program music

American  

noun

1. music intended to convey an impression of a definite series of images, scenes, or events.

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Etymology

Origin of program music

First recorded in 1880–85

Compare meaning

How does program-music compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• program music vs. absolute music

Example Sentences

A handful of skaters who train with Arutyunyan’s team whizzed by as coaches scrutinized their arm placements, knelt to watch skate movement and replayed the opening notes of one skater’s program music.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2022

Operated through the hospital’s Child Life program, music therapy helps children and their families cope with stresses related to a child’s illness and the adjustment of a hospital stay.

From Washington Times • Oct. 2, 2016

But a piece of program music must have a convincing musical structure of its own, as Julia Wolfe’s restless “Cruel Sister” does.

From New York Times • Feb. 4, 2011

Reiterating what she had explained in a recent interview, Ms. Wolfe said that she had never been much interested in program music.

From New York Times • Feb. 4, 2011

Even in instrumental music, outside of dance rhythms, whose suggestion of the delights of bodily motion is a reason of their popularity, the beginner likes program music of some kind, or at least its suggestion.

From A Librarian's Open Shelf by Bostwick, Arthur E.