A subjective definition of music need not, however, be limited to traditional ideas of music as pleasant or melodious. This approach to the definition focuses not on the construction but on the experience of music. Thus, music could include "found" sound structuresproduced by natural phenomena or algorithmsas long as they are interpreted by means of the aesthetic cognitive processes involved in music appreciation. This approach permits the boundary between music and noise to change over time as the conventions of musical interpretation evolve within a culture, to be different in different cultures at any given moment, and to vary from person to person according to their experience and proclivities. It is further consistent with the subjective reality that even what would commonly be considered music is experienced as nonmusic if the mind is concentrating on other matters and thus not perceiving the sound's essence as music (Clifton 1983, 9).
What would today be accepted as music in the west without the blinking of an eye, would have been ridiculed in the 17th century. would almost certainly not have been music to William Congreve, who wrote that, "Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Beast" ( The Mourning Bride , 1697). Many people do, however, share a general idea of music. The Websters definition of music is a typical example: "the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity" ( Webster's Collegiate Dictionary , online edition). There are a number of potential objections to such a definition.
It is important to stress that this definition of music says nothing about aesthetic standards.
Source: Wikipedia > Definition Of Music
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