absolute music

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noun

instrumental music, as a concerto or string quartet, that draws no inspiration from or makes no reference to a text, program, visual image, or title and that exists solely in terms of its musical form, structure, and elements.

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Also called abstract music .

Compare program music.

Origin of absolute music

First recorded in 1885–90

Words nearby absolute music

absolute magnitude, absolute majority, absolute maximum, absolute minimum, absolute monarchy, absolute music, absolute pitch, absolute scale, absolute space, absolute temperature, absolute temperature scale

How to use absolute music in a sentence

Music is a huge part of the tone of Black Dynamite overall—going back to the original 2009 movie on which the series is based.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I gotta say—I think this past year was pretty bad for music.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
What an amazing thing to be able to listen to any music you want, a whole world of bands.
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Do you think that as we get older our thoughts shift to the more abstract, the music, than the definite, the lyrics?
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

I remember all our music appeared on Spotify overnight, without anybody asking us.
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Solely over one man therein thou hast quite absolute control.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
Henry Rowley Bishop, a noted English music composer, died, aged 68.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
In Manila particularly, amidst the pealing of bells and strains of music, unfeigned enthusiasm and joy were everywhere evident.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
He takes a turn up and down the room, looks at the music, and if the piece interests him, he will call upon you.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
A child outside the temple of art hears its music before he sees its veiled beauties.
Children's Ways|James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for absolute music

absolute music

noun

music that is not designed to depict or evoke any scene or eventCompare programme music

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012