Portal:Music
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 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...)
General images -
Selected pictures
Related portals
Did you know (auto-generated)

- ... that the tenure of Edmund C. Stanton as director of the Metropolitan Opera featured the first United States performance of Wagner's Ring cycle?
- ... that baritone Simon Neal's 2020 performance as Don Pizarro in Beethoven's Fidelio included riding a horse on the stage of the Royal Opera House?
- ... that the radio program Radio City Music Hall of the Air employed approximately 10,000 musicians during the first eight years of its broadcast history?
- ... that baritone Ettore Verna twice "sang himself out of his pants" during a performance at the Boston Opera House, according to Billboard?
- ... that the publication of Paul Creston's saxophone sonata was delayed by a "rat with a toothbrush mustache"?
- ... that in 1994 Kazuyoshi Akiyama conducted the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in the first performance of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron with Japanese musicians?
Today's Birthdays
- Birthdays in Music: March 17
- John Sebastian, American songwriter, harmonica player, and founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, turns 81.
- Scott Gorham, American guitarist and songwriter with Thin Lizzy, turns 74.
- Mike Lindup, Brit keyboardist of Level 42 fame, turns 66.
- Billy Corgan, American guitarist, songwriter, and founding member of The Smashing Pumpkins and Zwan, turns 58.
- Melissa Auf der Maur, Canadian bassist for Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, turns 53.*
- Caroline Corr, Irish pianist and bodhrán player with The Corrs, turns 52.
- Justin Hawkins, Australian guitarist with The Darkness, turns 50.
- Chris Clemence, American bassist with RapScallions and Screaming At Demons, turns 39.
Categories
Explore
Connections
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
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus