Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound and silence. The common elements of music are
pitch (which governs
melody and
harmony),
rhythm (and its associated concepts
tempo,
meter, and
articulation),
dynamics (loudness and softness), and the sonic qualities of
timbre and
texture (which are sometimes termed the "color" of a musical sound). Different
styles or types of music may emphasize, de-emphasize or omit some of these elements. Music is performed with a vast range of
instruments and with vocal techniques ranging from
singing to
rapping, and there are solely
instrumental pieces,
solely vocal pieces and pieces that combine singing and instruments. The word derives from
Greek (
mousike; "art of the
Muses"). In its most general form, the activities describing music as an art form include the production of works of music (songs, tunes, symphonies, and so on), the
criticism of music, the
study of the history of music, and the
aesthetic examination of music.
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."
