Musics

Music is organized sound and silence over time. It encompasses a wide range of practices, genres, and contexts, including ritual, entertainment, worship, and art. While music is typically treated as a single global phenomenon, scholars sometimes use the plural musics to refer to distinct musical traditions or systems, such as the musics of Africa, of the Middle East, or of the Americas, each with its own histories, concepts, and practices.

Core elements of music include melody (pitch organization), harmony (combinations of pitches), rhythm (timing and pattern), timbre (tone color), dynamics (loudness variation), texture (how voices and instruments interact), and form (overall structure). Performance, composition, and improvisation are common modes of musical creation and transmission. Notation systems, from ancient neumes to modern staff notation, serve as a record and planning tool, though much music also relies on oral transmission.

Music history spans ancient to contemporary periods. It is shaped by technology, institutions, and social change: notation, printing, phonographs, radio, recordings, streaming, and digital production. Music often functions in ceremonies and community life, while also serving personal expression and industry. Globalization has increased cross-cultural exchange, remix practices, and collaboration across genres.

Genres and practices are diverse, including classical, folk, popular, traditional, jazz, electronic, and experimental music. Instruments vary widely, from voice and percussion to keyboards, strings, and digital interfaces. Musicology, ethnomusicology, and music education study music's forms and meanings; preservation and access are supported by archives, libraries, and online repositories.