What is Music?

[mobius017]

So, I was talking with someone a little bit ago, and our conversation somehow made it over to the question of what music is. I thought it'd be fun to discuss it here, too, since most/all of us like music, want to make music, etc.

We were basically trying to determine the breadth of what music is/isn't. So, for example, does music include things like construction sounds, wind, outdoor chimes, rain? What about the chanting done in some kinds of temples to induce a trance/meditation state? Or the cries/songs of animals? What about speech, songs, or the sounds of instruments?

We never really did come to a decision, which is part of why I thought it'd be fun to see what everyone here thinks!

Personally, the definition of music I've come to have is this: music is a group of sounds that have been deliberately arranged to achieve an aesthetic effect. I'm sure there will be people with other opinions, though. So please, discuss!

 

[Daveybear_HTID]

OKAY.
SO.
Music, is what you said and so much MOAR.
It's a language, imho.
It's the use of sounds to convey a message; to express one's inner most feelings; to release that which is overflowing within.
I feel at home when I listen to music. I feel enveloped in it. It sometimes transports me away, if I'm able to not give a DAYUM about where I am (especially if I have my head-/earphones with me.
As for the language part: just as we specify certain symbols indicate certain sounds, so, too, do we specify our desired sounds with musical notation.
Music can tell stories, express emotions, and it's a creative outlet for people.
In addtion to being a language, in my subjective opinion, Music is also something I believe to be deeply rooted to the soul (if you're into that sorta thing).
とにかく/Tonikaku, esos son mis pensamientos, and I hope this was sufficient :3

 

[mobius017]

Hey, cool! Glad you replied to this topic!

As for the language part: just as we specify certain symbols indicate certain sounds, so, too, do we specify our desired sounds with musical notation.

I thought it was interesting that you brought up the language aspect of music. Music does have a variety of symbolism/notation systems of its own--Western written notation, tabs for guitars, probably others used in different places. In fact, Western notation hasn't always been the same; it's been evolving over time. So there have been even other notation languages before.

More to what you were saying, though, music is certainly able to represent people's ideas using sound. And it seems to do so in a way that is more systematic/cohesive than I might've thought at first. For example, people seem to generally regard a major scale as having a "happy" sound, and a minor scale as having a "sad" sound. On a level more specific than simply happy/sad, there was some research done surrounding how people can seem to interpret an emotional context from particular sounds/shapes; one finding from this study was that people tended to agree when making these interpretations.

Of course, getting back to the major/minor thing, AFAIK major/minor are Western concepts, and they may not apply to other groups whose music tradition is different. Probably those people have other sounds that they regard as happy/sad.

In addtion to being a language, in my subjective opinion, Music is also something I believe to be deeply rooted to the soul (if you're into that sorta thing).

Could be! People have been making music for a long time!

I've even observed animals to seem to have different preferences regarding music. For one possibly extreme example, take this case (detailed article here).