eHow launches Android app: Get the best of eHow on the go.

  • Bookmark and Share

Music

    Music Editor's Picks

    • Music Festivals in May

      May is the most active month of the year for music festivals, with the Memorial Day weekend especially popular as the official start of summer in America. The variety of music festivals in May is nearly unlimited, with a wide range of styles, genres and locations. more »

    • How to Become a Music Engineer

      Music engineers, also known as recording engineers assemble, utilize and service sound equipment used to generate music for all media including television, music, movies, video games and the Internet. They work in recording studios, television studios, on movie sets and numerous other environments where music needs to be created,... more »

    • What Is Cajun Music?

      Cajun music, though rooted deep in Louisiana, has a long history that begins with the Acadian people of Nova Scotia. Fiddles are heavily featured in Cajun music, and lyrics are often sung in French. Over time, different styles and variations have grown and gained popularity, but all forms of Cajun music share certain rhythmic,... more »

    • About Jewish Music

      Jewish culture has a long history of music, both sacred and secular. Like many religions, Judaism incorporates music and singing into its rituals and practices. Secular Jewish society also uses music to celebrate and entertain. more »

    • Becoming a Music Producer

      Do you want to become a music producer? Here are the steps to make that dream come true. No matter what music scene you'd like to work your way into, the beginning steps are all the same. With dedication and hard work backed up by a big dream, you may very well find success. more »

    Music Quick Guides

    • About Jazz Music

      Jazz is an American musical genre that can be appreciated on many levels. It has a rich...

    • Sheet Music Basics

      The ability to read sheet music is essential for recreating musical details in the most...

    • Jam Out with Music Recording

      You might wonder why some singers sound different on an album than they do live at a concert....

    • Decorate for a Party

      Besides the food and guests, decorations are definitely an important, but sometimes overlooked,...

    Music Articles

    • What Is Marching Music?

      If you've attended many local parades or watched your share of football halftime shows, chances are you've witnessed a few performances of... more »

    • How to Waltz With Music

      The waltz is a staple of ballroom dance. It can be danced to classical piece of music like "The Danube Waltz," a traditional tune like "The... more »

    • How to Write Music

      Music is one of the oldest ways of communication and expression known to man. Composers in the making often want to know how to write music. To... more »

    • How to Become a Music Arranger

      Music arrangers adapt melody lines or more complex compositions for voices or instruments, contributing a certain performance style that was... more »

    • How to Use a Music Education

      An education in music is a specialized education in that the student emerges with knowledge essentially in a single subject. Yet there are many... more »

    Wikipedia

    Music

    Music is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music 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 μουσική (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. Within "the arts", music may be classified as a performing art, a fine art, and auditory art.

    To many people in many cultures music is an important part of their way of life. Greek philosophers and ancient 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." According to musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez, "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, except that it is sound through time."Nattiez 1990: 47-8, 55

    History

    Prehistoric eras
    Ancient music can only be imagined by scholars, based on findings from a range of paleolithic sites, such as bones in which lateral holes read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music

    Related Ads

    Music People & Community

    Connect with people who share your interest by joining one of our Groups:

    Topic Contributors
    Get Free Arts & Entertainment Newsletters

    Copyright © 1999-2009 eHow, Inc. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the eHow Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.   en-US Portions of this page are modifications based on work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.

    Demand Media