Music is sound with any type of recognizable structure that becomes pleasurable exactly because there is a pattern to be found. And more: there are patterns within patterns, melody (the what of sound) and rhythm (the when of sound) that play with each other, sometimes moving in synch, others by themselves, but always scurrying along and defying the mind, daring the brain to predict what comes next. Like a game of roulette, the joy lies in that fine balance of unpredictability: a prize too predictable is boring; a prize too rare is frustrating.
Realizing that we are very good at "getting" the music - understanding the logic of the hand shapes on the guitar, a chord progression, the intervals in a melody - makes playing easy and fun. Mastering those patterns as we practice them is part of the game. But musical heaven is realizing that you can play along by just listening and jumping in. When we "get" each other's music, we feel we belong.
