's case, short motifs,
developed organically, came to replace melody as the most
significant compositional unit (an example is the distinctive
four note figure used in his Fifth Symphony). Later Romantic
composers such as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Antonín Dvořák,
and Gustav Mahler used more unusual chords and
more dissonance to create dramatic tension. They generated
complex and often much longer musical works. During the
late Romantic period, composers explored
dramatic chromatic alterations of tonality, such as extended
chords and altered chords, which created new sound "colors."
The late 19th century saw a dramatic expansion in the size of
the orchestra, and the Industrial Revolution helped to create
better instruments, creating a more powerful sound. Public
concerts became an important part of well-to-
do urban society. It also saw a new diversity in theatre music,
including operetta, and musical comedy and other forms of
musical theatre.[38]
20th and 21st century
Main article: 20th-century music
 Landman's 2006 Moodswinger, a 3rd-bridged overtone zither and an
example of experimental musical instruments

In the 19th century, a key way new compositions became

known to the public was by the sales of sheet music, which
middle class amateur music lovers would perform at home, on
their piano or other common instruments, such as the violin.
With 20th-century music, the invention of new electric
technologies such as radio broadcasting and mass
market availability of gramophone records meant sound
recordings heard by listeners (on the radio or record player)
became the main way to learn about new songs and pieces.
[62]
There was a vast increase in music listening as the radio
gained popularity and phonographs were used to replay and
distribute music; anyone with a radio or record player could
hear operas, symphonies and big bands in their own living
room. During the 19th century, the focus on sheet music had
restricted access to new music to middle and upper-class
people who could read music and who owned pianos and
other instruments. Radios and record players allowed lower-
income people, who could not afford an opera or symphony
concert ticket, to hear this music. As well, people could hear
music from different parts of the country, or even different
parts of the world, even if they could not afford to travel to
these locations. This helped to spread musical styles.[63]
The focus of art music in the 20th century was characterized
by exploration of new rhythms, styles, and sounds. The
horrors of World War I influenced many of the arts, including
music, and composers began exploring darker, harsher
sounds. Traditional music styles such as jazz and folk
music were used by composers as a source of ideas for
classical music. Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg,
and John Cage were influential composers in 20th-century art
music. The invention of sound recording and the ability to edit
music gave rise to new subgenres of classical music,
including the acousmatic[64] and Musique concrète schools of
electronic composition. Sound recording was a major
influence on the development of popular music genres,
because it enabled recordings of songs and bands to be
widely distributed. The introduction of the multitrack
recording system had a major influence on rock music,
because it could do more than record a band's performance.
Using a multitrack system, a band and their music producer
could overdub many layers of instrument tracks and vocals,
creating new sounds that would not be possible in a live
performance.[65][66]
Jazz evolved and became an important genre of music over
the course of the 20th century, and during the second half,
rock music did the same. Jazz is an American musical artform
that originated in the beginning of the 20th century, in African
American communities in the Southern United States from a
confluence of African and European music traditions. The
style's West African pedigree is evident in its use of blue
notes, improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation, and
the swung note.[67]

A selection of guitars and amps at Apple Music Row

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed in the

1950s from rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, and country music.
[68]
The sound of rock often revolves around the electric or
acoustic guitar, and it uses a strong back beat laid down by
a rhythm section. Along with the guitar or keyboards,
saxophone and blues-style harmonica are used as soloing
instruments. In its "purest form", it "has three chords, a strong,
insistent back beat, and a catchy melody."[69] The traditional
rhythm section for popular music is rhythm guitar, electric
bass guitar, drums. Some bands have keyboard instruments
such as organ, piano, or, since the 1970s, analog
synthesizers. In the 1980s, pop musicians began using digital
synthesizers, such as the DX-7 synthesizer, electronic drum
machines such as the TR-808 and synth bass devices (such
as the TB-303) or synth bass keyboards. In the 1990s, an
increasingly large range of computerized hardware musical
devices and instruments and software (e.g. digital audio
workstations) were used. In the 2020s, soft synths and
computer music apps make it possible for bedroom
producers to create and record types of music, such
as electronic dance music, in their home, adding sampled and
digital instruments and editing the recording digitally. In the
1990s, bands in genres such as nu metal began
including DJs in their bands. DJs create music by
manipulating recorded music, using a DJ mixer.[70][71]
Creation
Composition
Main article: Musical composition
 French Baroque music composer Michel Richard

Delalande (1657–1726), pen in hand People composing music

in 2013 using electronic keyboards and computers

"Composition" is the act or practice of creating a song,

an instrumental music piece, a work with both singing and
instruments, or another type of music. In many cultures,
including Western classical music, the act of composing also
includes the creation of music notation, such as a sheet
music "score", which is then performed by the composer or by
other singers or musicians. In popular music and traditional
music, the act of composing, which is typically called
songwriting, may involve the creation of a basic outline of the
song, called the lead sheet, which sets out
the melody, lyrics and chord progression. In classical music,
the composer typically orchestrates his or her own
compositions, but in musical theatre and in pop music,
songwriters may hire an arranger to do the orchestration. In
some cases, a songwriter may not use notation at all, and
instead, compose the song in her mind and then play or
record it from memory. In jazz and popular music, notable
recordings by influential performers are given the weight that
written scores play in classical music.[72][73]
Even when music is notated relatively precisely, as in
classical music, there are many decisions that a performer
has to make, because notation does not specify all of the
elements of music precisely. The process of deciding how to
perform music that has been previously composed and
notated is termed "interpretation". Different performers'
interpretations of the same work of music can vary widely, in
terms of the tempos that are chosen and the playing or
singing style or phrasing of the melodies. Composers and
songwriters who present their own music are interpreting their
songs, just as much as those who perform the music of
others. The standard body of choices and techniques present
at a given time and a given place is referred to
as performance practice, whereas interpretation is generally
used to mean the individual choices of a performer.[74]
Although a musical composition often uses musical
notation and has a single author, this is not always the case.
A work of music can have multiple composers, which often
occurs in popular music when a band collaborates to write a
song, or in musical theatre, when one person writes the
melodies, a second person writes the lyrics, and a third
person orchestrates the songs. In some styles of music, such
as the blues, a composer/songwriter may create, perform and
record new songs or pieces without ever writing them down in
music notation. A piece of music can also be composed with
words, images, or computer programs that explain or notate
how the singer or musician should create musical sounds.
Examples range from avant-garde music that uses graphic
notation, to text compositions such as Aus den sieben Tagen,
to computer programs that select sounds for musical pieces.
Music that makes heavy use of randomness and chance is
called aleatoric music,[75] and is associated with contemporary
composers active in the 20th century, such as John
Cage, Morton Feldman, and Witold Lutosławski. A commonly
known example of chance-based music is the sound of wind
chimes jingling in a breeze.
The study of composition has traditionally been dominated by
examination of methods and practice of Western classical
music, but the definition of composition is broad enough to
include the creation of popular music and traditional
music songs and instrumental pieces as well as
spontaneously improvised works like those of free
jazz performers and African percussionists such as Ewe
drummers.
Performance
Main article: Performance

Chinese Naxi musicians Ass

yrians playing zurna and Davul, instruments that go back thousands of years

Performance is the physical expression of music, which

occurs when a song is sung or piano piece, guitar melody,
symphony, drum beat or other musical part is played. In
classical music, a work is written in music notation by a
composer and then performed once the composer is satisfied
with its structure and instrumentation. However, as it gets
performed, the interpretation of a song or piece can evolve
and change. In classical music, instrumental performers,
singers or conductors may gradually make changes to the
phrasing or tempo of a piece. In popular and traditional music,
the performers have more freedom to make changes to the
form of a song or piece. As such, in popular and traditional
music styles, even when a band plays a cover song, they can
make changes such as adding a guitar solo or inserting an
introduction.[76]
A performance can either be planned out and rehearsed
(practiced)—which is the norm in classical music, jazz big
bands, and many popular music styles–or improvised over
a chord progression (a sequence of chords), which is the
norm in small jazz and blues groups. Rehearsals of
orchestras, concert bands and choirs are led by a conductor.
Rock, blues and jazz bands are usually led by the
bandleader. A rehearsal is a structured repetition of a song or
piece by the performers until it can be sung or played
correctly and, if it is a song or piece for more than one
musician, until the parts are together from a rhythmic and
tuning perspective.
Many cultures have strong traditions of solo performance (in
which one singer or instrumentalist performs), such as in
Indian classical music, and in the Western art-music tradition.
Other cultures, such as in Bali, include strong traditions of
group performance. All cultures include a mixture of both, and
performance may range from improvised solo playing to
highly planned and organized performances such as the
modern classical concert, religious processions, classical
music festivals or music competitions. Chamber music, which
is music for a small ensemble with only one or a few of each
type of instrument, is often seen as more intimate than large
symphonic works.[77]
Improvisation
Main article: Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creation of spontaneous music,
often within (or based on) a pre-existing harmonic
framework, chord progression, or riffs. Improvisers use the
notes of the chord, various scales that are associated with
each chord, and chromatic ornaments and passing tones
which may be neither chord tones nor from the typical scales
associated with a chord. Musical improvisation can be done
with or without preparation. Improvisation is a major part of
some types of music, such as blues, jazz, and jazz fusion, in
which instrumental performers improvise solos, melody lines,
and accompaniment parts.[78]
In the Western art music tradition, improvisation was an
important skill during the Baroque era and during the
Classical era. In the Baroque era, performers improvised
ornaments, and basso continuo keyboard players
improvised chord voicings based on figured bass notation. As
well, the top soloists were expected to be able to improvise
pieces such as preludes. In the Classical era, solo performers
and singers improvised virtuoso cadenzas during concerts.
However, in the 20th and early 21st century, as "common
practice" Western art music performance became
institutionalized in symphony orchestras, opera houses, and
ballets, improvisation has played a smaller role, as more and
more music was notated in scores and parts for musicians to
play. At the same time, some 20th and 21st century art
music composers have increasingly included improvisation in
their creative work. In Indian classical music, improvisation is
a core component and an essential criterion of performances.
Art and entertainment

Khatia Buniatishvili playing a grand piano

Music is composed and performed for many purposes,

ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial
purposes, or as an entertainment product for the marketplace.
When music was only available through sheet music scores,
such as during the Classical and Romantic eras, music lovers
would buy the sheet music of their favourite pieces and songs
so that they could perform them at home on the piano. With
the advent of the phonograph, records of popular songs,
rather than sheet music became the dominant way that music
lovers would enjoy their favourite songs. With the advent of
home tape recorders in the 1980s and digital music in the
1990s, music lovers could make tapes or playlists of favourite
songs and take them with them on a portable cassette
player or MP3 player. Some music lovers create mix tapes of
favourite songs, which serve as a "self-portrait, a gesture of
friendship, prescription for an ideal party... [and] an
environment consisting solely of what is most ardently loved".
[79]

Amateur musicians can compose or perform music for their

own pleasure and derive income elsewhere. Professional
musicians are employed by institutions and organisations,
including armed forces (in marching bands, concert
bands and popular music groups), religious institutions,
symphony orchestras, broadcasting or film
production companies, and music schools. Professional
musicians sometimes work as freelancers or session
musicians, seeking contracts and engagements in a variety of
settings. There are often many links between amateur and
professional musicians. Beginning amateur musicians
take lessons with professional musicians. In community
settings, advanced amateur musicians perform with
professional musicians in a variety of ensembles such as
community concert bands and community orchestras.
A distinction is often made between music performed for a
live audience and music that is performed in a studio so that it
can be recorded and distributed through the music retail
system or the broadcasting system. However, there are also
many cases where a live performance in front of an audience
is also recorded and distributed. Live concert recordings are
popular in both classical music and in popular music forms
such as rock, where illegally taped live concerts are prized by
music lovers. In the jam band scene, live, improvised jam
sessions are preferred to studio recordings.[80]
Notation
Main article: Musical notation

Sheet music is a written

representation of music. Homorhythmic (i.e., hymn-style) arrangement of the traditional "Adeste
Fideles" in standard two-staff format for mixed voices. playⓘ

Music notation typically means the written expression of

music notes and rhythms on paper using symbols. When
music is written down, the pitches and rhythm of the music,
such as the notes of a melody, are notated. Music notation
often provides instructions on how to perform the music. For
example, the sheet music for a song may state the song is a
"slow blues" or a "fast swing", which indicates the tempo and
the genre. To read notation, a person must have an
understanding of music theory, harmony and the performance
practice associated with a particular song or piece's genre.
Written notation varies with the style and period of music.
Nowadays, notated music is produced as sheet music or, for
individuals with computer scorewriter programs, as an image
on a computer screen. In ancient times, music notation was
put onto stone or clay tablets.[37] To perform music from
notation, a singer or instrumentalist requires an understanding
of the rhythmic and pitch elements embodied in the symbols
and the performance practice that is associated with a piece
of music or genre. In genres requiring musical improvisation,
the performer often plays from music where only the chord
changes and form of the song are written, requiring the
performer to have a great understanding of the music's
structure, harmony and the styles of a particular genre e.g.,
jazz or country music.
In Western art music, the most common types of written
notation are scores, which include all the music parts of an
ensemble piece, and parts, which are the music notation for
the individual performers or singers. In popular music, jazz,
and blues, the standard musical notation is the lead sheet,
which notates the melody, chords, lyrics (if it is a vocal piece),
and structure of the music. Fake books are also used in jazz;
they may consist of lead sheets or simply chord charts, which
permit rhythm section members to improvise
an accompaniment part to jazz songs. Scores and parts are
also used in popular music and jazz, particularly in large
ensembles such as jazz "big bands." In popular music,
guitarists and electric bass players often read music notated
in tablature (often abbreviated as "tab"), which indicates the
location of the notes to be played on the instrument using a
diagram of the guitar or bass fingerboard. Tablature was used
in the Baroque era to notate music for the lute, a stringed,
fretted instrument.[81]
Oral and aural tradition
Many types of music, such as traditional blues and folk
music were not written down in sheet music; instead, they
were originally preserved in the memory of performers, and
the songs were handed down orally, from one musician or
singer to another, or aurally, in which a performer learns a
song "by ear". When the composer of a song or piece is no
longer known, this music is often classified as "traditional" or
as a "folk song". Different musical traditions have different
attitudes towards how and where to make changes to the
original source material, from quite strict, to those that
demand improvisation or modification to the music. A culture's
history and stories may also be passed on by ear through
song.[82]
Elements
Main article: Elements of music
Music has many different fundamentals or elements.
Depending on the definition of "element" being used, these
can include pitch, beat or pulse, tempo, rhythm, melody,
harmony, texture, style, allocation of voices, timbre or color,
dynamics, expression, articulation, form, and structure. The
elements of music feature prominently in the music
curriculums of Australia, the UK, and the US. All three
curriculums identify pitch, dynamics, timbre, and texture as
elements, but the other identified elements of music are far
from universally agreed upon. Below is a list of the three
official versions of the "elements of music":
 Australia: pitch, timbre, texture, dynamics and expression,
rhythm, form and structure.[83]
 UK: pitch, timbre, texture, dynamics, duration, tempo,
structure.[84]
 USA: pitch, timbre, texture, dynamics, rhythm, form,
harmony, style/articulation.[85]
In relation to the UK curriculum, in 2013 the term:
"appropriate musical notations" was added to their list of
elements and the title of the list was changed from the
"elements of music" to the "inter-related dimensions of music".
The inter-related dimensions of music are listed as: pitch,
duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure, and
appropriate musical notations.[86]
The phrase "the elements of music" is used in a number of
different contexts. The two most common contexts can be
differentiated by describing them as the "rudimentary
elements of music" and the "perceptual elements of music".[n 4]
Pitch
Main article: Pitch (music)
Pitch is an aspect of a sound that we can hear, reflecting
whether one musical sound, note, or tone is "higher" or
"lower" than another musical sound, note, or tone. We can
talk about the highness or lowness of pitch in the more
general sense, such as the way a listener hears a piercingly
high piccolo note or whistling tone as higher in pitch than a
deep thump of a bass drum. We also talk about pitch in the
precise sense associated with
musical melodies, basslines and chords. Precise pitch can
only be determined in sounds that have a frequency that is
clear and stable enough to distinguish from noise. For
example, it is much easier for listeners to discern the pitch of
a single note played on a piano than to try to discern the pitch
of a crash cymbal that is struck.[91]
Melody
Main article: Melody

The melody to the traditional song "Pop Goes the Weasel" playⓘ

A melody, also called a "tune", is a series of pitches (notes)

sounding in succession (one after the other), often in a rising
and falling pattern. The notes of a melody are typically
created using pitch systems such as scales or modes.
Melodies also often contain notes from the chords used in the
song. The melodies in simple folk songs and traditional songs
may use only the notes of a single scale, the scale associated
with the tonic note or key of a given song. For example, a folk
song in the key of C (also referred to as C major) may have a
melody that uses only the notes of the C major scale (the
individual notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C; these are the
"white notes" on a piano keyboard. On the other
hand, Bebop-era jazz from the 1940s and contemporary
music from the 20th and 21st centuries may use melodies
with many chromatic notes (i.e., notes in addition to the notes
of the major scale; on a piano, a chromatic scale would
include all the notes on the keyboard, including the "white
notes" and "black notes" and unusual scales, such as
the whole tone scale (a whole tone scale in the key of C
would contain the notes C, D, E, F♯, G♯ and A♯). A low
musical line played by bass instruments, such as double
bass, electric bass, or tuba, is called a bassline.[92]
Harmony
Main article: Harmony
 A player performing a chord (combination of many
different notes) on a guitar

Harmony refers to the "vertical" sounds of pitches in music,

which means pitches that are played or sung together at the
same time to create a chord. Usually, this means the notes
are played at the same time, although harmony may also be
implied by a melody that outlines a harmonic structure (i.e., by
using melody notes that are played one after the other,
outlining the notes of a chord). In music written using the
system of major-minor tonality ("keys"), which includes most
classical music written from 1600 to 1900 and most Western
pop, rock, and traditional music, the key of a piece determines
the "home note" or tonic to which the piece generally
resolves, and the character (e.g. major or minor) of the scale
in use. Simple classical pieces and many pop and traditional
music songs are written so that all the music is in a single
key. More complex Classical, pop, and traditional music
songs and pieces may have two keys (and in some cases
three or more keys). Classical music from the Romantic era
(written from about 1820–1900) often contains multiple keys,
[93]
as does jazz, especially Bebop jazz from the 1940s, in
which the key or "home note" of a song may change every
four bars or even every two bars.[94]
Rhythm
Main article: Rhythm
Rhythm is the arrangement of sounds and silences in
time. Meter animates time in regular pulse groupings,
called measures or bars, which in Western classical, popular,
and traditional music often group notes in sets of two (e.g.,
2/4 time), three (e.g., 3/4 time, also known as Waltz time, or
3/8 time), or four (e.g., 4/4 time). Meters are made easier to
hear because songs and pieces often (but not always) place
an emphasis on the first beat of each grouping. Notable
exceptions exist, such as the backbeat used in much Western
pop and rock, in which a song that uses a measure that
consists of four beats (called 4/4 time or common time) will
have accents on beats two and four, which are typically
performed by the drummer on the snare drum, a loud and
distinctive-sounding percussion instrument. In pop and rock,
the rhythm parts of a song are played by the rhythm section,
which includes chord-playing instruments (e.g., electric guitar,
acoustic guitar, piano, or other keyboard instruments), a bass
instrument (typically electric bass or for some styles such
as jazz and bluegrass, double bass) and a drum kit player.[95]
Texture
Main article: Texture (music)
Musical texture is the overall sound of a piece of music or
song. The texture of a piece or song is determined by how the
melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic materials are combined in a
composition, thus determining the overall nature of the sound
in a piece. Texture is often described in regard to the density,
or thickness, and range, or width, between lowest and highest
pitches, in relative terms as well as more specifically
distinguished according to the number of voices, or parts, and
the relationship between these voices (see common types
below). For example, a thick texture contains many 'layers' of
instruments. One layer can be a string section or another
brass. The thickness is affected by the amount and the
richness of the instruments.[96] Texture is commonly described
according to the number of and relationship between parts or
lines of music:
 monophony: a single melody (or "tune") with neither
instrumental accompaniment nor a harmony part. A mother
singing a lullaby to her baby would be an example.
 heterophony: two or more instruments or singers
playing/singing the same melody, but with each performer
slightly varying the rhythm or speed of the melody or
adding different ornaments to the melody.
Two bluegrass fiddlers playing the same traditional fiddle
tune together will typically each vary the melody by some
degree and each add different ornaments.
 polyphony: multiple independent melody lines that
interweave together, which are sung or played at the same
time. Choral music written in the Renaissance music era
was typically written in this style. A round, which is a song
such as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", which different
groups of singers all start to sing at a different time, is an
example of polyphony.
 homophony: a clear melody supported
by chordal accompaniment. Most Western popular
music songs from the 19th century onward are written in
this texture.
Music that contains a large number of
independent parts (e.g., a double concerto accompanied by
100 orchestral instruments with many interweaving melodic
lines) is generally said to have a "thicker" or "denser" texture
than a work with few parts (e.g., a solo flute melody
accompanied by a single cello).
Timbre
Main article: Timbre

Spectrogram of the first second of an E9 suspended

chord played on a Fender Stratocaster guitar. Below is the E9 suspended chord audio: Duration:
13 seconds.0:13

Timbre, sometimes called "color" or "tone color" is the quality

or sound of a voice or instrument.[97] Timbre is what makes a
particular musical sound different from another, even when
they have the same pitch and loudness. For example, a
440 Hz A note sounds different when it is played on oboe,
piano, violin, or electric guitar. Even if different players of the
same instrument play the same note, their notes might sound
different due to differences in instrumental technique (e.g.,
different embouchures), different types of accessories (e.g.,
mouthpieces for brass players, reeds for oboe and bassoon
players) or strings made out of different materials for string
players (e.g., gut strings versus steel strings). Even two
instrumentalists playing the same note on the same
instrument (one after the other) may sound different due to
different ways of playing the instrument (e.g., two string
players might hold the bow differently).
The physical characteristics of sound that determine the
perception of timbre include the spectrum, envelope,
and overtones of a note or musical sound.
For electric instruments developed in the 20th century, such
as electric guitar, electric bass and electric piano, the
performer can also change the tone by adjusting equalizer
controls, tone controls on the instrument, and by
using electronic effects units such as distortion pedals. The
tone of the electric Hammond organ is controlled by
adjusting drawbars.
Expression
Expressive qualities are those elements in music that create
change in music without changing the main pitches or
substantially changing the rhythms of the melody and its
accompaniment. Performers, including singers and
instrumentalists, can add musical expression to a song or
piece by adding phrasing, by adding effects such
as vibrato (with voice and some instruments, such as guitar,
violin, brass instruments, and woodwinds), dynamics (the
loudness or softness of piece or a section of it), tempo
fluctuations (e.g., ritardando or accelerando, which are,
respectively slowing down and speeding up the tempo), by
adding pauses or fermatas on a cadence, and by changing
the articulation of the notes (e.g., making notes more
pronounced or accented, by making notes more legato, which
means smoothly connected, or by making notes shorter).
Expression is achieved through the manipulation of pitch
(such as inflection, vibrato, slides etc.), volume (dynamics,
accent, tremolo etc.), duration (tempo fluctuations, rhythmic
changes, changing note duration such as with legato and
staccato, etc.), timbre (e.g. changing vocal timbre from a light
to a resonant voice) and sometimes even texture (e.g.
doubling the bass note for a richer effect in a piano piece).
Expression therefore can be seen as a manipulation of all
elements to convey "an indication of mood, spirit, character
etc."[98] and as such cannot be included as a unique perceptual
element of music,[99] although it can be considered an
important rudimentary element of music.
Form
See also: Binary form, Ternary form, and Development
(music)

Sheet music notation for the chorus (refrain)

of the Christmas song "Jingle Bells" Jingle Bells refrain vector.midⓘ

In music, form describes the overall structure or plan of a

song or piece of music,[100] and it describes the layout of a
composition as divided into sections.[101] In the early 20th
century, Tin Pan Alley songs and Broadway musical songs
were often in AABA thirty-two-bar form, in which the A
sections repeated the same eight bar melody (with variation)
and the B section provided a contrasting melody or harmony
for eight bars. From the 1960s onward, Western pop and rock
songs are often in verse-chorus form, which comprises a
sequence of verse and chorus ("refrain") sections, with
new lyrics for most verses and repeating lyrics for the
choruses. Popular music often makes use of strophic form,
sometimes in conjunction with the twelve bar blues.[102]
In the tenth edition of The Oxford Companion to Music, Percy
Scholes defines musical form as "a series of strategies
designed to find a successful mean between the opposite
extremes of unrelieved repetition and unrelieved
alteration."[103] Examples of common forms of Western music
include the fugue, the invention, sonata-
allegro, canon, strophic, theme and variations, and rondo.
Scholes states that European classical music had only six
stand-alone forms: simple binary, simple ternary, compound
binary, rondo, air with variations, and fugue (although
musicologist Alfred Mann emphasized that the fugue is
primarily a method of composition that has sometimes taken
on certain structural conventions.[104])
Where a piece cannot readily be broken into sectional units
(though it might borrow some form from a poem, story
or programme), it is said to be through-composed. Such is
often the case with a fantasia, prelude, rhapsody, etude (or
study), symphonic poem, Bagatelle, impromptu or similar
composition.[105] Professor Charles Keil classified forms and
formal detail as "sectional, developmental, or variational."[106]
Philosophy
Main article: Philosophy of music
 The Woman in Red by Giovanni Boldini

The philosophy of music is the study of fundamental

questions regarding music and has connections with
questions in metaphysics and aesthetics. Questions include:
 What is the definition of music? (What are the necessary
and sufficient conditions for classifying something as
music?)
 What is the relationship between music and mind?
 What does music history reveal to us about the world?
 What is the connection between music and emotions?
 What is meaning in relation to music?
In ancient times, such as with the Ancient Greeks,
the aesthetics of music explored the mathematical
and cosmological dimensions of rhythmic and harmonic
organization. In the 18th century, focus shifted to the
experience of hearing music, and thus to questions about its
beauty and human enjoyment (plaisir and jouissance) of
music. The origin of this philosophic shift is sometimes
attributed to Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten in the 18th
century, followed by Immanuel Kant. Through their writing, the
ancient term 'aesthetics', meaning sensory perception,
received its present-day connotation. In the 2000s,
philosophers have tended to emphasize issues besides
beauty and enjoyment. For example, music's capacity to
express emotion has been foregrounded.[107]
In the 20th century, important contributions were made
by Peter Kivy, Jerrold Levinson, Roger Scruton, and Stephen
Davies. However, many musicians, music critics, and other
non-philosophers have contributed to the aesthetics of music.
In the 19th century, a significant debate arose
between Eduard Hanslick, a music critic and musicologist,
and composer Richard Wagner regarding whether music can
express meaning. Harry Partch and some
other musicologists, such as Kyle Gann, have studied and
tried to popularize microtonal music and the usage of
alternate musical scales. Modern composers like La Monte
Young, Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca paid much attention
to a scale called just intonation.[108][109][110]
It is often thought that music has the ability to affect
our emotions, intellect, and psychology; it can assuage our
loneliness or incite our passions.
The philosopher Plato suggests in The Republic that music
has a direct effect on the soul. Therefore, he proposes that in
the ideal regime music would be closely regulated by the
state (Book VII).[111] In Ancient China, the
philosopher Confucius believed that music and rituals or rites
are interconnected and harmonious with nature; he stated
that music was the harmonization of heaven and earth, while
the order was brought by the rites order, making them
extremely crucial functions in society.[112]