Contents

 1Etymology
 2As a form of art or entertainment
o 2.1Composition
o 2.2Notation
o 2.3Improvisation
o 2.4Theory
 3Elements
o 3.1Rudimentary elements
o 3.2Perceptual elements
o 3.3Analysis of styles
o 3.4Description of elements
 3.4.1Pitch and melody
 3.4.2Harmony and chords
 3.4.3Rhythm
 3.4.4Texture
 3.4.5Timbre or "tone color"
 3.4.6Expression
 3.4.7Form
 4History
o 4.1Early history
o 4.2Ancient Egypt
o 4.3Asian cultures
o 4.4References in the Bible
o 4.5Ancient Greece
o 4.6Middle Ages
o 4.7Renaissance
o 4.8Baroque
o 4.9Classicism
o 4.10Romanticism
o 4.1120th and 21st century music
 5Performance
o 5.1Oral and aural tradition
o 5.2Ornamentation
 6Philosophy and aesthetics
 7Psychology
o 7.1Cognitive neuroscience of music
o 7.2Cognitive musicology
o 7.3Psychoacoustics
o 7.4Evolutionary musicology
o 7.5Culture in music cognition
 8Sociological aspects
o 8.1Role of women
 9Media and technology
o 9.1Internet
 10Business
o 10.1Intellectual property laws
 11Education
 o 11.1Non-professional
o 11.2Professional training
 11.2.1Undergraduate
 11.2.2Graduate
 11.2.3Musicology
 11.2.4Music theory
 11.2.5Zoomusicology
 11.2.6Ethnomusicology
 12Music therapy
 13See also
 14References
 15Further reading
 16External links

Etymology

In Greek mythology, the nine Muses were the inspiration for many creative endeavors, including the arts.

The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike; "art of the Muses").[1] In Greek mythology, the
nine Muses were the goddesses who inspired literature, science, and the arts and who were the
source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, song-lyrics, and myths in the Greek culture.
According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, the term "music" is derived from "mid-13c., musike,
from Old French musique (12c.) and directly from Latin musica "the art of music," also including
poetry (also [the] source of Spanish música, Italian musica, Old High German mosica,
German Musik, Dutch muziek, Danish musik)." This is derived from the "...Greek mousike
(techne) "(art) of the Muses," from fem. of mousikos "pertaining to the Muses," from Mousa "Muse"
(see muse (n.)). Modern spelling [dates] from [the] 1630s. In classical Greece, [the term "music"
refers to] any art in which the Muses presided, but especially music and lyric poetry."[6]