Year of the Rat Music Project

We’d all probably agree that this is music:

But what about this:

I would say “yes” but my mother would probably say, “no, not so much.” Which is a problem, especially when you’re dedicating a year to “music.”

So I thought I’d turn to my two favorite dictionaries for definitions to help me set parameters. Let’s take a look at the contestants.

The Oxford English Dictionary aka the OED: A triumph of humanity, as important as Shakespeare or Whitman to the English language. The Oxford English Dictionary attempts to catalog every word in English. As an added bonus, the OED cites the first written use of each word as well as examples of each word’s use through history.

Urban Dictionary: User submitted definitions that are voted on by the unwashed masses. Urban Dictionary excels at slang, jargon, and the “street” usage of a word. Often their definitions are much better than traditional dictionaries for the common spoken usage of a word.

For a full list of both dictionaries definitions, click here.

So when does sound become music? The OED gives a cursory nod to “harmony, melody, rhythm, expressive content, etc.” which is cool because those are the closest means we have to express music objectively with verbal-based language (as opposed to sheet music which I would argue is a form of written language). But even for the OED, the definition quickly slips into the abstract and subjective, “[t]he art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds to produce beauty of form” and “the occupation or profession of musicians.” So musicians are people who make music and music is that which is made by musicians.

Resist the urge to make fun of the circular logic of this statement and I think you’ll agree that this is a pretty awesome definition of music because it intertwines music and humanity. By this definition sound, unless created by a human, is not music. After this point the OED pretty much slips into metaphor, listing personifications of music, such as this gem from Chaucer in 1425 “With Rethorice com forth Musice, a damoysele of our hous.”

Isn’t that pretty?

On Urban Dictionary, on the other hand, music is described almost exclusively with superlatives and metaphors, ‘Long story short, its “fucking your ears with noises, catchy noises”’ writes Chang Tan, “Mankind’s Greatest Achievement.”says Red Hot Chili Pepper, ” Something the world would be lost without,” adds Matt.

I love these definitions because the writers have focused on explaining how music makes them feel, which I think is a testament to how subjective music really is. Unforunately, they don’t work very well in the classic sense of a definition.

John A., however, has submitted what I think is my favorite definition of music, “Noise that is pleasing to the ears.” I think that if we combine this with the OED’s “occupation of musicians” we’d have a pretty good definition of music.

According to the OED’s definition, anyone who considers himself a musician can make music; according to Urban Dictionary, anyone can determine what music is.

So here is my working definitions of music, “Noise, made by musicians, that is pleasing to the ear.”

Looks like we can both be right, mom.