music

music
mu‧sic S1 W1 /ˈmjuːzɪk/ noun [uncountable]1. a series of sounds made by instruments or voices in a way that is pleasant or exciting:
    I often listen to classical music when I’m in the car.
    A new piece of music was specially written for the occasion.
2. the art of writing or playing music:
    Peter’s studying music at college.
    music lessons
    music business/industry etc
    a career in the music business
3. a set of written marks representing music, or paper with the written marks on it:
    I left my music at home.
    McCartney never learned to read music. ⇨ sheet music
4. be music to your ears if someone’s words are music to your ears, they make you very happy or pleased
5. set/put something to music to write music so that the words of a poem, play etc can be sung
⇨ face the music at face²(7)
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs
   ▪ listen to music Ella was listening to music on her iPod.
   ▪ play music A small band was playing jazz music.
   ▪ write/compose music He composed the music for the 'Lord of the Rings' films.
   ▪ make music (=play or compose music) We began making music together about five years ago.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + music
   ▪ loud/soft/quiet They were kept awake by loud music from next door.
   ▪ pop/rock/classical etc music Johnny Cash was one of country music’s greatest stars.
   ▪ live music (=played by musicians on stage) Most of the bars have live music.
   ▪ recorded music Live music can sound very different from recorded music.
   ▪ background music (=that you hear but do not listen to) the soft background music in the restaurant
   ▪ choral music (=sung by choirs) We perform a wide variety of choral music.
   ▪ instrumental music (=with no singing) a programme of instrumental music
   ▪ chamber music (=classical music played by a small group of musicians) a performance of Schumann’s chamber music
   ▪ orchestral music (=classical music played by a large group of musicians) He has a large CD collection, mostly orchestral music.
   ▪ piano/organ music I love listening to piano music.
■ music + NOUN
   ▪ a music lover Her recordings delighted music lovers.
■ phrases
   ▪ a piece of music It’s a beautiful piece of music.
■ COMMON ERRORS
    ► Do not say 'classic music'. Say classical music.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ music the sounds made by musical instruments or people singing: The music was really loud.
   ▪ tune the main series of musical notes in a piece of music: a folk song with a pretty tune
   ▪ melody the main series of notes in a piece of music that has many notes being played at the same time, especially in classical music: The soprano sang the melody.
   ▪ harmony the chords or notes in a piece of music that support the melody: the rich harmonies in the symphony
   ▪ piece (also piece of music) an arrangement of musical notes – use this about music without words: It’s a difficult piece to play.
   ▪ composition formal a piece of music that someone has written: This is one of his own compositions.
   ▪ work a piece of music, especially classical music: one of Mozart’s best-known works
   ▪ track one of the songs or pieces of music on a CD: the album’s title track
   ▪ number a piece of popular music that forms part of a concert or show: the show’s first number