My Music Q&A

Music is defined by the wikipedia article in several different ways: organized sound, language, a subjective experience, a result of social construct, and a category of perception. The first three are most clear and understandable, the last two seem a little more abstract and difficult to grasp.

Music as organized sound is something that anyone who has played an instrument or sang a song, or even appreciated a musical work. A primary example of this would be orchestra music -- nothing seems to be more organized than that. Music as language, though a little abstract, is still understood. I have countless times felt as though music could say what I was feeling more than I ever could. Music is often said to “tell a story,” a selection of language that is not an accident. Music as a subjective experience is the theory that I most subscribe to. This thought is that what music is depends upon the individual listeners.

Music as a result of a social construct is a post-modern idea. Music is different across cultures, and in some languages there isn’t even a blanket word for music, and I feel that this is because it should not be blanketed. The use of a blanket term calls into question something that cannot really be answered or defined. Music as a category of perception is a study of the cognitive aspects of music. The Wiki article states “music is not merely the sound, or the perception of sound, but a means by which perception, action, and memory are organize.” Dance falls into this category, gestures guided by music.

After reading the article, I still feel strongly that music is a subjective thing, but it is also many other things: it is a result of social construct, to an extent; it is the organization of sound, to an extent; it is a cognitive experience; it is an offshoot of language. It is impossible to apply a general blanket definition to music, it is such a wiggly concept that there’s just no way to do it.


And my questions:
1. What’s the difference between music and noise?
2. Why do people listen to music, whatever they define it to be?


I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’ - Kurt Vonnegut