What is Music?

I ask myself this question sometimes, "What is Music?". A lot of people have different and diverse opinions on this subject. Music has been around for as long as anyone can remember. Why do people listen and compose music though? Here's a list of reasons that I believe to be the reason as to what Music is:

1. A Way Of Life - Some people say that music is a way of life, that it speaks to them. I'm not too sure on how to explain it, but I agree with this statement.
   
   
2. Expressing Feelings - This is definitely by far the most popular reason as to why people listen and compose music. The power to express oneself through music is really helpful when one cannot express it through speech. Through the mood set by the song, you can tell what the person is feeling at that moment. Whether it being the emotion of anger, joy, sad, playful and so on. You can also tell a person's emotion through the lyrics of the songs as well in some cases. If the person is listening to We Belong Together by Mariah Carey, you can tell that the person is missing someone he or she loves dearly. This is not an exact science as there are still other variables you need to consider like maybe the song has a nice beat or the songs is just nice to hear. If you're a composer, you could be like many artists and write your experinces in songs. Like say, a person who dumped you for another person who's more popular than you. Write a song about it, get famous, and when that person is begging you for a second chance say something like, "Sorry, I don't date unpopular people" or "No thanks, I'm not desperate enough to say yes."
   
   
3. Escape - Some people listen to music to escape from reality. It's a relaxation technique, like Yoga. They don't want to think about their problems so they listen to music and avoid thinking about it.
   
   
   
4. Communication - Music can be a way to communicate with one another. If you have no hobbies in common, maybe you share the same music interest and that allows people to interact with one another. Even if you're from different countries and speak in different languages, music can break through the social barriers resulting in bonds of friendships being formed all over the world.
   
   
5. Entertainment - In any party you host, you need some music to get it started now don't you? If you disagree with this statement, please take a class in how to throw a party known as PTY 101. Think about it, without music, it's going to be a really, really dull black & white life. Music can provide you with the right colors to complete the picture making it more interesting to the eyes of humanity.
   
   
6. Social Reforming - Some music have hidden messages within them or maybe even an obvious one. The message could be something like how we should join the fight on cancer, how we should not ignore the social problems going on around the world, or even on how to destroy your properties to release some stress. Hey, it does work you know. Releasing stress through destroying some stuffs lying around the house, especially if it's own by someone you dislike.

So far, these are the reasons I could think of at the moment. For me, I especially believe in reason number 2, 3 and 5 because that's why I love music a lot. How about you guys? What do you believe music is?