- organized sound in time, structured by rhythm, melody, harmony, and timbre
- mathematical foundation: pitch is frequency, harmony is frequency ratios, rhythm is time division
- universal human expression: every known culture produces music
- ancient origins: bone flutes (~40,000 years old), vocal traditions predating writing (invention)
- functions: ritual, communication, social bonding, emotional regulation, memory encoding
- Western tradition: plainsong → polyphony → tonal harmony → twelve-tone → electronic
- non-Western systems: Indian raga (melodic modes), Arabic maqam, Indonesian gamelan, West African polyrhythm
- music perception engages brain regions for language, motor control, emotion, and reward
- digital music: synthesis, sampling, algorithmic composition, AI-generated sound in the Information Age
- deep link to aesthetics: music is the purest case of beauty as mathematical pattern perceived through the senses