The modern English word ' music' came into use in the 1630s. In Greek mythology, the nine Muses were the inspiration for many creative endeavors, including the arts, and eventually became closely aligned with music specifically. Compositions, performances, and recordings are assessed and evaluated by music critics, music journalists, and music scholars, as well as amateurs. The music industry includes songwriters, performers, sound engineers, producers, tour organizers, distributors of instruments, accessories, and sheet music. Music often plays a key role in social activities, religious rituals, rite of passage ceremonies, celebrations, and cultural activities. Musical playback is the primary function of an MP3 player or CD player and a universal feature of radios and smartphones. Music is played in public and private areas, highlighted at events such as festivals, rock concerts, and orchestra performance, and heard incidentally as part of a score or soundtrack to a film, TV show, opera, or video game.

Music may be deliberately composed to be unperformable, or agglomerated electronically from many performances.

In a free jazz context, there may be no structure whatsoever, with each performer acting at their discretion. In modal jazz the performers may take turns leading and responding, while sharing a changing set of notes. For instance, in Hindustani classical music, the performer plays spontaneously while following a partially defined structure and using characteristic motifs. In some musical contexts, a performance or composition may be to some extent improvised. Music may be performed or improvised using a vast range of instruments, including the human voice. The creation of music is commonly divided into musical composition, musical improvisation, and musical performance, though the topic itself extends into academic disciplines, criticism, philosophy, and psychology.

While scholars agree that music is defined by a few specific elements, there is no consensus on their precise definitions. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect of all human societies, a cultural universal. Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content.

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