Programme music

Program music or programmatic music is a type of instrumental music that attempts to musically render an extramusical narrative or description of some aspect of the world. The term was invented in the 19th century by Franz Liszt, who himself composed a great deal of program music. However, as Liszt himself noted, program music had been written for centuries before his time.

To give an example, Ludwig van Beethoven's Sixth Symphony narrates a visit to the countryside, portraying in succession a happy arrival, a quiet moment by a brook, an encounter with dancing peasants, a thunderstorm, and the peasants' song of thankgiving when the storm is over. Program music is often written so that the notes themselves convey, at least to some degree, the meaning of what is portrayed; thus the thunderstorm in Beethoven's symphony includes loud timpani strokes to convey the thunder and shrill piccolo music to depict the shrieking winds.