ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Subject (music)

Music is like playing with sounds! Just like when we play with toys that make different noises and sounds, music is made up of different sounds too. These sounds are called notes, and when they are put in a certain order, they make a song.

You know how we have letters in the alphabet that make words? Well, in music there are letters too, but they are called musical notes. There are many types of musical notes, just like there are many letters in the alphabet. Some are short and some are long, and they all make different sounds.

When musicians play music, they use something called an instrument to make the notes. You might have seen people playing instruments like a guitar, piano, or drums. Each instrument makes a different sound and can play different notes.

When a musician writes down the notes for a song, it's called sheet music. It's like a recipe for making music, with all the notes and instructions for how to play them written down on paper.

So when we listen to music, we're hearing all of these notes put together in a certain order to make a beautiful sound. It's like hearing a puzzle put together perfectly, and it can make us feel happy, sad, excited or calm. Music is a way for people to express themselves and share their emotions with others.