Music is an art form that employs rhythm, melody, harmony and color to express ideas and emotions. Its many forms include singing, playing an instrument, composing, and listening.
Historically, music has been used as entertainment for its own sake, but also as accompaniment to other types of distinct artforms such as theatre and cinema, and in a variety of other contexts including religious services, ceremonies, and political movements. It has been used to strengthen government power, sell cars, foment revolution, convert souls, and inspire reverence for a religion. In addition, it has been used as a way to relax and enjoy oneself, whether by singing in the shower or humming a favorite tune while cleaning or cooking. The most ancient known musical instruments are percussive — stones, shells, and bones — and melodic — the human voice and simple acoustic instruments such as flutes, harpsichords and stringed lutes. Music can be recorded on a variety of media, including sheet music, vinyl records and CDs, and on the Internet in digitized recordings of classical performances or contemporary popular music.
Some musicians have a gift for conveying their own emotional states through music, while others are merely talented at entertaining an audience with a well-performed song or performance. Regardless of their level of talent, all musicians can be considered artists, and some of them are even able to create their own musical works. These are called compositions, and they are the apex of the artistic process. Creating a composition involves arranging musical parts in a meaningful pattern that includes a beginning, middle and end (form). Some composers write out their works using notation, which is a written system for recording the sounds of a musical piece on a sheet of paper so that it can be played by other musicians. Other composers create their works by improvising with other musicians, a tradition that is most famous in Jazz and has produced virtuoso artists such as Thelonious Monk.
Music has been an integral part of every culture throughout history and has numerous practical uses. It can make physical activity more enjoyable by changing heart rates and blood pressure, increasing the duration and intensity of exercise, promoting relaxation, and helping people concentrate and learn better. It can also be used to communicate with other people, even when their spoken languages are mutually incomprehensible.
Although it may be difficult to agree on a precise definition of music, most scholars do agree that it is a cultural construct with various functions and meanings. Some researchers have suggested that musical concepts such as emotion, meaning and perception are dependent upon the context in which they occur. It is therefore important for students of music to understand that any particular work of music reflects the society in which it was created. For example, the music of Beethoven reflected the values of the German Enlightenment, while the music of the Beatles reflected a counter-cultural rebellion against Victorian morality.