Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives from Greek μ (mousike; “art of the Muses”).
The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music vary according to culture and social context. Music ranges from strictly organized compositions (and their recreation in performance), through improvisational music to aleatoric forms. Music can be divided into genres and subgenres, although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individual interpretation, and occasionally controversial.
Music’s a good thing, It calms the beast in the man. — Joseph Stalin
Within “the arts”, music may be classified as a performing art, a fine art, and auditory art. It may also be divided among “art music” and “folk music”. There is also a strong connection between music and mathematics. Music may be played and heard live, may be part of a dramatic work or film, or may be recorded.
To many people in many cultures, music is an important part of their way of life.
Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as “the harmony of the spheres” and “it is music to my ears” point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, “There is no noise, only sound.” Musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez summarizes the relativist, post-modern viewpoint: “The border between music and noise is always culturally defined—which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus. By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be.”
Without music, life would be a mistake. ― Friedrich Nietzsche
Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. ― Victor Hugo
Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence. ― Robert Fripp
Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up. ― Hans Christian Andersen
After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. ― Aldous Huxley
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. ― Plato
Music is the universal language of mankind. ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between. ― Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Music is everybody’s business. It’s only the publishers who think people own it. ― John Lennon Music in the soul can be heard by the universe. ― Lao Tzu
Music, when healthy, is the teacher of perfect order, and when depraved, the teacher of perfect disorder. ― John Ruskin
Music is well said to be the speech of angels. ― Thomas Carlyle
Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune. ― Thomas Fuller
One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. ― Bob Marley