Music (I)

Compile definitions of music. See if any satisfy. Because it’s a damn strange, nay eery, activity. Such a variety, a stream of warblings, jumble of tongues, clatter of sighs.

Encarta definition:

mu·sic n
1. sounds, usually produced by instruments or voices, that are arranged or played in order to create a pleasing or stimulating effect
2. the art of arranging or making sounds, usually those of musical instruments or voices, in groups and patterns that create a pleasing or stimulating effect
3. music of a particular type, for example, of a particular place or time, for a particular instrument, of a particular style, or appealing to a particular group
4. written notation on paper indicating the pitch, duration, rhythm, and tone of notes to be played
5. any sound or group of sounds that is pleasing or stimulating
6. a group of musicians (archaic)

Ornette Coleman’s definition (which I like a lot):

“I think music itself is an idea. It’s not a style, it’s not a race, it’s just an idea. And everybody has ideas. That’s why music is so free for people to cherish, and so open – because it’s how the idea is affecting you, and how you express what it means to you, regardless of what the style is.”(The Wire, July 2005)