What is called music?

[CMcG]

When applied to music, I'd say, Music is in the ear of the listener. <snip>

It is seductively logical to construe music as a purely subjective construct. About 2/3 of the way through my paper I came to a similar conclusion but then ultimately rejected it. The problem is that, no matter what people's opinion may be, there is always a sonic event occurring in time, which they are in a relationship with. The distinction between subject and object is itself constructed because we cannot exist without a world.

Part of my conclusion is based on the etymology of the word 'music,' which comes to us from the ancient Greek mousikē. The origins point to the art of the Muses, who were divine beings in charge of knowledge and wisdom. Mousikē was not something that people created, rather, it was a gift from the Gods. Music therefor, has less to do with what people call it, than to whom music calls...