Some have said that the difference between music and noise is that music is pleasing to the ear. That being said, you can't base something off of an opinion. Does this mean that music doesn't really exsist? Is it just something that we make up in out mind? If the "music" is so loud that it is no longer pleasing, then is it no longer music? Just a few thoughts.

In college music theory, we decided that best definition was "organized sound." This didn't seem to leave out anything that would be considered music in any genre or culture, without including what would be agreed by musicians to be "noise." Various definitions that include such ideas as "pleasing to the ear" are subjective - what is pleasing to my ear may not be pleasing to yours. Simply put, if you have organized sound, you have created music.

Food for thought about "organized sound"

'Pleasing to the ear' is to 'Pleasing sound'
as
'Organized by the ear' is to 'Organized sound'

My point:
Wouldn't "organized" be just as subjective as "pleasing"?

my instructor in drumline said something that really got us all. it was a rough day and no one wanted to really play. he said something like
"Ok what do you guys think mussic is? noise?" a couple of people nodded. then he said "ok how do you make it?" no one really said anything
this is the quote that makes me simle every timei hear it.
"Music is made with two thing, no not your right and left hands, but your head and your heart."
and we ran around something about preforming.

so my definition of music it noise that you make with your head and your heart, preforming it to the best you can.

Music - a feeling we produce to let all our emotions out, something that can only be described as "a friend you can always go to when times are tough"...and you're able to get away from everything besides YOU and YOUR MUSIC!

Music - LIFE

Almost 3 years later...I'd like to post a slightly revised version of an earlier definition I had come up with. A definition stands true unless otherwise unproven. Can you think of any examples that might disprove this theory or verbage that would strengthen the concepts in this definition?

Music is authentic or implied sound/silence that is interpreted by a listener as purposefully organized based on cultural, academic, and archetypal standards.

Examples of Archetypal standards: pitch, rythymn, contour.
Examples of Cultural standards: Tonality in Western Music, Instruments utilized (characteristic sounds), typical instrumentation
Examples of Academic standards: A learned higher standard of cultural or archetypal standards, music that is based on theory (e.g. pieces derived from tone rows)

Corollary Number One:

The attempt to organize sounds/silence in a way to be perceived as music is the art of composition.

Corollary Number Two:

The various genres of music can be grouped into general categories of music, or musical languages.

Corollary Number Three:

A Musical language is a general set of cultural, academic, and archetypal elements that influence the style of a musical composition.

Corollary Number Four:

The attempt to make musical language accessible in written form is the art of musical notation.

Corollary Number Five:

A music system is an organized way to notate music.

Corollary Number Five:

The attempt to recreate the notated sounds and implied silence of a musical composition is the art of musical performance.


-Adam T.

Music = One among 'hard-to-explain' things in life. Just like air, Music is everywhere.

Easy question.

The manipulation of silence.