music , mind , thought and emotion


There is not a society on this planet, nor probably ever has been, which is without some form of musical expression, often closely linked with rythm and dance. My question is less concentrated on the latter two however.
What I am pondering boils down to:
What is music and what does it do to us
Why do we differentiate music from random noise so clearly and yet can pick up certain samples within that noise as musical.
By listening to music, we find some perhaps interesting, some which we would call musical. What differentiates "musical music" from "ordinary music" and this again from "noise"?
In a more general sense again:
If music has impact on us, what is the nature of our receptors for it. Or better: Who, what are we, that music can do to us what it does?
What would be the nature of a system, which practically all of us would agree upon, that it imparts musicality best?
And finally, if such a sytem would exist, can this quality be measured?
detlof
To me the music/emotion link is a great question that has no answer (yet). I do know that music can follow heartrate, so that if you're feeling amped you want to listen to music with a faster beat. But I still have not figured out how music can tap my emotions in a way I describe as triggering nostalgia for memories I never had.

It is definitely instinctive and not learned to a great degree. This leads me to believe evolution (God if you're a Christian reader) was involved. Possibly music is and always has been a way to influence many people at once, building community and common thought. And those who naturally didn't experience that way were weeded out (or put more bluntly, didn't reproduce).
Hey all: Detlof has something in store... Speach, speach, Detlof! (Pls don't you hate me, Detlof.)
BTW, where are the the others? Don't we all buy systems to listen to music? This thread is about music...
Matt8268, I went to Catholic school in my childhood. There is a picture that always impressed me. You probably saw it. Jesus Chris with the opened heart. :-)
Detlof,

What is the unity measure of quality or how would you define for example QP(quality point)?

I believe that this value can only be measurad statistically.

Now realize how many people will say that I love my small boom-box with the huge CD collection that I listen every day... Basing on that research you can come to a conclusion that Bose system is the best.

As I've mentioned before that music is more likely communication and the quality of the system is mainly statistics.

Music can also have a statistical factor of human's appreciation vs. system which needs to be determined from the different "angles".

For example:

Who has larger appreciation factor to the music the one who has 20 records and/or CDs and $40,000 system or the one who has 2000 records and/or CDs and $1,000 system?

One would say: "Certainly in the second case the appreciation factor is bigger!" and I would say: "Wait-a-minute, how would you know? Maybe the second one is just a crazy record collector that almost never listens to them but the first one has his favourite music played many times per day!" And vice versa I would say: "Wait-a-minute, maybe in the first case one only listens to the recordings but doesn't care too much about the music or how it's being performed?"

And finally, What is true:
Music for the System or System for the Music??