Srilankan MP3

                                                                                                                      MUSIC

 Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Common elements of music are pitch(which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, andarticulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives fromGreek μουσική (mousike; "art of the Muses").^[1]

The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music vary according to culture and social context. Music ranges from strictly organized compositions (and their recreation in performance), through improvisational music to aleatoric forms. Music can be divided into genres and subgenres, although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individual interpretation, and occasionally controversial. Within "the arts", music may be classified as a performing art, a fine art, and auditory art. There is also a strong connection between music and mathematics.

To many people in many cultures, music is an important part of their way of life. Greek philosophers and ancient Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "the harmony of the spheres" and "it is music to my ears" point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, only sound."^[2] Musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez summarizes the relativist, post-modern viewpoint: "The border between music and noise is always culturally defined—which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus ... By all accounts there is no single and interculturaluniversal concept defining what music might be."^[3]

            MUSIC  OF  SRILANKA 

The music of Sri Lanka originates in cultural traditions deriving from three influences: the religious practices ofBuddhism, the aftereffects of Portuguese colonization, and the commercial and historical influence of Indianculture - specifically, Bollywood cinema. The Theravada sect of Buddhism has influenced Sri Lankan Music sinceBuddhism arrived in Sri Lanka two millennia ago

Portuguese colonizers arrived centuries after the Buddha, in the mid 15th century, bringing with them cantigaballads, ukuleles and guitars; as well as desendants of africa (referred to, historically, as kaffrinhas), who brought with them a style of music now referred to as baila. The people of these two regions, and the musical traditions they brought with them, served to contribute further to the diverse musical roots of modern Sri Lankan music.