But although it is culturally specific, some of its building blocks are universal: melody, harmony, rhythm, the timbre produced by a variety of instruments and the distinctive style added by particular composers.
And yet, in spite of her associations with composers, movie stars, royalty, and politicians, there is one connection that is often snubbed by the history books.
Megan Steinberg is a music composer at Royal Northern College of Music, where she collaborates with Drake Music, a leading national organisation working in music disability and technology.
Mileece L'Anson, composer and a musician, recorded human and plant bioelectrical signals to give us a symphony, a soundscape composed in collaboration with the flora.