The Music Portal
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all human societies. Definitions of music vary widely in substance and approach. While scholars agree that music is defined by a small number of specific elements, there is no consensus as to what these necessary elements are. Music is often characterized as a highly versatile medium for expressing human creativity. Diverse activities are involved in the creation of music, and are often divided into categories of composition, improvisation, and performance. Music may be performed using a wide variety of musical instruments, including the human voice. It can also be composed, sequenced, or otherwise produced to be indirectly played mechanically or electronically, such as via a music box, barrel organ, or digital audio workstation software on a computer.
Music often plays a key role in social events and religious ceremony. The techniques of making music are often transmitted from as part of a cultural tradition. Music is played in public and private contexts, highlighted at events such as festivals and concerts for various different types of ensembles. Music is used in the production of other media, such as in soundtracks to films, TV shows, operas, and video games.
Listening to music is a common means of entertainment. The culture surrounding music extends into areas of academic study, journalism, philosophy, psychology, and therapy. The music industry includes songwriters, performers, sound engineers, producers, tour organizers, distributors of instruments, accessories, and publishers of sheet music and recordings. Technology facilitating the recording and reproduction of music has historically included sheet music, microphones, phonographs, and tape machines, with playback of digital musics being a common use for MP3 players, CD players, and smartphones. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that a will bequeathing the Chestnut Street Opera House to the University of Pennsylvania was contested at the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania?
- ... that Oksana Lyniv founded the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in 2016 and conducted them in thirty concerts across ten music festivals in 2022?
- ... that Max Weil, founder of the Halifax Symphony Orchestra, spent his later years in real estate?
- ... that one critic interpreted a SZA song as being about her fears about the growing influence of AI in the music industry?
- ... that the Soviet soprano Tamara Milashkina performed alongside her husband Vladimir Atlantov at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1975?
- ... that Felipe Lara's Pulitzer finalist Double Concerto turns its soloists into a "many-tentacled creature"?
Today's Birthdays
- Birthdays in Music: July 18
- Dion DiMucci, American rock, folk & blues singer and songwriter and former member of Dion and the Belmonts, turns 85.
- Brian Auger, Indian organist and keyboardist with The Mahavishnu Orchestra, turns 85.
- Roger Sellers, Aussie drummer for Brit jazz-rock act, Nucleus, turns 85.
- Martha Reeves, American R&B lead vocalist for Martha & the Vandellas, turns 83.
- Evie Sands, American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, turns 78.
- Cesar Zuiderwijk, Dutch drummer with Golden Earring, turns 74.
- Richard Branson, English entrepreneur, founder of Virgin Records, turns 74.
- Ricky Skaggs, American country music star, turns 70.
- Terry Chambers, Brit drummer and founding member of XTC, turns 69.
- Lynn Seaton, renowned sideman and Oklahoma native, turns 67.
- Nigel Twist, Welsh drummer with The Alarm, turns 66.
- Jack Irons, American drummer (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, and Eleven), turns 62.
- Gruff Rhys, Welsh vocalist with Super Furry Animals, turns 54.
- Daron Malakian, American guitarist with System of a Down, turns 49.
- Tony Fagenson, American drummer for Eve 6, turns 46.
- Ryan Cabrera, American musician and TV personality, turns 42.
- Karina Pasian, American singer and pianist, turns 33.
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WikiProjects connected with music: WikiProject Music – Songs – Albums – Alternative music - Classical music – Composers – Contemporary Christian music – Contemporary music – Electronic music – Emo music – Hip hop – Instruments – Led Zeppelin - Metal music – Jazz – Musicians – Opera – Panic at the Disco – Powderfinger (band) – Punk music – Record Labels – Record Production – Rock music – R&B and Soul Music – Terminology – The Beatles
Create a requested article: See the list of Requested articles.
Improve an article: See the Music Noticeboard for a list of tasks.
Start a music course: School of Music at Wikiversity
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