Music is the art of arranging sound. It is one of the universal
cultural aspects of all human societies.
Music may be defined with styles that emphasize, de-emphasize, or omit
common elements of organized sound, such as rhythm, volume and pitch.
Rhythm may be specified with tempos, sometimes organized using meters,
and often coordinating the variation and juxtaposition of pitch.
Individual sounds possess timbres or texture, which heavily contribute
to the music's overall character.
The relationships and divisions
between genres are inexact and sometimes hotly contested, as in
taxonomy. The mere existence or legitimacy of a genre may be a topic
of controversy. It is sometimes more valuable to categorize music by
era, scene, intent, or artistic inspiration. Individual periods of
music are separated into pieces, which can be categorized into
numerous traditions, such as songs, tracks, symphonies, or so forth.
Pieces may be composed and performed using a vast range of
instruments, including the human voice. There are solely instrumental
pieces, solely vocal pieces, pieces that combine singing and
instruments, pieces with no sound, randomly generated pieces, and even
pieces merely specifying an environment with no further sonic
organization. In some musical contexts, a performance or composition
may be to some extent improvised. Music may be deliberately composed to be unperformable, or
agglomerated electronically from many performances.
Like visual art and literature, music is widely created, appreciated,
academically studied and criticized, and has been for thousands of
years. Compositions, performances, and recordings are assessed and evaluated by music
critics, music journalists, and music scholars, as well as amateurs.
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