The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to music:
Music – human expression often in the medium of time using the structures of sounds or tones and silence. It may be expressed in terms of pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre.
Definition of music Definition of music One of the arts One of the performing arts One of the humanities An academic discipline
History of music
History of music Timeline of musical events Prehistoric music Ancient music Music in ancient India Music of Mesopotamia Music of ancient Greece Music of ancient Rome
Art music Andalusian classical music Arab classical music Chinese classical music Indian classical music Carnatic music Hindustani classical music Persian traditional music Sasanian music
Western classical music Dates of classical music eras Early music period European medieval music Saint Gall Saint Martial Goliard Ars antiqua Notre-Dame school Troubadour Trouvère Minnesang Ars nova Trecento Ars subtilior Renaissance music Common practice period Baroque music the galant music period Classical period Romantic music 20th-century classical music Impressionism Expressionist Modernism Neoclassicism Experimental music Postmodern music Contemporary classical music 21st-century classical music
By region or ethnicity
Timeline of trends in Australian music Byzantine music Timeline of Chinese music Timeline of Italian music Timeline of music in the United States History of music in the biblical period
Musical ensembles
Musical ensemble
Band Band (rock and pop) Brass band Concert band Fanfare band Jazz band Big band Marching band Military band Ottoman military band One-man band Pipe band Camerata Chapel Choir Flute choir Men's chorus Singakademie Decet Duet Piano duet Duodecet Gamelan Nonet Octet String octet Orchestra Pit orchestra String orchestra Percussion ensemble Quartet Flute quartet Piano quartet Saxophone quartet String quartet Wind quartet Woodwind quartet Quintet Brass quintet Clarinet quintet Pierrot ensemble String quintet Wind quintet Septet Sextet Piano sextet String sextet Sinfonietta Trio Clarinet trio Jazz trio Organ trio Piano trio String trio
Genres of music
Blues Classical Country Electronic Electronic dance Electronica Folk Funk Gospel Grunge Hip hop Jazz Avant-garde jazz Chamber jazz Free jazz Latin jazz Orchestral jazz Latin Latin ballad Martial music Pop Dance-pop Electropop Reggae Rhythm and blues Rock Heavy metal Progressive rock Psychedelic rock Punk rock Ska Theatre music Ballet Opera Musical theatre Incidental music
Music by region
Cultural and regional genres of music
Africa
West Africa
Benin • Burkina Faso • Cape Verde • Côte d'Ivoire • Gambia • Ghana • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Liberia • Mali • Mauritania • Niger • Nigeria • Senegal • Sierra Leone • Togo
North Africa
Algeria • Egypt • Libya • Mauritania • Morocco • Sudan • South Sudan • Tunisia • Western Sahara
Central Africa
Angola • Burundi • Cameroon • Central African Republic • Chad • The Democratic Republic of the Congo • Equatorial Guinea • Gabon • Republic of the Congo • Rwanda • São Tomé and Príncipe
East Africa
Burundi • Comoros • Djibouti • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Kenya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mauritius • Mozambique • Rwanda • Seychelles • Somalia • Tanzania • Uganda • Zambia • Zimbabwe
Southern Africa
Botswana • Lesotho • Namibia • South Africa • Eswatini
Dependencies
Mayotte (France) • St. Helena (UK) • Puntland • Somaliland • Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Asia Central Asia Kazakhstan • Kyrgyzstan • Tajikistan • Turkmenistan • Uzbekistan East Asia China • Tibet • Hong Kong • Macau • Japan • North Korea • South Korea • Mongolia • Taiwan North Asia Russia Southeast Asia Brunei • Burma (Myanmar) • Cambodia • Indonesia • Laos • Malaysia • Philippines (Metro Manila) • Singapore • Thailand • Timor-Leste • Vietnam South Asia Afghanistan • Bangladesh • Bhutan • Maldives • Nepal • Pakistan • Sri Lanka India States of India: Andhra Pradesh • Arunachal Pradesh • Assam • Bihar • Chhattisgarh • Goa • Gujarat • Haryana • Himachal Pradesh • Jammu and Kashmir • Jharkhand • Karnataka • Kerala • Madhya Pradesh • Maharashtra • Manipur • Meghalaya • Mizoram • Nagaland • Odisha • Punjab • Rajasthan • Sikkim • Tamil Nadu • Telangana • Tripura • Uttar Pradesh • Uttarakhand • West Bengal West Asia Armenia • Azerbaijan • Bahrain • Cyprus (including disputed Northern Cyprus) • Georgia • Iran • Iraq • Israel • Jordan • Kuwait • Lebanon • Oman • State of Palestine • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Syria • Turkey • United Arab Emirates • Yemen
Caucasus (a region considered to be in both Asia and Europe, or between them)
North Caucasus Parts of Russia (Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Adyghea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachai-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai)
South Caucasus Georgia (including disputed Abkhazia, South Ossetia) • Armenia • Azerbaijan (including disputed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic)
Europe Akrotiri and Dhekelia • Åland • Albania • Andorra • Armenia • Austria • Azerbaijan • Belarus • Belgium • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Bulgaria • Croatia • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Faroe Islands • Finland • France • Georgia • Germany • Gibraltar • Greece • Guernsey • Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Isle of Man • Italy (Rome) • Jersey • Kazakhstan • Kosovo • Latvia • Liechtenstein • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Macedonia • Malta • Moldova (including disputed Transnistria) • Monaco • Montenegro • Netherlands • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Russia • San Marino • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Norway Svalbard Spain Autonomous communities of Spain: Catalonia Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey • Ukraine United Kingdom England (Cornwall, London, Sussex) • Northern Ireland • Scotland • Wales (Cardiff, Newport) Vatican City
European Union
North America Canada Provinces of Canada: • Alberta • British Columbia (Vancouver) • Manitoba • New Brunswick • Newfoundland and Labrador • Nova Scotia • Ontario • Prince Edward Island • Quebec • Saskatchewan Territories of Canada: Northwest Territories • Nunavut • Yukon
Greenland • Saint Pierre and Miquelon
United States
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona (Tucson) • Arkansas • California (Los Angeles) • Colorado Denver • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia (Athens, Atlanta) • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois (Chicago) • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland (Annapolis, Baltimore) • Massachusetts • Michigan (Detroit) • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York (New York City) • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas Austin • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington (Olympia, Seattle) • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Washington, D.C.
Mexico
Central America Belize • Costa Rica • El Salvador • Guatemala • Honduras • Nicaragua • Panama
Caribbean Anguilla • Antigua and Barbuda • Aruba • Bahamas • Barbados • Bermuda • British Virgin Islands • Cayman Islands • Cuba • Dominica • Dominican Republic • Grenada • Haiti • Jamaica • Montserrat • Netherlands Antilles • Puerto Rico • Saint Barthélemy • Saint Kitts and Nevis • Saint Lucia • Saint Martin • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines • Trinidad and Tobago • Turks and Caicos Islands • United States Virgin Islands
Oceania (includes the continent of Australia) Australasia Australia (Adelaide, Perth, Sydney) Dependencies/Territories of Australia Christmas Island • Cocos (Keeling) Islands • Norfolk Island New Zealand Melanesia Fiji • Indonesia (Oceanian part only) • New Caledonia (France) • Papua New Guinea • Solomon Islands • Vanuatu • Micronesia Federated States of Micronesia • Guam (USA) • Kiribati • Marshall Islands • Nauru • Northern Mariana Islands (USA) • Palau • Wake Island (USA) • Polynesia American Samoa (USA) • Chatham Islands (NZ) • Cook Islands (NZ) • Easter Island (Chile) • French Polynesia (France) • Hawaii (USA) • Loyalty Islands (France) • Niue (NZ) • Pitcairn Islands (UK) • Adamstown • Samoa • Tokelau (NZ) • Tonga • Tuvalu • Wallis and Futuna (France)
South America Argentina • Bolivia • Brazil • Chile • Colombia • Ecuador • Falkland Islands • Guyana • Paraguay • Peru • Suriname • Uruguay • Venezuela
South Atlantic
Ascension Island • Saint Helena • Tristan da Cunha
Musical compositions
Musical composition
Types of musical pieces and compositions
Musical form
Single-movement forms
Strophic form (AA...) Binary form (AB) Ternary form less often tertiary (ABA) Arch form (ABCBA)
Multi-movement forms
Ballet Cantata Chorale Concerto Dance Etude Fantasia Fugue Mass Opera Oratorio Prelude Requiem Rhapsody Sonata Suite Symphonic poem Symphony
Sections of a piece or composition
Section (music) Introduction Exposition Recapitulation Verse Refrain (chorus) Bridge Interlude Guitar solo Conclusion Coda Fadeout
Musical notation
Musical notation Staff Clefs Key signature Key Time signature Beats Bars (Measures) Ledger lines Grand staff Notes Note values Dotted notes Ties Accidentals Tempo Dynamics Lyrics (included on vocal music) Modern musical symbols Score (for ensembles) Sheet music
Variations of musical notation
Percussion notation Figured bass Lead sheets Chord charts Shape note system
Musical techniques
Bell chord Broken chords Arpeggio Bass arpeggiation Non-harmonic arpeggio Ostinato Tremolo Guitar performance techniques
Musical skills and procedures
Absolute pitch Ear training Fingering Learning music by ear Modulation Numerical sight-singing Practice Relative pitch Sight reading "Swinging" Transposition Tuning Virtuosity
Vocal ranges
Vocal range
Female ranges
Soprano Mezzo-soprano Contralto
Male ranges
Boy soprano
Sopranist Alto Tenor Baritone Bass-baritone Bass
Musical instruments
Musical instrument (List of musical instruments) Wind instruments Percussion instruments String instruments Voice Electronic instruments Keyboard instruments Musical keyboard See also the List of musical instruments by Hornbostel–Sachs number
Music technology
Music technology Electric music technology Electronic and digital music technology Mechanical music technology List of music software
Music industry
Music industry Album Compact disc (CD) Compact Cassette Concert Concert tour Grammy Awards Music recording sales certification Performance Music videos Record Record industry Recording studio Single
Music industry participants
A&R ASCAP Band manager Booking agent BMI Copyright collective Disc jockey MCPS Musician – person who writes, performs, or makes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music. Instrumentalist – one who plays a musical instrument. Traditional instrumentalist – one who plays folk music on traditional instruments such as gongs. Classical instrumentalist – one who plays classical music, usually with Western orchestral instruments such as the violin, flute etc. Instrumentalists who plays popular music – one who plays with instruments in the big band, e.g. the electric guitar, drums, saxophone, trumpet, trombone etc. Singer – a vocalist. Composer – person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media. Songwriter Arranger Conductor – leads a musical ensemble. A conductor may simultaneously act as an instrumentalist in the ensemble. Recording artist – creates recorded music, such as CDs and MP3 files. Musicians' Union Publisher PRS