music: Quick Facts

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The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Oct. 30, 2026

News •

Rugby honours 'Mr Music' with plaque by park bandstand • Oct. 28, 2026, 2:19 AM ET (BBC)

Apple releases iOS and macOS 27.2 with new Siri AI features, new Music logo • Oct. 26, 2026, 4:04 PM ET (Ars Technica)

Photos and Videos

Three Afro-Cuban street musicians perform; one plays a violin, one plays a guitar, and one plays percussion instruments, all seated against a yellow wall.

An elderly man in a light shirt plays a harmonium, an Indian traditional keyboard instrument, using both hands; only his torso and hands are visible.

A Chinese musician in a patterned traditional jacket sits and plays the erhu, a two-stringed fiddle, during an outdoor event with people watching in the background.

Children and adults in traditional Cretan clothing dance in a circle outdoors, while two musicians play a bouzouki and a Cretan lyra on a stage by the sea.

Mattia Preti: Boethius and Philosophy

Johannes Kepler

Portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche wearing glasses, a suit with a bow tie, and sporting a thick mustache.

How music causes chills: Understanding dopamine and sound

Understand how music therapy is helping young children in Australian elementary schools to deal with grief, loss and other behavioral and emotional disorders

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Topics

opera Western music Native American music jazz harmony choral music theatre music chamber music African music musical performance Architecture film dance radio Printmaking Sculpture Painting Drawing History of photography literature

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Key People

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Herbie Mann

American musician

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

German composer

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Jack the Rapper

American disc jockey and publisher

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Austrian composer

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Antwan André Patton

American rapper

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Boozoo Chavis

American musician

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Maurice White

American musician

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Keith Moon

British musician

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Robert Quine

American musician

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Harve Presnell

American actor

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Freddie Hubbard

American musician

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Bob Bogle

American musician

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Mitch Mitchell

British musician

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Pete Johnson

American musician

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Josh White

American musician

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Dave Van Ronk

American musician

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Wynton Marsalis

American musician

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Wojciech Adalbert Zywny

Polish musician

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Jeanette MacDonald

American actress and singer

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Kara DioGuardi

American songwriter

Justin Bieber performs at Madison Square Garden on August 31, 2010 in New York City. Justin Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop-R&B singer.

Prismatic Playlist Volume 1

Gong. Closeup of a khong wong gong circle chime. Thai classical musical instrument, part of piphat ensemble. (percussion, music)

Music Quiz

Illustration of musical notes. classical music composer composition. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, history and society, music notes

Composers & Their Music

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, an American rock duo, performs onstage at the Global Citizen Festival In Central Park, New York City to end extreme poverty, Sept. 29, 2012.

Prismatic Playlist Volume 2

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood

Pop Culture Quiz

Illustration of musical notes. classical music composer composition. Homepage 2010, Hompepage blog, arts and entertainment, history and society, music notes

Musical Forms and Styles

Lady musician playing a sitar, ink and opaque watercolor on paper, ca. 1800; Kota, Rajastan, India.

Music in the World (Part Two) Quiz

(Left) Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (Ramon Luis Ayala Rodriguez) perform during the 2017 Billboard Latin Music Awards and Show at the Bank United Center, University of Miami, Miami, Florida on April 27, 2017. (music)

2010s Music Quiz

Microphone on a stand

Turn Up the Volume

Beach. Sand. Ocean. Vacation. Sunset casts an orange glow over Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Places in Music

Stacks of sheet music. Classical music composer composition. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, history and society

A Music Lesson

Violin on top of sheet music. (musical instrument)

A Study of Music

Young girl wearing a demin jacket playing the trumpet (child, musical instruments, Asian ethnicity)

Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz