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Art Form

Music

Musical Forms

Music is the art of organizing vocal or instrumental sound for beauty of form or emotional expression, shaped by a culture's standards of rhythm, melody and, in most Western traditions, harmony. Its true origins are prehistoric and undocumented; plausible theories hold that it began as primitive communication, as an aid to coordinate communal labor, or as an adjunct to religious ceremony, and none is settled fact. The tradition shaping Western music traces to the Fertile Crescent, where Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Hebrew cultures developed musical practices absorbed by the Greeks, who along with the Sumerians, Egyptians and Romans built the first surviving aesthetic theories and formal musical systems, transmitted through Rome into western Europe. Out of this base grew the European lineage of notated, harmonically organized music, from medieval chant and polyphony through the ornamented Baroque, the balanced Classical era, the emotionally charged Romantic symphony and song, and into the twentieth century's break with traditional tonality. In the twentieth century a largely improvisatory tradition, jazz, emerged from African American communities in the United States and became one of the most influential musical developments of the modern era.

Facts
Medium
Sound produced by the human voice or by musical instruments, organized according to cultural conventions of rhythm, melody and, in most Western music, harmony. 1
Signature Technique
Polyphonic counterpoint: separate, simultaneous melodic lines sounded together, a technique central to the Baroque era and to Western classical music generally. 2
Place of Origin
Southwestern Germany; the oldest surviving musical instruments, bone and ivory flutes recovered from the Geissenklosterle cave, are dated to roughly 43,150 to 39,370 years before the present. 2
Notable Example
The Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal, found on clay tablets in the ancient Syrian city of Ugarit and dated to about 1400 BC, the oldest surviving notated work of music. 2
Connections

Associated With

Basso Continuo, Artistic Techniques

basso continuo is a technique of the music art form.

Call and Response, Artistic Techniques

call and response is a technique of the music art form.

Counterpoint, Artistic Techniques

counterpoint is a technique of the music art form.

Dance, Art Forms
Dance, Art Forms
Film, Art Forms
Fugue, Artistic Techniques

fugue is a technique of the music art form.

Gamelan, Art Forms
Ostinato, Artistic Techniques

ostinato is a technique of the music art form.

Pizzicato, Artistic Techniques

pizzicato is a technique of the music art form.

Sprechstimme, Artistic Techniques

sprechstimme is a technique of the music art form.

Genre Of

1812 Overture, Works

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A German Requiem, Works

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A Love Supreme, Works

Entity-backed identity for the genre enum value this work already carries, resolved to an arts art-form by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The genre fact itself, with its own citation, stays on the work unchanged.

Bolero (Ravel), Works

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Brandenburg Concertos, Works

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Carmen, Works

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Clarinet Concerto (Mozart), Works

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Erlkonig, Works

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Goldberg Variations, Works

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Gretchen am Spinnrade, Works

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Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Liszt), Works

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Kind of Blue, Works

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L'Orfeo, Works

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Madama Butterfly, Works

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Mass in B minor, Works

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Messiah (Handel), Works

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Ninth Symphony, Works

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Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2, Works

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Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff), Works

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Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Works

Entity-backed identity for the genre enum value this work already carries, resolved to an arts art-form by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The genre fact itself, with its own citation, stays on the work unchanged.

Requiem (Mozart), Works

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Rhapsody in Blue, Works

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Symphony No. 2 (Mahler), Works

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Symphony No. 5, Works

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Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven), Works

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Symphony No. 9 (Dvorak), Works

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The Creation (Haydn), Works

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The Four Seasons (Vivaldi), Works

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The Magic Flute, Works

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The Rite of Spring, Works

Entity-backed identity for the genre enum value this work already carries, resolved to an arts art-form by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The genre fact itself, with its own citation, stays on the work unchanged.

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Works

Entity-backed identity for the genre enum value this work already carries, resolved to an arts art-form by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The genre fact itself, with its own citation, stays on the work unchanged.

Tristan und Isolde, Works

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What a Wonderful World, Works

Entity-backed identity for the genre enum value this work already carries, resolved to an arts art-form by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The genre fact itself, with its own citation, stays on the work unchanged.

Movements

Baroque, Movements
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
Classical (music era), Movements
Source Wikipedia
Jazz, Movements
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
Modernism, Movements
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
Romanticism, Movements
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)

Practitioners

Aaron Copland, Artists
Source Aaron Copland - Wikipedia
Antonin Dvorak, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Antonio Vivaldi, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Aretha Franklin, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Aretha Franklin
Arnold Schoenberg, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Arnold Schoenberg
Béla Bartók, Artists
Source Wikidata: Béla Bartók
Billie Holiday, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Billie Holiday
Bob Marley, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Bob Marley
Camille Saint-Saens, Artists
Source Wikidata: Camille Saint-Saens
Claude Debussy, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Duke Ellington, Artists
Source Duke Ellington (Wikipedia)
Edith Piaf, Artists
Source Wikidata: Edith Piaf
Edvard Grieg, Artists
Source Edvard Grieg (Wikipedia)
Ella Fitzgerald, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Ella Fitzgerald
Elvis Presley, Artists
Source Elvis Presley (Wikipedia)
Enrico Caruso, Artists
Source Enrico Caruso (Wikipedia)
Felix Mendelssohn, Artists
Source Felix Mendelssohn - Wikipedia
Frank Sinatra, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Frank Sinatra
Franz Liszt, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Franz Schubert, Artists
Source Franz Schubert: Poet and Composer from Austria (Austria.info)
Fred Astaire, Artists
Source Fred Astaire (Wikipedia)
Freddie Mercury, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Freddie Mercury
Frederic Chopin, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Gabriel Faure, Artists
Source Wikidata: Gabriel Faure
Gene Kelly, Artists
Source Gene Kelly (Wikipedia)
George Frideric Handel, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Georges Bizet, Artists
Source Georges Bizet (Wikipedia)
Giacomo Puccini, Artists
Source Giacomo Puccini (Wikipedia)
Ginger Rogers, Artists
Source Ginger Rogers (Wikipedia)
Giuseppe Verdi, Artists
Source Giuseppe Verdi (Wikipedia)
Gordon Parks, Artists
Source Gordon Parks - Wikipedia
Gustav Mahler, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Hector Berlioz, Artists
Source Hector Berlioz (Wikipedia)
Igor Stravinsky, Artists
Source Wikipedia
James Brown, Artists
Source James Brown (Wikipedia)
Jean Sibelius, Artists
Source Jean Sibelius, Wikipedia
Jimi Hendrix, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Jimi Hendrix
Johann Sebastian Bach, Artists
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
Johannes Brahms, Artists
Source Wikipedia
John Coltrane, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Josephine Baker, Artists
Source Josephine Baker - Wikipedia
Louis Armstrong, Artists
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
Ludwig van Beethoven, Artists
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
Marvin Gaye, Artists
Source Marvin Gaye (Wikipedia)
Maurice Ravel, Artists
Source Maurice Ravel, Wikipedia
Michael Jackson, Artists
Source Michael Jackson (Wikipedia)
Miles Davis, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Artists
Source Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Wikipedia)
Nina Simone, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Nina Simone
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Rabah Driassa, Artists
Source Rabah Driassa (Wikipedia)
Ravi Shankar, Artists
Source Ravi Shankar (Wikipedia)
Ray Charles, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Ray Charles
Richard Strauss, Artists
Source Wikipedia: Richard Strauss
Richard Wagner, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Robert Schumann, Artists
Source Robert Schumann - Wikipedia
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Artists
Source Wikipedia
Umm Kulthum, Artists
Source Umm Kulthum - Wikipedia
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Artists
Source Wikipedia

Works In This Form

1812 Overture, Works
Source 1812 Overture (Wikipedia)
A Love Supreme, Works
Source Wikipedia
Erlkonig, Works
Source Schubert's Lieder: Settings of Goethe's Poems (OpenLearn, The Open University)
Goldberg Variations, Works
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
Gretchen am Spinnrade, Works
Source Schubert's Lieder: Settings of Goethe's Poems (OpenLearn, The Open University)
Kind of Blue, Works
Source Wikipedia
Mass in B minor, Works
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
Ninth Symphony, Works
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Works
Rhapsody in Blue, Works
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
The Rite of Spring, Works
Source Wikipedia
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Works
Source The Well-Tempered Clavier (Wikipedia)
What a Wonderful World, Works

A jazz standard song; classified under the Music art form.

Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.Music, britannica.com/art/musicView the Source
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Music, Western classical, Baroque subsection
    Polyphonic contrapuntal music (music with separate, simultaneous melodic lines) remained important during this period.
  • Music, Origins and prehistory section
    Three flutes from the Geissenklosterle are dated as the oldest, c. 43,150-39,370 BP.
  • Music, Antiquity section
    The 'Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal', found on clay tablets in the ancient Syrian city of Ugarit, is the oldest surviving notated work of music, dating back to approximately 1400 BCE.
  • Practitioners: Claude Debussy, Claude Debussy article, lead section
    was a French composer
  • Practitioners: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    was a Classical composer and musician
  • Practitioners: Miles Davis, Miles Davis, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    an American trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and painter
  • Practitioners: Frederic Chopin, Frederic Chopin, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist
  • Practitioners: Richard Wagner, Richard Wagner, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor, best known for his operas
  • Practitioners: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    He was a Russian composer of the Romantic period.
  • Practitioners: Antonio Vivaldi, Antonio Vivaldi, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music
  • Practitioners: Franz Liszt, Franz Liszt, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher
  • Practitioners: John Coltrane, John Coltrane, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer
  • Practitioners: Gustav Mahler, Gustav Mahler, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation
  • Practitioners: Johannes Brahms, Johannes Brahms, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    was a German composer, pianist, and conductor
  • Practitioners: Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor
  • Practitioners: Igor Stravinsky, Igor Stravinsky, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    a Russian composer and conductor with French and American citizenship
  • Practitioners: George Frideric Handel, George Frideric Handel, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
  • Practitioners: Antonin Dvorak, Antonin Dvorak, Wikipedia summary lead, practices
    was a Czech composer
  • Movements: Classical (music era), Classical period (music), Wikipedia summary, expressed-in music
  • Works In This Form: Kind of Blue, Kind of Blue, Wikipedia summary lead, in-form
    is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis
  • Works In This Form: The Rite of Spring, The Rite of Spring, Wikipedia summary lead, in-form
    is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky
  • Works In This Form: A Love Supreme, A Love Supreme, Wikipedia summary lead, in-form
    is an album by the American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane.
View the Source
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Stanley Sadie, editor (successive editions), Oxford University Press
  • entry: Western music, history and notation
  • Practitioners: Johann Sebastian Bach, entry: Bach, Johann Sebastian
  • Practitioners: Ludwig van Beethoven, entry: Beethoven, Ludwig van
  • Works In This Form: Ninth Symphony, entry: Beethoven, Ludwig van
  • Movements: Baroque, entry: Baroque, music of the
  • Movements: Romanticism, entry: Romanticism
  • Practitioners: Louis Armstrong, entry: Armstrong, Louis
  • Movements: Jazz, entry: Jazz
  • Movements: Modernism, entry: twentieth century modernist music
  • Works In This Form: Mass in B minor
  • Works In This Form: Goldberg Variations
  • Works In This Form: Rhapsody in Blue
Franz Schubert: Poet and Composer from Austria (Austria.info)
Austria.info, Austrian National Tourist OfficePractitioners: Franz SchubertView the Source
Schubert's Lieder: Settings of Goethe's Poems (OpenLearn, The Open University)
The Open University
  • Works In This Form: Erlkonig
  • Works In This Form: Gretchen am Spinnrade
View the Source
The Well-Tempered Clavier (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationWorks In This Form: The Well-Tempered Clavier, lead paragraph
Quote, Works In This Form: The Well-Tempered Clavier, lead paragraph
The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846-893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time clavier referred to a variety of keyboard instruments
View the Source
1812 Overture (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWorks In This Form: 1812 Overture, lead paragraph
Quote, Works In This Form: 1812 Overture, lead paragraph
The Year 1812, Solemn Overture, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture, is a concert overture in E♭ major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The piece commemorates Russia's successful defence again
View the Source
Duke Ellington (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Duke Ellington, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Duke Ellington, lead paragraph
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899, May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Music critic Ralph J. Gleason called him "A
View the Source
Giuseppe Verdi (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Giuseppe Verdi, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Giuseppe Verdi, lead paragraph
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( VAIR-dee; Italian: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈverdi]; 9 or 10 October 1813-27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the modern province o
View the Source
Giacomo Puccini (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Giacomo Puccini, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Giacomo Puccini, lead paragraph
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (22 December 1858-29 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Widely regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi
View the Source
Maurice Ravel, Wikipedia
Practitioners: Maurice Ravel, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Maurice Ravel, lead paragraph
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875-28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the
View the Source
Jean Sibelius, Wikipedia
Practitioners: Jean Sibelius, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Jean Sibelius, lead paragraph
Jean Sibelius (; Finland Swedish: [ˈʃɑːn siˈbeːliʉs] ; born Johan Christian Julius Sibelius; 8 December 1865-20 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his c
View the Source
Gordon Parks - Wikipedia
Practitioners: Gordon Parks, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Gordon Parks, lead paragraph
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912, March 7, 2006) was an American photographer, composer, author, poet, and filmmaker, who became prominent in U.S. documentary photojournalism in the 1940s through 1970s-par
View the Source
Felix Mendelssohn - Wikipedia
Practitioners: Felix Mendelssohn, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Felix Mendelssohn, lead paragraph
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 1809-4 November 1847), simply known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic era. Mendelssohn's compositions include
View the Source
Robert Schumann - Wikipedia
Practitioners: Robert Schumann, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Robert Schumann, lead paragraph
Robert Schumann (; German: [ˈʁoːbɐ̯t ˈʃuːman]; 8 June 1810-29 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano,
View the Source
Aaron Copland - Wikipedia
Practitioners: Aaron Copland, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Aaron Copland, lead paragraph
Aaron Copland ( KOHP-lənd; November 14, 1900, December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as th
View the Source
Umm Kulthum - Wikipedia
Practitioners: Umm Kulthum, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Umm Kulthum, lead paragraph
Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi (4 May 1904-3 February 1975), known by her stage name Umm Kulthum, was an Egyptian singer and film actress. She was given the honorific title Kawkab el-Sharq (Egyptian Arabic: كوكب الشرق, lit.
View the Source
Josephine Baker - Wikipedia
Practitioners: Josephine Baker, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Josephine Baker, lead paragraph
Freda Josephine Baker (née McDonald; June 3, 1906, April 12, 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress, and a spy for the French Resistance. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She w
View the Source
Georges Bizet (Wikipedia)
Practitioners: Georges Bizet, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Georges Bizet, lead paragraph
Georges Bizet (né Alexandre César Léopold Bizet; 25 October 1838-3 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his
View the Source
Wikipedia: Richard Strauss
Practitioners: Richard Strauss, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Richard Strauss, lead paragraph
Richard Georg Strauss (; German: [ˈʁɪçaʁt ˈʃtʁaʊs] ; 11 June 1864-8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor known for his tone poems and operas. He was a leading figure of the late Romantic and early Modern era. His
View the Source
Wikidata: Béla Bartók
Practitioners: Béla Bartók, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Béla Bartók, lead paragraph
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; Hungarian: [ˈbɒrtoːk ˈbeːlɒ]; 25 March 1881-26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and
View the Source
Wikipedia: Nina Simone
Practitioners: Nina Simone, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Nina Simone, lead paragraph
Nina Simone ( NEE-nə sim-OHN; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933, April 21, 2003) was an American composer, concert pianist, singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Simone's bearing and stage presence earned he
View the Source
Wikipedia: Ella Fitzgerald
Practitioners: Ella Fitzgerald, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Ella Fitzgerald, lead paragraph
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917, June 15, 1996) was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of ton
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Wikipedia: Arnold Schoenberg
Practitioners: Arnold Schoenberg, lead paragraph
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Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 1874-13 July 1951) was an Austrian and American modernist composer, music theorist, and teacher associated with developing variation, the emancipation of the dissonance, and twelve-to
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Wikipedia: Billie Holiday
Practitioners: Billie Holiday, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Billie Holiday, lead paragraph
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915, July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz mu
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Wikipedia: Frank Sinatra
Practitioners: Frank Sinatra, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Frank Sinatra, lead paragraph
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915, May 14, 1998) was an American singer, conductor, and actor. Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of the
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Wikipedia: Aretha Franklin
Practitioners: Aretha Franklin, lead paragraph
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Aretha Louise Franklin ( ə-REE-thə; March 25, 1942, August 16, 2018) was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Regarded as the "Queen of Soul", she was twice named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest singer of all time
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Wikipedia: Ray Charles
Practitioners: Ray Charles, lead paragraph
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Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930, June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and was often referred to by contemporaries as
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Wikipedia: Jimi Hendrix
Practitioners: Jimi Hendrix, lead paragraph
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James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942, September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of a
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Wikipedia: Freddie Mercury
Practitioners: Freddie Mercury, lead paragraph
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Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946-24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest sing
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Wikipedia: Bob Marley
Practitioners: Bob Marley, lead paragraph
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Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945-11 May 1981) was a Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, he was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley incr
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Hector Berlioz (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Hector Berlioz, lead paragraph
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Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803-8 March 1869) was a French Romantic composer, conductor and critic. His output includes orchestral works such as the Symphonie fantastique and Harold in Italy, choral pieces including the R
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Wikidata: Camille Saint-Saens
Practitioners: Camille Saint-Saens, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Camille Saint-Saens, lead paragraph
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (UK: , US: ; French: [ʃaʁl kamij sɛ̃sɑ̃(s)] 9 October 1835-16 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and R
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Edvard Grieg (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Edvard Grieg, lead paragraph
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Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( GREEG; Norwegian: [ˈɛdvaʁd ˈhɑ̀ːɡəʁʉp ˈɡʁɪgː]; 15 June 1843-4 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part
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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, lead paragraph
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Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (18 March 1844-21 June 1908) was a Russian composer, a member of the group of composers known as The Five. His best-known orchestral compositions-Capriccio Espagnol, the Russian Easter Festiva
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Wikidata: Gabriel Faure
Practitioners: Gabriel Faure, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Gabriel Faure, lead paragraph
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845-4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers
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Elvis Presley (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Elvis Presley, lead paragraph
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Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935, August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century. Pre
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Michael Jackson (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Michael Jackson, lead paragraph
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Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958, June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th
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James Brown (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: James Brown, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: James Brown, lead paragraph
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933, December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by va
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Marvin Gaye (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Marvin Gaye, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Marvin Gaye, lead paragraph
Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (né Gay; April 2, 1939, April 1, 1984) was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Commonly referred to as the "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul", he helped to shape
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Fred Astaire (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Fred Astaire, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Fred Astaire, lead paragraph
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899, June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regar
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Ginger Rogers (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Ginger Rogers, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Ginger Rogers, lead paragraph
Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911, April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer, and singer during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in Kitt
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Enrico Caruso (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Enrico Caruso, lead paragraph
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Enrico Caruso (25 February 1873-2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic tenor, who sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that ranged from the lyric to the
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Wikidata: Edith Piaf
Practitioners: Edith Piaf, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Edith Piaf, lead paragraph
Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915-10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (French: [edit pjaf]), was a French singer and lyricist. She is regarded as France's greatest popular singer and one of the most celebrated performer
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Ravi Shankar (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Ravi Shankar, lead paragraph
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Pandit Ravi Shankar (Bengali: [ˈrobi ˈʃɔŋkor]; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Ravindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920-11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became th
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Gene Kelly (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPractitioners: Gene Kelly, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Gene Kelly, lead paragraph
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912, February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style. Kelly sought to create a new form of American d
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Rabah Driassa (Wikipedia)
Practitioners: Rabah Driassa, lead paragraph
Quote, Practitioners: Rabah Driassa, lead paragraph
Rabah Driassa (19 August 1934-8 October 2021) was an Algerian painter and singer interpreting folk music. He was mostly active between the 1950s through 1980s where a number of his songs ("Hizia", "Nejma Qotbia", "El Goumri") be
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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the basic elements of music?

Melody, harmony, rhythm and timbre are generally considered music's basic elements, though traditions and theorists weight and define them differently.

Melody, harmony, rhythm and timbre are generally considered music's basic elements: melody the sequence of pitches heard as a line, harmony the combination of pitches sounded together, rhythm the pattern of duration and accent in time, and timbre the tone color that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another. Different traditions and theorists weight and define these elements differently, and some add form and dynamics as additional core elements.

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