by Jesse Tanenblatt

Created on: March 14, 2009

What is music? A very complex question indeed. Is it a series of notes linked to a melody? Is it a feeling that drives creation? There really isn't one answer to this question. But perhaps one of the simplest answers, is to answer in a way that is inclusive of all things considered music.

In essence, music is anything that is listened to, or created, either with sound, or the absence there of, so long as it is done in a way that is perceived as music to the listener. Normally requiring a technique called active listening. Active listening means only that the listener is doing so with intent. By this definition, Music can be anything, even silence as observed in the piece 4:33 by John Cage. It could be a car crashing down to the street from the roof of a building, or a Bach string quartet and anything in between.

But what draws the line between music and noise? Thats an even simpler answer, the listener. Many older people think of modern music as nothing but noise. But what was the music of theirtime, may have been considered noise by the previous generation. At one point, one of the most beautiful intervals as perceived by most music listeners, the major third, was considered a horrid sound. That was however, before modern tuning systems. These tuning systems sound great today, but at one point would have made the music sound awful to the generation of people listening to it.

Music is not just about the listener though, it can be also about performance. Music can be a method of expression, but that doesn't mean someone has to pick up an instrument, or sing a song. Anything can be performed in a way that can be seen as music. It could be a poem, it could be banging on a desk, it could mean listening to the sounds a persons car makes as they drive it. Anything a person can do to express themselves in some way using sound of any kind can be construed as music. A perfect example of this is the theatrical group STOMP. They use garbage cans, and other household items to create music. Other people have taken vehicle engines and used programs to change the speed the engine runs generating pitch. Examples of this can be seen on You Tube.

It is not necessary to put a specific answer to this question, because no one answer exists. Only the person who is the creator or listener really can judge the definition of music as he or she feels fit to do, Thus this is why music, is anything that is listened to or created with the intent that it be music.

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